Mors International Book Illustration Festival. Mors International Book Illustration Festival Mors Book Festival
The Mors book illustration festival has been held for the fourth year in a row and gathers illustrators, publishers, art professors, authors and colleagues from related fields (animation, for example). Every year the festival becomes bigger, richer and more interesting. This year, the exhibition featured the work of 118 illustrators, lectures were given by 80 speakers and representatives of 12 publishing houses were present. The illustrators held master classes and sold merchandise at the market, where everyone could participate (by appointment).
This year, I became one of 118 illustrators whose work was shown at the exhibition and printed in the catalog, which the organizers distribute to publishers, magazines and sell at the festival. Last year I also tried my luck, but failed. There were several reasons for this. I submitted 5 works from two different series. Even then I realized that this was a bad decision. The selected drawings were created in a different style and did not look at the same stand. Simply put, by that time I had problems with defining my own style (voice) and I decided to show everything that I can. Don't do it.
The exhibition accepts from 3 to 6 works. Think in series. Think in spreads, book and text. Let the work be less, but the quality is higher. Do not send a few additional works "for quantity". Illustrations can be both for an already published book, and for your author's (not yet printed). Perhaps at the festival you will find a publisher for the author's project.
I had a year to come up with a project, create illustrations. Of course, not everyone needs that much time, but my path is thorny. I had little idea of myself as a book illustrator and did not know in which direction to move. The good news is that you can grow up really well in a year.
Works are accepted within several months (summer-autumn). Subscribe to Instagram And public in Vkontakte festival "Morse" and stay tuned for the next competition. All illustrations are printed by the organizers of the exhibition. You can live on the other side of the world and still become an exhibitor.
If you didn't pass the competition, don't be discouraged. It's a great experience. Participate in parallel competitions (poster competition, illustrations for fairy tales, and others). My poster, for example, did not pass this year.
But even if your work was not chosen, the poster too, come anyway. Your work may be of interest to publishers at reviews. All three days, Russian (and not only) publishing houses arranged reviews and said whether your style suits them or not.
How to prepare for the show
Viewing times are indicated in the schedule. Recording takes place every day and begins with the opening of the festival. You can't enroll a girlfriend or friend. You must attend in person. And, as a rule, 10 minutes after the opening, the entry is closed. Some artists came for an hour and a half to get into the coveted list. The good news was that the publishers were willing to sit an extra hour and look at the work of those who did not have time to sign up. I talked to representatives of 5 or 6 publishing houses without getting into any official list. A little persistence and voila. Be sure to check out the publishers. No matter how great the work is, if it doesn't match the style of the publisher, you will be rejected (politely and meekly).
I know how rejection hurts artists. But try to analyze the situation. If a publishing house prints exclusively digital illustrations in educational books, and you come with a book made in ink with deep existential overtones, then a refusal is inevitable.
IN Instagram I wrote about a misunderstanding with the Czech publishing house Meander, but I will repeat this story here. She is funny and poignant. I didn’t have time to sign up for the review, and I didn’t get acquainted with the assortment of the publishing house, but I decided to try my luck. I went to the office, and I was immediately taken into circulation. The volunteer pushed me into the office with the words: "Come in faster." And I went. Having finally become insolent, I was the third to show my work and received an ambiguous comment: “Children will like your illustrations, but they will not last forever. Look at these cute little faces, pink cheeks and noses, it was all there. It's too cute! We want something we haven't seen yet." This review didn't bother me. Rather amused, I realized that I had knocked on the wrong door. After that, I got acquainted with the stand of the publishing house and realized that they love conceptual art. I'm not even sure that their target audience is children.
What do you think Russian publishing houses told me? “What a cute face!”, “What wonderful characters!” Well, you understand, you need to knock where they are waiting for you.
You are more likely to be liked by a publisher if you have book projects. I noticed that many illustrators came with their own books. Some of them were published independently, others - in publishing houses. I felt a little strange with a pdf portfolio. Those who did not want to spend money on binding printed separate sheets.
But soon I realized that a Pdf-portfolio is not the worst option, and I was no longer embarrassed by the lack of a printed book. I selected 15 best works in different styles. Yes Yes. It was mostly a collage, but I included both watercolor illustrations for a toddler book and digital illustrations for an example that I can work with.
Some artists brought originals and it looked great too! For example, you show a printed book and the original. Sometimes they produce different impressions.
Print business cards, postcards or mini-portfolios. I printed 40 postcards to give out instead of business cards. On the back side, I indicated my social networks and mail. You can find the site by name. After the festival, two postcards were left on hand. In interviews with American art directors, I learned that postcards still work. Publishing houses (at least in America) receive postcards from artists regularly. Some of the publishers and art directors hang postcards on a chalkboard above their desk, and sometimes the drawings catch my eye at just the right moment.
I have seen some illustrators print mini portfolios on thin coated paper. Someone printed bookmarks or traditional business cards.
Just as important, prepare your speech. If you managed to sign up for the main list, then you have 5 minutes to charm the publisher. If they didn't, even less. The sooner you say the most important thing, the better.
