Straight after the release of our latest publication, a lovingly leather-bound Character Compendium, the remaining summer passed by surprisingly luscious and lazy. But now it seems Pictoplasma is gradually building up momentum again, as we are about to once more pack our suitcase for the annual return to New York and the:

4th PICTOPLASMA NYC - Conference On Contemporary Character Design And Art

This November 2 + 3, the modernist Tishman Auditorium of Parsons New School for Design opens up to a mind blowing marathon of inspiring artist presentations, talks and cinema screenings, dropping heaps of anthropomorphic appeal and tons of character right upon the heart of Manhattan...

Join us for an eclectic lineup of artist lectures hailing from around the globe, all sharing an unique focus on character related visuals, while covering a wildly diverse multitude of media, disciplines and styles, ranging from minuscule knitted sculptures, intriguing hand-drawn illustration or twisted CGI graphic design, all the way to eye-opening animation and bigger than life urban art.

The event offers the unique chance to learn from (and rub shoulders with) artists such as Julia Pott, famed for some of the most beautiful illustrations and animations depicting self-consciousness and awkward social constellations; Ryan Quincy, former Animation Director of South Park and father to a vast, ever expanding family of hairy critters; Gemma Correl, introducing her appealing zoo of doodled cats and hand drawn pugs (not drugs!); and Mark Gmehling, indisputable master of contortionistic 3D illustration and oversized murals...

It goes on with Andy Rementer, illustrator extraordinaire known for his dead-pan humor and dude-style 70s comic imagery; craft artist Anna Hrachovec, who takes knitting to a place where no needles have gone before; Adrian Sonni, Argentinean creator of colorful cuteness with a dark twist, Saiman Chow, animator, illustrator and artist virtuously mixing comic book imagery, bold cartoon visuals and Japanese pop culture; and many, many more…

And that's not nearly all! The lectures, artist talks and presentations are accompanied by a magnitude of freshly hatched Characters in Motion hitting the big screen, with the very best contemporary short films, music videos, character-driven motion graphics and experimental work.

While we're still holding back some surprises and details on the full program until next month, you can get a pretty convincing glimpse of what to expect at nyc.pictoplasma.com

As always, the conference passes, granting access to all of the event's lectures, screenings, presentations, and parties are limited - and exclusively available online here!


Good news and final valuable advice to keep in mind: If you snap into action before the 15th of September you can save 50 bucks with our EARLY BIRD OFFER and secure your character overload for only $ 140 (instead of the regular 190)!

Now we just need to figure out where in this mess we've stored that suitcase?

peter and lars