RECENT NEWS

-------------------------------------
NUTS AND BOLTS CONFERENCE JULY 10, 2010
The "Nuts and Bolts Conference" was held this weekend at The Society of Illustrators to provide attendees with real world information about how to seek out work in today's Illustration market. Speakers covered topics such as book publishing, self-promotion, how to protect one's work, and the do's and dont's of being a young illustrator. Among the speakers were Charles Hively, Nora Krug, Christopher Buzelli, Sean Qualls, Paul Hoppe, Aaron Meshon, Steven Tabutt and myself. A huge thank you to those who attended, making this first Nuts and Bolts conference a wonderful success!

-------------------------------------
T MINUS 20 JULY 8, 2010
Here are some photos from the reception of the Tshirt themed show at Christopher Henry Gallery last Thursday, July 8th. It was a grand turnout with a lot of playful, bold and colourful work on display. Many thanks to everyone for attending the event, and for making this a fun summer show!

-------------------------------------
T MINUS 20, JUL 8 - AUG 1, 2010
I will be in a group show called T Minus 20, organized by Ignite, in coordination with Christopher Henry Gallery, in New York City. 20 artists were asked to use the Tshirt as their inspiraton for their piece. The show will feature the work from artists such as Fernanda Cohen, Olek, Scooter Laforge, and Christopher Lee Sauvé on the main floor, and on the upstairs level will be video art. I'm also trying to get some tshirts made to sell for the event (fingers crossed!)
Reception is on Thursday, July 8, 6-9pm; 127 Elizabeth Street, between Broome and Grande in Nolita.
(Left: Detail from my drawing, "Machoman.")

-------------------------------------
BOOKS! BOOKS! BOOKS! JUNE 2010
Here's a list of some books that my work has been recently published in; some contain images and interviews. I'll make sure to upload some pages from each one which includes the text in the coming weeks (it will be located under PRESS on my top-menu bar).
From top to bottom: Fashion Illustrator, by Bethan Morris - in it I demonstrate and discuss my process using Adobe Illustrator, and Photoshop to create my illustrations; Art Box, New Illustrators File Volume 8, highlights mostly illustrators from Japan as well as a new section dedicated to illustrators outside (of Japan), the book was accompanied by a launch in Tokyo at the Art Box Gallery; Babyboss, is a magazine from Indonesia that features illustration, graphic design and urban art from around the world; Drawing Inspiration, by Michael Fleishman, compiles the work and processes of some of the industry's most renowned illustrators into a visual artist's reference aid to illustration.

-------------------------------------
H.O.W. JOURNAL FUNDRAISER, MAY 6 2010
Here are some photos of the Wearable Literature Tshirts that I did for H.O.W. Journal's Spring Fundraiser on May 6. Also shown below was a tshirt designed by Dave Eggers (the yellow one with the red aardvark). The tshirts were a collaboration between myself and the authors Rick Moody, Honor Moore, Amy Hemple, and Jonathan Ames. It was a wonderful and intimate night filled with art, and readings, and drinks and hors d'oeuvres. All the proceeds raised for the event went to Helping Orphans Worldwide. Many thanks to all those who came out to support the event.

-------------------------------------
AMERICAN ILLUSTRATION 29, MAY 2010
Here are the pieces that got selected to appear in American Illustration's Award Annual 29. Congratulations to all of the winners!

-------------------------------------
NEW WORK, 2010
Left to right: Illustration about "children and autism" for MIT's Technology Review; "The Rainbow Family," for Annabelle magazine, is about a Lesbian couple's struggle to have a child together in Switzerland, although it is illegal for same sex couples to do so; Cover for The Atlantic's "Spring Fiction" issue; Tween book cover "Unfamiliar Magic," published by Random House; Feature story for New York Magazine about the story of the aftermath of Steve and Patricia's Cohen's divorce.


I was asked to help select the Senior Illustration Students' work for the Fashion Institute of Technology's Annual Student Exhibition. Congratulations to all those who were chosen to exhibit their work in the show and a special acknowledgement to my intern David Gonzalez for winning FIT's Illustration Bronze medal, and having 3 pieces in the exhibition.

-------------------------------------
F.I.T. LECTURE, March 24, 2010
Many thanks to all of those who showed up for the lecture that I was a part of entitled, "How I Got My First Job," at the Fashion Institute of Technology. I shared the floor with some extreme talents such as my good friends Yuko Shimizu, and Fernanda Cohen, and also Zina Saunders and Fred Harper. For those of you who attended, I hope you enjoyed and benefitted from the talk somehow. I personally had such a good time listening to everyone's stories and chatting with some of the students after the talk was over. A huge thank you to Heidi Younger, and to Karen Santry for inviting me to speak and for organizing the event. And of course, thank you to F.I.T.