At a lecture by the MIF publishing house, its representatives said that if there are two cool artists in front of them, but one has more experience working with publishing houses, then preference will be given to him. Less risk. So if you've been in print before, talk about it first. If not, then find the strengths and voice them to the publisher; you know how to prepare works for printing, know the basics of layout, compose poetry, write non-fiction books, work in different styles and genres, you have a large audience on social networks - all this can play a decisive role. Think about it ahead of time.
While you are standing in line for the review, insanely interesting lectures are being read in the lecture halls. You shed hot tears, but you cannot leave.
Therefore, if you feel that you are not yet ripe for work with a publishing house, enjoy the lectures. I still could not resist and listened to several speakers. The Dutch artist Floor Rieder, who illustrated Alice in Wonderland, fascinated and fell in love with herself. I simply could not leave the lecture, so when it ended, I rushed to the second floor like an arrow to catch the representative of the Swing publishing house. I managed to hand over the postcards, tell which publishers I worked with and rush back to the autograph session with Floor, whom I also handed the postcards to.
And yet! Also, get to know your colleagues! I spent the past year shifting from foot to foot in nooks and crannies. I was shy, embarrassed, I saw familiar faces and did not fit. Nobody knew me then, and I was wildly embarrassed about it. Was stupid. This time it was different. I got acquainted, approached and gave cards, joined large companies and joined the conversation. I met in queues at the entrance, at a review, at lectures, in the crowd at the market or at the cafeteria. Don't be shy and approach those you know, follow on social media. I have developed virtualization with many artists, and I am endlessly glad for this. The Internet does not deprive live communication, it gives it, brings new acquaintances, friends, useful contacts. It just takes a little courage, and you might have a new friend or two.
Good luck next year! We will meet for sure!
P.S. Sorry I can't show any photos. I was so engrossed in everything that was happening that I forgot about the camera! Come to the public "Morsa"!
P.P.S. October 20, Saturday. There will be “Inside out. Mors"
Closing of the festival of book illustration and visual literature "Mors" 2018.
Sometimes it is very curious how an illustration is born.
The way of its creation: from an idea and a sketch to a finished picture. The illustrators participating in the Mors 2018 festival sent sketches and drafts to their works. It turned out to be a very interesting exposition - the wrong side of the illustrations, which can be seen at the Vernissage site, on October 20 from 12:00 to 20:00.
All detailed information on
Information
Mors Children's Book Illustration Festival was organized in 2015. Its main goal is to draw attention to the artistic appearance of children's books, to acquaint the public with the work of contemporary illustrators.
The festival takes place in Moscow at Artplay and brings together leading children's publishers, illustrators and artists, writers and book illustration experts under one roof. Last year, more than 150 illustrators from Russia, Italy, Spain, England, America, Romania and other countries took part in the festival.
In addition to the exhibition itself with the works of book illustrators, an educational platform was opened at the event with lectures on child psychology, copyright, book publishing, typography and illustration; there is a library where master classes and workshops are held; books, author's postcards, souvenirs and posters with illustrations of participants are on sale. Within the framework of the festival, various competitions are held - for example, a poster competition.
Following the results of the festival, a catalog is issued, which presents the works of all participants.
You can follow the news about the festival
Story
Program of the III Moscow Festival of book illustrations "Mors"
15:10-15:35
Presentation of the competition for young illustrators named after Katya Silina
Museum of the History of Russian Literature. IN AND. Dalia
15:40-16:30
Lecture "Important platitudes"
Let's talk about important things that illustrators often overlook, about the importance of getting into the text, customer requirements, deadlines and laziness
Julia Blucher - artist, illustrator, teacher
16:00-17:10
Master class "Lithography for children"
Studio "Weekend Tale" at the Museum of the History of Russian Literature. IN AND. Dalia
Conducted by museum teachers, researchers Anastasia Danovskaya and Anastasia Tikhonova
16:40-17:30
Lecture "What is Silent books / Silent books"
Olga Miaoets - Head of the Department of Children's Books and Children's Programs at the M.I. Rudomino Library of Foreign Literature, translator, specialist in children's literature and children's book illustration
17:20-18:20
Master class "Reflected in the sky", project "Astrobook"
At the master class, we will make a bookmark in the style of scratching, talk about the stars and constellations, play the game "Remember the Zodiac"
17:40-18:40
Meeting with artist Igor Oleinikov
"Illustrator. Illustration and Animation»
18:50-19:50
Lecture "Ideas in illustration"
Ilya Mitroshin (Mitt Roshin) - illustrator
20:00-21:00
Selected cartoons from the program of the festival "Insomnia - 2017"
10:45-12:30
Lecture "On Graphic Materials and Techniques"
Dmitry Gorelyshev - graphic artist, teacher, illustrator, designer
11:15-12:15
Presenter Alexey Kapninsky - illustrator, cartoonist
12:30-13:30
Ridero Publishing Service Workshop "Self-Publishing Opportunities for Book Designers and Illustrators"
Ridero Leading Art Director Daria Prokuda
12:40-14:10
Lecture "On the magic of chance in book illustration"
Stefanie Harjes (Stefanie Harjes) - German illustrator, teacher at the Hamburg Higher School of Art
13:45-14:30
"Picture books - children choose, parents buy"
About book illustration that children like and parents don't like
Irina Rocheva, owner of the Korney Ivanovich children's bookstore and program director of the LiteraTula book festival, tells
14:00 - 15:45
"Drawing from nature"
Costumed production
14:25-15:40
Lecture "I am not a mug: a lecture in the form of comics for illustrators and authors"
Communication with the customer, project management, copyright
Zina and Philip Surov share their experience
14:45-15:50
Master class "Designing children's history books - how to select illustrations, reproductions, photos"
Leading illustrator Inna Bagaeva, Walk to History publishing house
15:50-16:40
Lecture "Why does an e-book need a living artist?"
