St. Louis Mini Con Reminder

I thought I’d post some additional info and a reminder about the National Caricaturist Network mini convention happening March 2nd through the 5th at the Drury Inn & Suites in St. Louis, MO. The early bird registration fee deal of only $50.00 ends on January 1st, so you have about two weeks to register to save some money.As I previously posted, I will be the main speaker at the event along with a number of other guest speakers and several mini-workshops. I will be doing a powerpoint presentation that will include work from live caricature, illustration and from MAD as well as details about my techniques and process, info about freelancing in general and what it’s like to work for MAD. There will be plenty of time for Q&A.

I’ll also be conducting a workshop on dip pen and brush inking. It will consist of taking the class through the drawing and inking of a caricature illustration from provided photo reference. We’ll work with dip pens and brush, and we might even do some washes. Materials can be purchased on site, but you must specify that you’ll be wanting to do that at the time you register so we can get an accurate count of the number of supplies we need. You can bring your own supplies as well. Here’s the list of supplies we’ll have at the workshop:

• Board: 15?¬¢‚Äö?ᬮ¬¨? x 22?¬¢‚Äö?ᬮ¬¨? Strathmore 4 ply vellum Bristol
• Ink: Pelikan’s Drawing Ink A
• Nib: Gillott 303 (2)
• Brush: #2 Synthetic Sable Watercolor Brush
• Holder: Universal Acrylic Holder

The cost of materials is $17.00. The workshop is included in your registration fee.

Illustrators Ed Steckley and Court Jones will also be conducting seminars:

• Ed Steckley – The Psychology of Caricature
• Court Jones- Digital Caricature Illustration in PhotoShop

There have also been several mini-workshops added recenty, which will include:

• Chalk and Glove Color Technique – Eve Myles
• Working the Crowd – Buddy Rose
• Guerilla Marketing – Kyle Edgel
• Scratchboard Portraits – Deanna Nash

Of course there will be lots of time for the “competition room”, where participants set up shop and draw each other all day and all night… hanging up the resulting caricatures in their competition spaces. It’s really quite amazing to see all this terrific caricature art all over the walls by the end of the event.

If you are a caricaturist and have not been to one of these official NCN events you owe it to yourself to attend one. It’s quite a learning experience and a serious jolt of creative energy. There is a lot to offer cartoonists and illustrators as well. You DO NOT have to be an NCN member to attend.

After January 1st registration fees will be $60.00. The room rates at the Drury are also quite reasonable. Go to the official St. Louis NCN Chapter website for more details and to sign up.

I hope to see you there!