The Chronicle stops the presses- Play offers new twist on classic story
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Graduate student channels classic horror in thesis film - Alumnus creates mobile gallery
- SCAD libraries hold artist’s book competition for students
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- Noted author speaks to students
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- Personnel File: New staff members join SCAD-Savannah
- SCAD hosts regional IDSA conference
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- The Bee Line
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- Athlete Feats highlights for Feb. 22
- Baseball takes series from St. Thomas
- Women’s basketball wraps up second place in Florida Sun
- Athletics updates for Feb. 15
- Baseball off to best start in program’s history
- Big third period leads lacrosse team to victory
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Class in the Spotlight
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Book illustration class offers both framework and freedom
 Photo by Ben Dashwood SCAD-Atlanta illustration professor Jay Montgomery (right) draws on his own book illustration experience to provide realistic guidelines and specifications to his students. By Monique Bos Published: Friday, March 7, 2008 The recent Atlanta Art Forum brought book illustrators and comics artists to SCAD-Atlanta to speak with students and review their work. And Jay Montgomery, who teaches Book Illustration I, encouraged his students to attend the event. “I recommended that they go to it; I thought it was very important,” he said. “It was very enlightening … and the artists were a good mix. It was very well-received and very well-attended — just wonderful.” Many students took advantage of the forum, he said, which is in keeping with his assessment of his students as diligent and motivated. “I think they’re all hard workers; they’re eager to learn and they want to do well,” he said of the seven students in his Book Illustration I course. “The cool thing about these electives is that they chose to take them, so they already had a passion for it to begin with, which really helps.” Through a series of assignments, Montgomery seeks to provide students with both a realistic framework for book illustration and with some freedom to select subject matter that interests them. “I try to gear all the assignments to allow students to enjoy the topics and subject matter, because I think that makes a big difference in how their work comes out,” he explained. “I try to give them as much flexibility as possible, but at the same time give them specific parameters that they might have to deal with in a real-world job. There are limitations like specs and size. I treat the work like I’m the art director and they’re the illustrator, and I tell them what an art director might say.” The first assignment was a three-page black-and-white illustration. “They got to pick the book — it could be a book they had already read, or a book they’d been wanting to read, or something about a topic they wanted to learn more about,” said Montgomery. For another assignment, students had to create an illustrated map that could be included in a book. They chose the area they wanted to depict — a neighborhood, town, state, even a fictional location — but had to provide accurate detail and be informative. “They had to put it in the context of a book, so size was restricted to 11-by-17 inches, and they had to include a gutter fold in the middle,” Montgomery said. “It can get very complicated, but they really got into it and did a good job.” For their textbook illustration project, he allowed students the latitude to select the type of illustration — such as realistic or cartoon-like — and the subject matter, subject to approval. He emphasized that their illustrations had to tie into the broader format of the textbook, and that the content might differ from other work they’ve done. “They had to figure out how to incorporate their illustration into the textbook and make it more informational, rather than conceptual, editorial or artistic,” Montgomery explained. “They had to break down the concept to pure information, just for educational purposes.” He said that the skills students developed in the textbook illustration project also would be useful for other types of publications, such as encyclopedias and informational books. The final project for the quarter is a die-cut cover and wraparound for a book, “The Big Brain Workout.” Montgomery chose that particular volume both because it allows students flexibility in their approach, and because it presents unique challenges. “It’s a bunch of puzzles, brain teasers and illusions. I thought it was a good book to use, because a wide variety of different styles can be applied to it,” he explained. “The students can create very technical, mechanical, hard-edged [graphics] on a computer, or they can make their work more illustrative and use quills, acrylics or watercolors.” They also have to work within specific guidelines for both content and format. “The main idea is to figure out how to conceptually hone in on a simplified idea about the book. Without showing everything, they have to explore how to simplify all the puzzles into one cohesive cover,” Montgomery said. “They also have to save room for text.” Students also had to write a report about a book illustrator and present their research to the class in PowerPoint. “It was enlightening for everybody to get to see all the different types of book illustrations out there,” said Montgomery. With an impressive résumé of his own book illustration credits, he certainly has knowledge of how the field operates — both the ways in which book illustrators have freedom and the ways in which they are constrained by format. He also believes that when students can choose topics that interest them, they produce better work — and that helps them showcase their skills when they look for employment. He explained, “I try to make the assignments in this class and most of my classes flexible enough that they can pick subject matter that appeals to them, which makes the projects much more fun and much better for portfolio pieces.” Check back after March 17 to read about some of Montgomery’s own book illustration projects. View his work. Friday, March 7, 2008 - Book illustration class offers both framework and freedom
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