Elena Gerchuk - graphic artist, teacher, illustrator, designer
16:50-17:40
Lecture "How not to spoil the illustration with letters"
Alina Ipatova - calligrapher and type designer, teacher at U0026 studio
17:10-18:10
Interactive lecture "How to choose a book that a child will like?"
From the Organization of Professional Reading Mentors Bookguide.org
17:50-18:40
Lecture "Shadow animation"
Frédérique Bertrand and Michaël Leblond
18:30-20:00
Master class "Diatypia"
Daria Klimas - teacher of the hand-printing workshop of the Quick Drawing Mug.
Maximum number of people 12, registration at the Festival, at the information desk
18:45-19:55
Lecture "Expressive means and spatial solutions in the modern theater"
Polina Bakhtina - theater designer, stage designer, illustrator
18:50-19:50
Master class on shadow animation
Frédérique Bertrand and Michaël Leblond (Frédéric Bertrand and Mikael Leblond), authors and illustrators of the legendary book Pajamarama, will tell and show the secrets of shadow animation
Maximum number of people 12, registration at the information desk of the Festival
20:00-21:00
The performance "Waffle Heart", based on the best-selling book by the Norwegian writer Maria Parr, translated by Olga Drobot
"Creative Union 9"
11:15 - 12:15
Reading and drawing with Artur Givargizov
11:55-13:15
Lecture “Czech illustration. The legendary publishing house "Baobab" and Tabook Festival"
Tereza Říčanová (Tereza Rzhichanova) - Czech illustrator, writer
12:30-14:00
Master class "Sketches"
Presenter Anastasia Smirnova - illustrator, teacher of the Azbuka Morsa studio. Maximum number of people 12, registration at the information desk of the Festival
13:25-14:25
Lecture "Polish Poster School"
Serov Sergey Ivanovich – Candidate of Art History, Professor, Head of the Department of the RANEPA Design School, Vice-President of the Academy of Graphic Design, President of the Golden Bee Moscow International Biennale of Graphic Design
14:10-15:10
Master class from the publishing house "CompassGuide"
Presenter Irina Petelina - illustrator
14:35-15:25
Lecture "Graphic reporting"
Victoria Lomasko - Russian artist, author of graphic books "Forbidden Art" and "Other Russias"
15:20-16:20
Master class "Lighthouses", based on the book "How the Lighthouse Works" by the publishing house "Scooter"
Conducted by illustrator Roman Belyaev
15:45-16:45
Lecture block: Mikhail Sorkin “Work on a series of illustrations, “The History of a City” M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin”, Petr Perevezentsev “Journal. Associative illustration»
Mikhail Sorkin - artist, illustrator, teacher
Petr Perevezentsev - artist, illustrator, teacher
16:00-17:00
Master class "Games for blue tea"
Presentation of the book "Gagosin, Lappa and Blue-Blue Tea" by Svetlana Minkova, Wings Publishing House
16:55-17:45
Lecture "Illustration of historical books using infographics: the method of pictograms - features and techniques"
Michaël Leblond (Michael Leblond) - French illustrator, graphic artist, designer
18:00-18:50
Lecture "Swedish picture books: what's new?"
Valentina Stepchenkova - philologist, translator, teacher at the Swedish School in Moscow and "Scandinavia club"
18:50-19:50
Meeting-dialogue: "Education of an illustrator in Russia"
Creative association of artists "Kisety"
19:00-20:00
Lecture "Form and Rhythm"
Victor Melamed - illustrator, teacher, curator of the "Illustration" course at BHSAD
20:00-21:00
Closing of the Festival
Awarding the winners of the Mors Festival 2017
Music and drawing!
Program of the II Moscow Festival of book illustrations "Mors"
11:10-12:00 Opening of the festival. Music and sketches - we will listen to live music and draw musicians. The musicians are amazing guys from the TGM group (cello, violin, guitar), everyone can draw, the presenters are the team from sketch&skotch
Lecture hall
12:10-13:10 “An artist between children's classics and new authors. What are publishers, merchants and readers waiting for?” Boris Kuznetsov is the director of the ROSMEN publishing house.
13:20-14:05 Lecture "Book publishing of the future" Alexey Kulakov - co-founder of the service and CEO of "Ridero".
14:15-15:00 Lecture "Commercial illustration through the eyes of a customer". Illustration agency Pic-O-Matic.
15:15-16:45 Lecture “Artist's book. Parallels and intersections. Pogarsky Mikhail Valentinovich - artist, poet, writer.
17:00-17:45 Lecture "About children's poetry of V.V. Mayakovsky" and Presentation of the Competition for young illustrators. Katya Silina (Goslitmuseum). Moderators: Ksenia Belkevich, deputy director of the State Literary Museum for Development, and Marina Krasnova, head of the exposition department of the Mayakovsky Museum.