-------------------------------------
H.O.W. JOURNAL FUNDRAISER, MAY 6 2010
Wearable Literature is a new line of t-shirts that I designed,incorporating the literature of Jonathan Ames, Amy Hempel, Rick Moody & Honor Moore. In addition will be an exclusive tshirt designed by Dave Eggers. It will premiere at HOW's spring fundraiser on Thu. May 6th, which will include a silent auction, readings, and musical performances. All proceeds will go towards Helping Orphans Worldwide. Please purchase tickets in advance online at www.howjournal.com. The fundraiser is located at a private loft in Tribeca at 112 Franklin Street, 4th Floor, 7:00-10:00pm. Btw, Props to my good friend Fernanda Cohen for doing such a bad-ass cover!

-------------------------------------
TUTORMILL.COM, FEB 15 2010
As of yesterday, Tutormill.com is up and running. This was a sight conceived and develped by Gary Taxali, Thomas Fuchs, and Robert Zimmerman. It will allow anyone who is interested in learning more about illustration to be able to enrol in a course taught by various instructors such as Yuko Shimizu, Nathan Fox, Edel Rodriguez, Monika Aichele, and myself to name a few. The duration of the courses offered are either 3 or 6 weeks long. Log onto to Tutormill.com to find out more information.

-------------------------------------
FITC ON ADOBE TV
Here's a direct link to my talk at FITC in Toronto last April 2009. I was invited to speak at FITC's conference which was devoted to Flash, moving image, motion and interarctive art and design. I wrote briefly about my experience on my blog, and you can find it a few news items below this under FITC; however this is a direct link to my lecture on the Adobe TV website.
I was very surprised and flattered that I was invited to speak at this 3 day conference, as well as on a panel with fine artist, Camille Utterback, Jared Ficklin (Frog Design), Dr. Whohoo, Shaun Hamontree (MK12), and Craig Swann (who moderated this discussion) because my work, although mostly done digitally, has no motion component. Still, I tried my best to speak moreso about my process, not necesarily focusing on a how-to method of creating my illustrations using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, but rather sharing my portfolio and revealing some my thoughts and experiences which are related to my studio practice, and how my work has evolved over the last 9 years.

-------------------------------------
ZAZZLE and ARTSPROJECKT, JAN 06 2010
My t-shirt on the left, entitled "Chesty McNasty" just got voted "Today's Best" on Zazzle.com.
Actually this design began as a personal project for a friend's friend who was having her first baby. It was originally done as a baby's "Onesie" bodysuit using the Print Goco machine (I can't believe that they they're no longer being manufactured!); however i knew that it wouldn't lay to rest for too long. Leave it to an asian male to have a body hair obsession. Oh, and yes, if you check out my store at Artsprojekt, there are "Chesty McNasty" Onesies available too. Ha!

-------------------------------------
ARTSPROJECKT, JAN 2010
Did I mention in my blog that 2010 would be the year for "the other side of the-pancake?"... or was that last year?
Either way, I decided to switch things up a bit and start placing my images on T-shirts (and possibly other surfaces). You will find my first attempts at doing this on Artsprojekt.com where I have tried my best to post up some images of mine that I thought would translate well into a T-shirt format. So click on the icon on the left to SHOP SHOP SHOP! I hope you like them!

-------------------------------------
3x3 NO. 6, JAN 2010
This year some of my illustrations were chosen to appear in 3x3's Illustration Annual. Below are 2 samples; the one on the left was done for The New York Times Magazine, and the one on the right was commisioned by Play.

-------------------------------------
ILLUSIVE 3, NOV 2009
Illusive 3 is in bookstores! It's published by Die Gestalten Verlag and is a follow-up to Illusive 2, which is a collection of contemporary illustrations from around the world.

-------------------------------------
AMERICAN ILLUSTRATION 28, NOV 2009
This year, two of my pieces (shown below) were chosen to appear in the American Illustration Annual 28. The one on the left, titled Girl Gaming, was done for Anne Harvey at Pace Communications, for Delta Sky Magazine. The one on the right was commissioned by Annette Keller for Annabelle magazine in Switzerland; the concept is The Patchwork Family. Congratulations to all the Illustrators whose work were "chosen" and "selected" to appear in this year's annual book, as well as on the ai-ap website. The gorgeous cover illustration was done by my friend John Hendrix.

