Crazy Characters at SXSW

Posted by: nGen Works on Monday March 12, 2007

Wow. SXSW this year has been crazy busy, moreso than last year, I think. I am currently trying to find a time to blog about some of the speakers I’ve seen so far. This all started last year at the Refresh Conference in Orlando where Bruce and I decided that it would be cool to take notes and sketch up the speakers as a nice little exercise in quick character rendering.

This year’s SXSW, though, has been crazy busy. Last year, as a SXSW newbie, I was feverishly taking notes. This year, granted that I am still trying to take down notes, I am, additionally, trying to capture speaker essences. Yes, essences. That’s a good word for what I am doing. And it’s a bit more difficult when peeps are sitting behind a desk, too. I like movement and characterization and animation. But here is where I am so far.

SXSW 2007, for me, started with A Decade of Style. Molly Holzschlag, Eric Meyer, Chris Wilson and Doug Bowman. Molly, by far, was the easiest one to capture because she was so lively. Wilson was cool too because he had this great look. My sketch of Eric’s not too bad, but I think Doug was definitely the hardest to get down. Sorry Doug. I need more OOMPH! from ya, buddy.

Second session, After the Brief: A Field Guide to Design Inspiration with Jason Santa Maria and Rob Weychert, sans Cameron Moll. Hilarious. Fun to see their reinvention of design inspirations. No desks to sit behind. Open mics. Free-form stage walking. Love it. These guys have so much character. I think I got these two down easily PLUS notes! I would love to sit down with these guys and just talk more design and anything else.

I have to say, I missed most of Kathy Sierra’s keynote. I caught some of it outside on the tv, and when I walked into the room I think I was able to catch just enough of her essence. There was a sort of “Bewitched” inspiration I was compelled to draw.

In what I would call a “lightning round,” Khoi VInh and Mark Boulton presented us with Grid Designing …in 30 minutes or less. Hence, Khoi Vinh and Mark Boulton…in 30 minutes or less. Great presentation. So sorry it was so short. Again, though, with these guys, having them be more fluid onstage really helped a brotha out with character design. Baby Khoi. Just had to say it.

In another great lightning round, Aaron Gustafson and Sarah Nelson entertained us with how to ruin the user experience. This was another case of a great topic confined to a small time, but I think I was able to capture these two fairly quickly.

My first official day at SXSW ended with my girl Cindy Li’s workshop From Tags to Riches: Life After Code. I think the title of this one was a little misleading, but the panel was great. THIS ONE WAS TOUGH. Maybe I was feeling the strain by now of upholding such a task of drawing every speaker whose workshop I attend, or maybe Cindy was just going to kick my ass for drawing here in caricature form. I dunno, but here are the sketches that I think turned out the best from this panel of Maxine Sherrin, Scott Gledhill, Molly Holzschlag (sorry Molly, I already drew you), Cheryl Lead and Cindy Li.

Overall, a great first day at SXSW. Had lots of fun drawing all these peeps. Hope they didn’t mind it. I enjoyed it, and I enjoyed their discussions. If any speakers whose likeness does not bare any form of resemblance, find me and we can discuss this further over refried beans and veggie tacos at Serrano’s. Or we can just grab a drink. Enjoy kids!

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