18:00-19:00 Lecture "Blog for a freelancer". Maya Everidy is an illustrator and YouTuber, the author of the EurydeAidro project
19:10-21:00 Lecture "Types in illustrations". TypeType. Yuliana Morgun is a graphic designer specializing in lettering and a teacher of calligraphy.
patio
13:00-14:20 Interactive lesson for children "Primers of illustrations in primers". A story about the history and development of primers, a demonstration of old books (copies), a master class. Host: Yulia Gorbova, researcher at the State Literary Museum. (6+)
14:30-16:00 Master class for children “Secrets of magic. Magic pop-up cards. Children and adults will hear a fairy tale from the author's book by Sveta Sivirina "Secrets of Magic". After that, we will create a pop-up postcard together.
Hosted by Sveta Sivirina, artist and author. (6+)
17:15-19:00 Master class "New life of the book" from DC|DS. We will give new life to old books together with the team from the House of Culture "Do It Yourself"
Workshop
12:15-14:15 Elm master class. At the master class, we will talk about a variety of historical Russian calligraphy - ligature, its types and construction rules. Consider examples and try to build and tie words. Host - Chelysheva Anna.
14:30-16:30 Master class “Picture book. Time and space in the layout. In the lesson we will talk about space and time in the book and create a sketch layout. Hosted by Svetlana Minkova, book graphic artist and author of children's books.
16:50-18:50 Brushpen master class. In the lesson, we will talk about the brushpen tool, look at examples and writing, write letters and words. Hosted by Vlada Ruzhitskaya, designer, calligrapher, illustrator.
Lecture hall
11:00-12:00 Lecture "How to become an illustrator: from dream to action". Sofya Kolovskaya is an illustrator, author of the One day one sketch project.
12:10-13:00 Lecture "How to sell your work". Ekaterina Drobinina is a journalist and art market expert.
13:10-14:10 Lecture “Book illustrator. Features of the profession. Vlada Myakonkina, art director of Samokat publishing house.
14:20-15:40 Lecture "The book as a synthesis of illustration and design". Tatyana Kosterina is the chief artist of the PROZAiK publishing house, board member of the graphics section of the Moscow Union of Artists, Honored Artist of Russia.
16:00-17:00 Lecture "Why does a book need an artist?" Elena Gerchuk is a journalist writing about modern book design, critic, book artist, easel graphic artist.
18:15-19:00 Lecture “Green Riding Hood. An honest story about the development of an interactive book for the first time.
Andrey Gordeev - illustrator
19:10-21:00 Lecture "Animation and Illustration". A lecture on how an animated film is created, some tricks, and what connects an animated film and a book illustration. Mikhail Aldashin - director-animator, artist, producer.
patio
11:00-12:30 Master class for children "Do-it-yourself book", we will create a story with our own hands. Presenter: Svetlana Lyadova — illustrator, teacher at BHSAD. (6+)
12:45-14:15 Master class for children “Journey to Brazil. We are building speedboats. From the creators of the children's magazine Mucha Bucha. (6+)
14:30-15:00 "Tales from mother's dreadlocks" - fairy tales for children and their parents, finger theater. Olga Vasilyeva is the author of fairy tales. (3+)
Workshop
12:20-14:20 Workshop "Warm up the imagination". We will do exercises that will help novice illustrators overcome the crisis of ideas and tightness in drawing. Hosted by Sofia Kolovskaya, illustrator, author of the One day one sketch project.
14:45-17:00 Linocut master class. We will make postcards using the linguette technique, we will create and use interesting textures, we will try color printing. As a result, we get a small circulation. Hosted by Masha Kovadlo, illustrator, artist, designer.
17:15-19:15 Master class "Textures in watercolor". We will talk about the features of watercolors and the intricacies of working with them, learn how to convey the texture of wood, stone, the shine of water, the airiness of clouds, and much more. We will master various effects and create the final creative work based on the studied textures. Presenter - Polina Novkova, illustrator.
Lecture hall
11:00-12:00 Lecture “Work on the book. Main stages".
Julia Blucher is an illustrator.
13:10-14:10 Lecture “Modern Russian illustration. How to become an illustrator. Natalia Klimchuk is a co-founder of the illustration agency Bang! bang! and the online illustration school Bang! Bang! Education".
14:25-15:40 Lecture "Vladimir Lebedev - book illustrator". Moderator: Olga Mäeots, Head of the Department of Children's Books and Children's Programs, Library of Foreign Literature named after M.I. Rudomino, translator, specialist in children's literature.
15:50-17:00 Lecture “Translated into “Children’s”: The Golden Fund of Book Graphics of the State Literary Museum.” “Translated into “Children’s”: Golden Fund of Book Graphics of the State Literary Museum”
17:15-18:15 Lecture "Picture books in Sweden"
Valentina Stepchenkova is a philologist, translator, teacher at the Swedish School in Moscow and the Scandinavia Club.
18:30-20:00 Lecture "Senryu". Senryu is a genre of Japanese poetry and the main exercise in the Illustration course at BHSAD. Lecturer: Victor Melamed, illustrator, teacher and curator of the Illustration course at BHSAD.
20:10-21:00 Closing of the festival. Artemy Nick with the Art of us music project and the sketch&skotch team.
patio
11:15-12:45 Master class for children "Cooking fruit drinks".