-------------------------------------
IMAGINING MOZAMBIQUE, SEP 2009 - TBA
I am currently in a group poster show entitled, Imagining Mozambique. This is a traveling fundraising exhibition for the ASEM, a charity that raises funds and awareness for the children of Mozambique, Africa who have been displaced for decades by civil war. The show premiered in Amsterdam in Sep 2009, at Maxalot Gallery, then traveled to Mass Market Gallery, in NYC, and will exhibit in Portland, Oregon in Jan 2010, and then to Vancouver, Canada in March. Some of the other artists who are participating are Parra, Balint Zsako, Catalina Estrada, and Mat Maitland.

KOKESHI AT THE JAPANESE AMERICAN NATIONAL MUSEUM
From July 11 through October 4, 2009 is the exhibition, Kokeshi From Folk Art to Art Toy, at the Japanese American National Museum. Curated by Christina Conway, it features over 100 artists from around the world. Amongst the contributors were Stella Im Hultberg and Tara McPherson, The piece that I created appears on the left... and yes, it does look like my best friend; the genius illustrator, Yuko Shimizu. Ha!

DECOB AT ZAKKA, IN BROOKLYN JUN 13 2009
On Jun 13, 6pm, I will be at Zakka in Dumbo, Brooklyn for Decob's Bag Signing, along with the talented Illustrator, Yoko Furusho. Decob are ECO bags made from artists around the world. The bags have been presented in exhibitions in Toronto, Tokyo, Osaka, London, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and New York. Please stop by Zakka to purchase a bag. Zakka is located at 155 Plymouth Street between Jay & Pearl St in Dumbo. Hope to see you!

-------------------------------------
FITC TORONTO, APR 2009
I just got back from FITC Toronto, which is a design and technology event, where I spent 4 days with some of the most intelligent and creative minds working in the indurstry or Flash, motion graphics, moving image, sound, and interactive art and design. It was an incredible experience to say the least. You can view my entire lecture at FITC's Media Room (fitc.ca/media); it's about an hour long and I share my process, the critical issues in my studio and also talk a bit about where my work is heading. Scroll down under "FITC Toronto 2009 Videos" to locate my presentation; it's entitled, Pretty Pictures.
Thanks in advance for taking the time to veiw it, and hopefully you will enjoy it as well.

-------------------------------------
INQ MOBILE HANDSETS 2008
Hutchison Whampoa Limited created new packaging for the release of their new INQ mobile (phone) handsets. Several artists were invited to submit illustrations for instructional card inserts, as well as for the packaging. I was among several of the artists who whose work was featured, as was my best friend and brilliant illustrator Yuko Shimizu, as well as children's book illustrator, and also another friend of mine, Sara Varon. To launch INQ, was an exhibition, as shown below, of some of the artists' work who participated in this project.

-------------------------------------
DAMSEL, MAR 2009
I have an interview n this month's issue of Damsel, which is a fashion, culture and beauty magazine for women. Please check out their gallery on the website to veiw my work as well. Many thanks to Nicole for making this happen.

To veiw the article, CLICK HERE.
Enjoy!

-------------------------------------
COMPUTER ARTS UK MAGAZINE, JAN 2009
What a great start to the New Year with an interview in Computer Arts UK Magazine! Computer Arts features the work of graphic designers and illustrators; with interviews, competitions, tutorials and free download.
To veiw article, CLICK HERE.
Thanks!

-------------------------------------
H.O.W., FALL AND WINTER 2008
Read my interview with Alison Weaver in H.O.W. Journal (Helping Orphans Worldwide). H.O.W. Journal is an art and literary journal that publishes an ecelctic mix of today's prominent writers and artists alongside upcoming talents.
To view article, CLICK HERE.

Weaver, Alison. "An Interview with Marcos Chin."H.O.W., An Art and Literary Journal 116-129 Issue 3 - Fall/Winter 2008.

-------------------------------------
DPI
I have an 8 page feature interview in Taiwan's DPI Magazine! Brilliant cover illustration by Yoko Furusho.

To view article, CLICK HERE.

-------------------------------------
SOCIETY OF ILLUSTRATORS LECTURE + WORKSHOP SERIES, OCT 2008
Thank you so much to everyone who attended my workshop last Wednesday at The Society of Illustrators, in New York City. It was an almost sold out event, which was awesome! Also, a big thank you to Fernanda Cohen who coordinated the workshop, as well as to the Executive Director of The Society, Anelle Miller for championing the event, and Tom and Kate who made sure that everything ran smoothly. This is the photo that I took at the very end of the workshop (I told you that I would post it on my website!) Again, much good luck to everyone in their illustrative pursuits -- I hope this was a good 2 hours of your time and money spent. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

-------------------------------------
JUXTAPOZ, OCT 2008
Here's my profile in Juxtapoz's October 2008 issue.