April 16
On this day, April 16, 1959, illustrator Robert Casilla was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. Casilla studied at the School of Visual Arts in New York. He has illustrated a variety of biographies and various children’s books.
Sequential Art as Autobiographical Outlet for Everyone
By Robert Young, grad student MICA's MFA Illustration Practice, Fall 2013, Critical Seminar Final Paper. In 1954, the psychiatrist Frederic Wertham published a book called Seduction of the Innocent. This book described comic books as a detrimental element in American culture that lead to delinquency and stunted the literacy of American youth. His book and its
Degrees of Humanity: Anthropomorphism and its development in children’s book illustration
By Megan Jones, grad student MICA's MFA Illustration Practice, Fall 2013, Critical Seminar Final Paper. Everyone at one point or another in their lifetime has talked to their pet as if it was a person. We name them, groom them, let them live in our homes, and sometimes pamper them as if they were our children. As human
April 15
On this day, April 15, 2000, writer and illustrator Edward Gorey died in Hyannis, Massachusetts. Gorey studied French at Harvard University and for a semester at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His early work was illustrating book covers and sometimes interior illustrations. By 1953 he was writing and illustrating his own published work.
Winsor McCay: About Fame and the Enjoyment of Art
By Diana Flores Blazquez, grad student MICA's MFA Illustration Practice, Fall 2013, Critical Seminar Final Paper. Sometimes our work is the way we find to explore fantasy lives and unimaginable worlds. Artists can have a realistic grounded discourse that can express whatever they want to share with the world, but there is always the possibility and
April 14
On this day, April 14, 1920, illustrator and writer of science fiction, Morris Scott Dollens was born in Indiana. His creations include cover illustrations for sci fi books and magazines. Dollens began producing magazine illustrations in the 1950s.
Modern Comics: The Birth and Evolution of a New Medium of Storytelling
By Danny Torres, grad student MICA's MFA Illustration Practice, Fall 2013 Critical Seminar Final Paper. Pictorial images as a form of communication have existed since the dawn of man, from the cave paintings in Lascaux, to Egyptian hieroglyphics,the stone inscriptions of Mesoamerica. Sequential narrative is nothing new. This paper will provide an overview of the rise and impact
April 13
On this day, April 13, 2009, the world’s longest webcomic, Homestuck, officially begins. Written, drawn, and animated by Andrew Hussie, Homestuck is a complex construct of a hypertext fiction built on serialized visual storytelling.
April 12
On this day, April 12, 1973, writer and comic book illustrator J. Scott Campbell was born in East Tawas, Michigan. At the age of 15, Campbell entered and won the “Invent the Ultimate Video Game” contest run by Nintendo. Since then he is the artist and co-creator of Danger Girl and Gen.
April 11
On this day, April 11, 1941, illustrator Peter Caras was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Following advice from Norman Rockwell, Caras studied at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and at the Art Students League in New York. He has created of 1,700 book cover illustrations during his career.