Create fruit and berry cards using stamps! Host: Masha Kovadlo — illustrator, artist, designer. (6+)
13:00-14:00 Sketchbook hour. The artists show their sketchbooks and talk about them, while the guests look at and listen.
14:20-15:50 Master class "Portrait: we draw quickly and easily!". Yulia Soboleva is the author of the Sketch Meeting project
16:00-17:00 Master class "Crayons went on strike" based on the book of the same name by Drew Daywalt, Polyandria publishing house. We will read a book, invent a story, draw and help with crayons. 6+
Workshop
12:30-14:00 Master class “Draw text. How to build a book. Hosted by Yulia Blyukher, illustrator.
14:10-16:00 Master class "Characters". In the lesson we will talk about characters, shape, proportions and emotions. We will complete several tasks, learn how to find characters in everyday life and create our own character. Hosted by Margarita Kukhtina, illustrator.
17:30-19:30 Master class "How to draw sketches". In class, we will do sketches and observe ourselves. We will talk about plots, angles, nature, experiments, observation and much more. SKETCH&SCOTCH sketch team: Anya Brilling, Vanya Dedok, Nastya Petrova.
Program of the 1st Moscow Festival of Book Illustration Mors
lecture hall:
Association Tipatzeha "Sincerity and Courage in Illustration"
Publishing house "Friend for a friend" "Interactive books in Russia"
ROSMEN publishing house, director Boris Kuznetsov "Interaction between a publisher and an illustrator"
Elena Gerchuk "What is an illustration and why is it needed?"
Library:
Ruslan Gonchar. Master class on sketching “RUSLHU#URBANSKETCH. Quick Drawing Skills in an Urban Environment"
Illustrator Tatyana Samoshkina. Master class "Aquarium of watercolors"
Yard:
Olga Vasilyeva, author of the book "Tales from Mom's Dreadlocks". Reading fairy tales and a play for the little ones
Nina Stadnik and Polya Plavinskaya. Master class on creating an art book using the collage technique
lecture hall:
Bakhanets Roman Igorevich, Anton Gorodetsky "Legal Basis for Relations between a Publishing House and an Illustrator"
Zina and Philip Surov How to make and publish a book in its entirety? Illustration as the basis of the author's project, and not a raw product"
Publishing house "Scooter" "Talk about the work of an art director and an illustrator"
Valery Golnikov, Natalia Klimchuk "Commercial Illustration"
"Book layout"
Library:
Maria Kovadlo. Master class "Architecture of paper, three-dimensional structures"
Daria Martynova. Master class "Sculptural illustration"
Yard:
Publishing house CompassGuide, Svetlana Prudovskaya. Children's master class
Publishing House "Samokat". Presentation of children's books
Publishing house "Melik-Pashaev", Julia Trizna. "From 2 to 5. What to read to children ?!"
lecture hall:
Anton Gorodetsky "Illustration as an object of copyright"
Publishing house "Editorial-Tandem", director Anna Filatova "Children's Books in Other Countries - Latin America"
Olga Miaoets. Lecture for parents "How to Read Picture Books"
Tatyana Nikitina "Where does the book start"
The School of Font and Typography TypeType "Typography in illustration"
Irina Troitskaya and Evgenia Barinova (BHSAD) "Difficult Topics in Children's Books"
Library:
Irina Vershinina. Master class on linocut
Natalya Korsunskaya. Master class on collage technique
Yard:
Publishing house CompassGuide. Presentation of the book "The Whale Swims to the North"
Publishing house "Sammy and Emmy" Anastasia Melentyeva. Book presentation and creative workshop.
Publishers:
CompassGuide, ROSMEN, Scooter, Clever, Mann, Ivanov and Ferber, Melik-Pashaev, Editorial Tandem, NIGMA, Rech, Zangavar, Life Books, Nastya and Nikita, Studio 4+4, Friend for Friend, Sammy and Emmy.
Artists:
More than 150 illustrators including: Zina and Philip Surov, Tatyana Nikitina, Natalia Korsunskaya, Irina Petelina and other famous and emerging illustrators.
Urban Sketchers project
Urban Sketchers is a modern trend in graphics dedicated to sketching the life around us. The quick drawing system allows you to capture your vivid impressions of everyday life literally “on your knee” in the form of stylish graphics. As a result of regular exercises, each author develops his own unique style of drawing, which allows you to capture any plot, event or idea on paper. The project will present the works of authors from Spain, Argentina, Indonesia, Scotland, England, the USA and other countries.
Read! Change!
Give a new life to a book with the City of Trust project
Read! Change! operates on the principle of a public library. At the exchange point, any reader can leave his read book and take another - which he has long dreamed of or the one that has just interested him.
Collecting for the fund of the Museum of Toys together with the bookstore "Khodasevich".
PersonalitiesZina and Philip Surov
The artists graduated from the Moscow University of Printing Arts. They live in Moscow, work as illustrators and designers, and are also engaged in space design, painting and painted sculpture. They often write their own texts for their books. They are members of the Moscow Union of Artists and the association of illustrators "Magic Saw". They taught at the Moscow University of Printing Arts and the British School of Design. Zina teaches at the Institute of Business and Design. Artists actively participate in exhibition projects and book festivals, conduct master classes for children and adults.
