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This reporter has learned through reliable sources, on deep background, and totally off the record that *wink wink*, a certain Matt Groening will be Lynda Barry’s ”super secret, special guest” for the Friday night Artist as Cartoonist keynote at this year’s ICON7, The  Illustration Conference.  I can also report that Ms. Barry and Mr. Groening go way back, meeting at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA in the 1970′s. Maybe they’ll talk about that, maybe they won’t. I don’t know. You’ll have to show up and do your own reportage. And please, whatever you do don’t tell anyone on Twitter or Facebook you heard it from me. Tell them you heard it on TMZ or something.

This much I can tell you, ICON7 will take place in a place called Providence, RI on June 13-16, 2012.

Illustration Age, the ultimate source for what’s happening in Illustration, was just named one of HOW Magazine’s Top 10 Sites for Designers! This marks the EFII Network’s second award in this category, with a previous nod to Escape from Illustration Island.

Thanks very much to HOW Magazine for recognizing our commitment to keeping you up to date with what’s happening in Illustration.

Be sure to take advantage of regular updates from Illustration Age so you don’t miss out:

As we prepare for the highly-anticipated return of the Escape from Illustration Island Podcast, we thought it would be fun to take a look back at 3 episodes that strayed from the traditional format. So, if you’re in the mood for a little something different, give a listen to what we call the ‘Bizarro’ episodes:

Episode 45 – When Things Go Wrong

Episode 74 – Illustration Intermission

Episode 76 – Greatest Hits Volume 1

Last week, we announced the creation of the new EFII Team, as the next step towards making the EFII Network (Escape from Illustration Island, Illustration Age, etc.) the premier resource for Illustrators, Art Directors, and other creative professionals. Today, we’d like to welcome 2 new fellow Illustrators who are joining the team as Assistant Editors:

Marc Scheff

Marc Scheff is an illustrator whose work has appeared in publications and software including Spectrum, ImagineFX, Corel Painter 11 & 12, The Gorilla Art Fare Art Book, and more. Marc recently co-founded Awesome Horse Studios, the free livestream demo/crit channel. He has also spent the last few years making pretty things at game shops like EA and Gameloft. See and learn more at: www.marcscheff.com

Michael Byers

Michael Byers is a freelance illustrator living in Guelph, Ontario with his fiance and two cats. He spends most of his time in his studio creating whimsical images for editorial and advertising clients. He loves to draw, drink coffee, and collaborate with other illustrators, art directors, art buyers, and anyone else who loves to create. – michaelbyers.ca

Thanks to Marc and Michael for joining the team!

Hey fellow Illustrators!

I’m very excited to announce that the EFII Network (Escape from Illustration Island, Illustration Age, etc.) is taking the first steps towards being a group-run effort. I’m not only relieved to share the reins after more than 2 years of running the show almost entirely by myself, but also eager and grateful for the chance to welcome some new perspectives to our growing network of resources for Illustrators.

The best part is, this move will help to ensure the EFII Network as a sustainable source of inspiration for years to come.

Here’s a look at the current EFII crew:

Thomas James – Editor/Art Director

Thomas James is an Illustrator whose work has appeared  in The Los Angeles Times, Seven Days, The City Paper, The Chicago Reader, The Portland Mercury, and many others, and has been recognized by American Illustration. He is also the Editor/Art Director of the popular Illustration website and podcast, Escape from Illustration Island, and is proud to serve on the Board of Directors for the ICON Illustration Conference.

Kelly Weed Stanley – Assistant Editor

Kelly is a freelance Illustrator whose work has been recognized by the Society of Illustrators and showcased in a number of galleries around Utah. Some of Kelly’s current clients are the stores Flora and Crafty Wonderland in Portland, Oregon.

Marjolein Caljouw – Assistant Editor

Marjolein Caljouw is an illustrator/artist. She helps people who need illustrations for magazines, books, apps, etc. but also makes (wall)paintings with acrylics and oilpaint. Visit her website here: http://www.marjoleincaljouw.nl/

Mark Kaufman – Assistant Editor

Long story short. Mark Kaufman is a partner at Vivitiv, an issue oriented design firm based in Seattle. His illustrations have appeared in publications nationwide including The New York Times, The Progressive, The Stranger, and The Oxford American. – drawmark.com

Thanks to these fine folks for helping to make the EFII Network a reliable (and growing) resource, and thanks to YOU, our fellow artists

Hey Illustrators!

It’s time for Escape from Illustration Island’s overdue results on our recent giveaway of 3 Lifetime Premium accounts on Dripbook!

Thanks to around 200 Illustrators who enthusiastically entered to win this great prize, and thanks also to Alex Wright of Dripbook for this generous donation and for their continued and strong support of the Illustration community.

The 3 lucky winners of EFII’s Dripbook Giveaway are:

Mikela Provost

Matthew Billington

Sarah Palisi

We’ll be in contact with the winners to get you set up with your new Dripbook account! Woohoo!

ICON is pleased to announce the dates and location of the 7th International Illustration Conference! Mark your calendars and join us for the premiere Illustration event of the year. 

As many of you know, Escape from Illustration Island traveled to last year’s ICON6 Illustration Conference to bring you lots of great audio and video coverage of the event, which you can still enjoy here.

One fantastic result of that adventure was that EFII’s Editor, Thomas James, is fortunate to be serving on the board of directors for ICON7. Things have been happening behind the scenes, and we’ve been eager to share some of the details of next year’s event.

The good news is, the dates and location for ICON7 have been officially announced:

June 13-16, 2012
Renaissance Hotel
Providence, Rhode Island

For registration, speaker updates, and other juicy tidbits, go here.

Stay up-to-date with future Illustration resources via email, Facebook, and Twitter.