ELCAF 2013

I had an amazing day yesterday attending the 2nd ELCAF event at York Hall in London! I got to see some great talks, like To publish or to self-publish: that is the question, Character design for comics, toys and animation and I was able to sneak into Matthew Hodson: poetry and pictures (although standing at the back and having bad hearing already, I could only get snatches of it. What I did hear was darkly hilarious though). I came out with a much better understanding about work processes and how difficult the commercial side of illustration can be, but what options are available. Also by hearing about the development of work and the artists' thoughts behind it, it really gave me a better appreciation of their work in general. Plus I saw two animation show reels by Not To Scale and Studio AKA that left me so pumped! Both seem to be trying to push narratives and animation and be original, but in a commercial setting.

As ELCAF is hosted by Nobrow, to celebrate the release of their new book The Burgermat Book by Gavin Lucas, there were lots of burger themed events running, like fake tattoos and a nail bar. Even the hand stamps were burger themed!

If this could stay on my hand forever, I would be happy

Overview from the stage

I'm glad I got there early as by 3pm it got super busy! Everyone there (on the tables and in the talks) was incredibly nice, although this only guilt tripped me into buying more from them! There was a perfect mix of well-known and emerging Illustrators so everyone had something new to discover (and something within their price range).

 

Street Kitchen were there as well serving appropriately named burgers

Lucy's Foghorn Leghorn burger (chicken, bacon, coleslaw & lettuce in a brioche bun)

I had the Butch Cassidy Burger made especially for ELCAF (cheeseburger, lettuce, red onions, mustard & salsa in a brioche bun).

Possibly the best and the messiest burger I have ever eaten

Wall painting as you walked in. ELCAF design by Andy Rementer

Lucy (who seemed to avoid me for most of the day)

Me with my wares

One of the best moments of the day was accidentally meeting Bernardo Carvalho at the Planeta Tangerina table when I bought Praia-Mar and getting my book signed!

I also got to see most of the Secret Walls drawing fight between Luke Pearson and Jack Teagle.

Everyone crowded round for the start of the fight

 Progress:

I had to leave at this point (about 3/4's of the way through), so I didn't get to see the finished wall. It would have been amazing to capture it being drawn as a Vine, but Lucy said no.

Everything I got from ELCAF (inside the tube is a Matthew Hodson screenprint)

Overall it was a fantastic event! The only downside was that the sound on the projector wasn't working in the morning, so the schedule got a bit messed up...and I probably spent too much money.