Tatyana Nikitina
Senior Lecturer, Department of Illustration, Moscow State University of Printing Arts. Member of the Moscow Union of Artists. Diploma of the All-Russian competition "The image of the book" in 2010. Participant of all-Union, Moscow and foreign exhibitions. She worked in publishing houses: Children's Literature, Drofa Plus, Makhaon.
Elena Gerchuk
Book artist, easel graphic artist, journalist writing about modern book design. Author of the book Architecture of the Book. Winner of several "Art of the Book" awards, as well as "Book of the Year-2011".
Irina Troitskaya
Illustrator, teacher at BHSAD. Participated in the creation of multimedia products for HP, Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, Megafon, Yandex.
Evgenia Barinova
She graduated from the British Higher School of Design and continued her studies at the University of Hertfordshire, where she successfully completed a Bachelor's degree in illustration and graphic design. After graduation, Evgenia lived and worked in London. In addition to teaching at the BHSAD, Evgenia works remotely as an art director for the London Anorak magazine, regularly publishes illustrations in magazines (The New York Times, Computer arts, Afisha, Big City), is a member of the Tsekh team and participates in various projects and events.
Ruslan Gonchar
Book illustrator, lecturer, author of the course of lectures at BHSAD "Sketching as visual communication".
The School of Font and Typography TypeType
Guests from Petersburg. The founder of the school is Ivan Gladkikh. The School hosts intensives with the best practitioners in the field of type design, aimed at designers who need deeper knowledge in the field of typography, understanding the structure and anatomy of letters.
Olga Miaoets
Head of the Department of Children's Books and Children's Programs at the M.I. Rudomino Library of Foreign Literature, translator, specialist in children's literature and children's book illustration. Lecturer at the Department of Illustration and Printmaking at Ivan Fedorov Moscow University of Printing Arts.
Natalia Klimchuk
Head of illustration agency Bang!Bang!
Valery Golnikov
Ideologist and creator of the portal illustrators.ru
Boris Kuznetsov
Director of the publishing house "ROSMEN"
Association Tipatzeha
A creative association that brought together four illustrators: Sveta Mullari, Kristina Kolesnikova, Lena Chetverik and Nina Stadnik.
Natalia Korsunskaya
Graphic artist. Participates in Russian and foreign exhibitions, organized the Commonwealth of Artists "Magic Saw". He is a member of the Moscow Union of Artists. He has diplomas of all-Russian competitions “The Image of the Book”, “The Art of the Book. Traditions and Search”, “Book of the Year”. Collaborates with the publishing houses "Samokat", "Egmont Russia", "World of Childhood", "Makhaon" and others.
Maria Kovadlo
Designer-illustrator of children's books, engaged in color sculpture, paper plastics, art objects of free textures and various techniques. Higher education: Moscow Polygraphic University of Printing Arts Awarded with two diplomas of the All-Russian competition "The Image of the Book" 2014, 2015.
Irinka Vershinina
Illustrator, graduated from Polygraph (Moscow State University of Printing), is engaged in illustration, printmaking and author's book. Nominee of the All-Russian competition "The Image of the Book" 2015.
Daria Martynova
Illustrator, graphic artist. Engaged in illustration, printmaking, modeling. Graduated from the Moscow State University of Printing, was awarded a diploma of the All-Russian competition "The Image of the Book" (2015). Member of the Moscow Union of Artists since 2015. Collaborates with the CompassGuide publishing house, the Nigma Publishing House.
Tatyana Samoshkina
Illustrator from St. Petersburg.
Anton Gorodetsky
Lecturer at Moscow State University, lawyer in the intellectual property practice at CLIFF law firm.
For each other
A young studio of interactive applications for children and not only “Friend For A Friend” (drygzadryga.com). In March, the team released the first application for the AppStore - "DubDom". Already in the summer, the second application “Tales Inside” was released - a joint project with the publishing house “Scooter” book and application. And in the fall, the guys will announce the release of the third application based on the poems of D. Kharms - ‘Charms of Kharms’.
Vasilyeva Olga
A philologist-translator by education, a young mother and author of the book of children's fairy tales "Tales from Mom's Dreadlocks". Olga graduated from the Russian State University for the Humanities. She studied with such masters of the word as Igor Vishnevetsky and Grigory Kruzhkov. The basis of Olga's creativity is "to bring good." "Tales from Mom's Dreadlocks" is a book for children and their parents, a book about how important it is to keep a piece of childhood in the whirlwind of life.
International festival of book illustration "Mors" is held annually in Moscow. This is a very inspiring event in the field of children's books and illustrations. Mors is a platform that brings together modern book illustrators, publishers, writers and readers. This is a place where you can show yourself, look at others, and learn a lot of new and interesting things.
1 - Tell us a little about yourself. Who you are? What do you do? Where did you study?
My name is Anna, I am currently studying to be an illustrator, I am looking for myself in this direction. I studied in many places. I got my first degree at the Moscow State Mining University, majoring in system engineering. Not a creative profession at all, as the circumstances developed, but, I must say, I don’t regret it at all. A technical specialty helps you grasp and analyze information faster. From the eighth grade, I wanted to become a film director, but it didn’t work out, and I’m probably even glad of this, and I know for sure that someday, when I have something to say, I will definitely shoot. I also studied at the BHSAD on the course of Dima Karpov, this also helped me, one might say, expanded my horizons and gave me confidence. I always wanted to draw, although due to various circumstances it could not become my first profession, but after leaving school I constantly studied privately with teachers. I was taught by teachers from VGIK, from Moscow State Unitary Enterprise, from the Repinsky School and Stroganovka - I took something from all of them and now I'm trying to find my way.
2 – How did the idea of the festival come about? Why did you decide to do this?
At some point, while studying drawing and working as a designer, I realized that I rarely manage to walk past a bookstore, especially abroad. I looked at all the children's books with great love, slowly began to collect a collection, and at some point I realized that illustrating children's books is basically the same storytelling as a movie or animation and it's wildly interesting. I found courses in book illustration in Moscow, unlearned, and at the end, I and several classmates wanted to make a small “graduation” exhibition, and we set about organizing it on our own. It was difficult, new and incomprehensible, but the exhibition happened. And there was also an understanding that for a young illustrator, if he is not a member of an artistic union, there is no opportunity to exhibit and show his work. Then there was a desire to make another exhibition, more… And then the festival actually arose. I must say that before the first festival, we were wildly afraid that we did not know something - the idea is obvious, if we are not inventing a bicycle. Books are so important and so interesting, book illustration is generally the first thing a child sees and realizes in a book, not yet able to read, and is there really nothing about book illustration of such an open format in Moscow and Russia as a whole. It turned out that the truth is not, it was not more accurate, now there is.
3 - How long and where exactly does it take place?
This year the festival will be held for the third time, since 2015 we have been holding it at ARTPLAY, a design center in Moscow.
4 - Who can take part in the festival and under what conditions?
Any illustrator can take part, regardless of age and number of published books. You need to submit an application and it will be considered. If the application is approved, you need to pay a fee, we do everything else ourselves - we print, draw up a passe-partout and frames, hang it up, make up a catalog, and so on. All the illustrator has to do is come to the festival itself and get a catalog.
5 - What does your festival give? Who is it for?
Our festival is for illustrators, for publishers, and for people who love and appreciate books with illustrations, mostly parents with children.
Three days of our festival is a meeting place for illustrators, the formation of an illustrative community somehow spontaneously turned out, and I hope this will only grow.
For the festival, we publish a catalog with the works of illustrators-participants: in paper form and PDF, this catalog is then sold to Russian and foreign publishers. This year we went to Bologna and handed it out personally to foreign publishers as far as we could, and also sent the English PDF version by mail. I know that the catalog works, publishers find illustrators - I personally am extremely happy about this. Docking publishers and illustrators is one of the objectives of the festival. Also, the aim of the festival is to show interesting modern illustrators to readers, so that the end consumer of books has an understanding of how different book illustration can be, what kind of modern book illustration it is in general. Thus, I hope, we are preparing the ground for publishers who, for the most part, are still afraid to print modern bold illustrations, because people will not buy and will not understand. This partly applies to the question: “Why are our counters still full of acid colors and cheap computer graphics”? We have long wondered why this is happening, because we have sensible illustrators. Preparing for the first festival in 2015, we did an analysis of 25 Russian publishing houses, as a result, we found that the books of Russian illustrators make up 35% of the total number of published books, and it must be taken into account that Russian illustrators are also most of the reprints of Soviet books. This year we will repeat the study, we hope that something has changed.
Why did it happen so. We have a very strong Soviet illustrative school, these are masters whom everyone loves and knows. In the USSR, illustration was really good, it developed in step with the times, despite the country's certain isolation from the world. But after perestroika took place in Russia, everything from different countries, bright, big-eyed, poured onto the market. It made a splash, like everything foreign, people began to buy all this as the best, in general, the wow effect of pure water. At the same time, the quality of foreign products was, to put it mildly, different. Our scribes, in order to sell themselves and somehow survive, had to mimic this big-eyed and acidic. As time went on, the whole world quietly developed, came to modern art and illustrations, tastes changed, the market changed, people changed. But we didn’t have any development, without any development we simply digested a wave of big-eyed foreign something, and the book market got stuck in it. And it turns out that the artists who are the resonators of the world, have changed and create in accordance with the present, are not published. Because the publisher will not release a book that the consumer is not ready for, that will not be bought.
In general, we are making a festival, among other things, to get people interested in a new illustration. The world has changed, the USSR in the past, new technologies, new relationships, new people and new thinking. The book should also live and develop further.
6 - Tell us what difficulties you had to face on the way of its creation. What difficulties exist now?
Eternal problems: personnel and money. The festival is self-sustaining, without sponsorship, and therefore the team most of the time works on enthusiasm. It is very difficult, the festival takes a very long time. Many light up, but not all withstand, unfortunately. Therefore, our team is small, but strong.
Another difficulty is that we are a young festival, and this naturally causes distrust and even rejection in places. I hope over time we will overcome this, we just want more books with different and high-quality pictures, we are aimed at this.
7 – What are your plans for the future? Are you going to develop / expand, and how?
Of course you need to develop. Raise the level of exhibition works so that participation in the festival is a kind of quality mark. To expand cooperation with publishing houses, to start moving in the direction of publishing ourselves. And slowly go international. So that in Bologna they also know about Morse :).
8 – What do you think about contemporary children's illustration?
Modern children's illustration is very different. Everyone can find something for themselves, for a child. The illustration reflects the world - becoming bolder, more mobile, faster, more daring. The illustration goes beyond just pictures for text, it becomes independent and some books are already being bought for pictures, and not for text (for example, picture kizhki).
And the concept of “children's book illustration” is already blurring, there are books that I myself consider as an art album. And yes, kids love these books too.
From myself I will add that I consider Anna a real hero and pioneer. I hope that the festival will grow and gain momentum every year. I know how few such events exist yet, and how important they are for emerging artists and readers.
If you suddenly decide to participate, or come to look at the work of modern illustrators, then here
The Mors International Book Illustration Festival is just around the corner, this year's entries close at the end of August, so there's still time! Quite recently, Anna Chefranova, the organizer of this festival, told us in detail what kind of project it is and why it was created. Who has not read, to you. But the opinion of the organizer is one thing. Let's now listen to the participant's opinion.
1 - What is book illustration festival Mors? Where does it go and when? How many participants are there (approximately), and who can participate?
Mors is an international festival of book illustrations, which includes an exhibition, master classes, lectures, portfolio reviews from children's publishers and agencies. It takes place every autumn (late October - early November) in Moscow on the territory of the Artplay design center. More than 100 illustrators from different countries take part in the exhibition.
2 – How long have you been participating in it?
From the first festival held in 2015.
3 - What do you need to participate (how many entries, in what format, etc.)?
In order to take part in the festival, you need to fill out an application, tell a little about yourself and attach a preview of the work you want to exhibit. Illustrations must be bookish. Applications open at the end of spring. This year, applications can be submitted until August 10. In the period from 10 to 20 August, the organizers will respond to all applications.
4 – How much does participation cost?
The registration fee is 3000 rubles, it includes the rental of a stand, a page in the catalog, one printed copy of the catalog and a personalized ticket for all three days of the festival. Plus, the printing of illustrations, frames and passe-partout is paid. It all depends on the number and size of work. Finished works can be picked up after the festival.
5 – How long is the festival?
The festival itself lasts three days, but in addition to this event, Mors holds exhibitions, meetings with Russian and foreign illustrators, master classes and competitions throughout the year. For example, this year, the works of many participants ended up on the Bookmarket and decorated Novy Arbat, visited the “Days of Morse” in “Remarque”. Mors also took part in the Literatula children's book festival and the Seasons design community work day. This year, there were really a lot of interesting events - such wonderful illustrators as Marta Zhuravskaya, Alisa Yufa, Olya Ezova-Denisova and many others came to the Azbuka Mors, together with the Samokat publishing house meetings were held with Matthias de Leeuw and Peter Sokha. So subscribe and follow the news in social networks 😉
6 - What and how is happening there? What activities?
The most important event of the festival is an exhibition of illustrators. Last year, more than 300 applications were submitted, and it seems to me that this figure is growing every year. It was a great joy not only to discover new names of Russian illustrators, but also to look at the work of foreign colleagues at the exhibition. The second important event, especially for beginner illustrators, is a portfolio review, an opportunity to get professional advice from an art director of a publishing house or agency, and possibly a new order. Also within the framework of the festival there are many lectures and master classes, the program is very dense and interesting. And what is very important, it is designed not only for illustrators, but also for guests of the festival with children.
7 - Why are you participating in it? What does he give you?
For me, Morse is a celebration of illustration. For three days you can drop out of ordinary life and plunge into a creative atmosphere, get inspiration for the year ahead, meet colleagues, discover new names, learn something new 🙂
8 - Is it worth it for beginners and already professional illustrators to take part in it? Why?
Yes, sure. Every year more and more Russian publishers come to the festival, this is a great way to showcase their work. One of the interesting innovations of this year is that following the results of the festival, three winners will be selected, whose works will be exhibited at satellite exhibitions of the festival next year. In addition, the organizers issue a catalog with the works of all participants, which is distributed throughout the year to Russian and foreign publishing houses and agencies. This year it was also distributed at the Bologna Book Fair.
9 - If I decide to participate, what steps should I take, what should I do and in what order?
First you need to choose the work for the exhibition. It should be a series of works to one work. View the dimensions of the stand and frames, consider hanging. If something is not clear, the organizers will definitely tell you. After that, you need to apply and wait for the results at the end of August. Also within the framework of the festival, there is an illustrators' market where you can sell your postcards, zines, brooches and everything that you do yourself. The application for participation in the market is submitted separately.
10 - If I go to Mors just as a visitor, how should I plan my time? Where to go first, what to look at? What to participate in? Will one day be enough for me?
First of all, you should familiarize yourself with the schedule of lectures and master classes. If the events you are interested in take place on the same day, then one day will be enough. And already, based on the schedule, plan when to listen to a lecture, and when to walk around the exhibition and the book market.
11 - What are your personal impressions of the festival?
I am very glad that we have such a festival in Moscow, which brings together beginner illustrators and professionals, publishers and agencies, parents and children on one platform. Join us and we'll meet on Morse! 😉
Have you been to this festival? If so, be sure to share your impressions in the comments! If not, would you like to visit? Participate? Or maybe organize your own in your city? Or maybe something similar has already been organized in your city? Then tell us what you have!