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Guest of Honor

Jeff Ranjo is an Emmy Award winning and BAFTA nominated Writer, Story Artist and Character Designer who has been instrumental in developing many big box-office animation successes. He made a snowman sing about summer in Frozen and gave the god Maui a conscience (mini-Maui) in Moana. At Sony, he was Head of Story on the critically acclaimed Surf’s Up. Other story credits include Disney’s Meet The Robinsons, The Emperor’s New Groove, and Sony’s Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs. He’s also consulted and contributed to productions at Warner Brothers, Nickelodeon, The Jim Henson Company and Illumination. Recently, he co-executive produced, and was Head of Story on the Netflix award-winning Maya and the Three Limited Series. He has contributed to and published comic books, and he is known for his Kaiju and Xenomorph illustrations.

Jeff’s love for caricature kicked into full gear when he was working at Walt Disney Feature Animation. He was a regular contributor to WDFA’s annual April 1st caricature show. Now at Netflix, he teaches caricature to fellow employees. He enjoys caricaturing colleagues during meetings and zoom sessions. He believes caricature is a great way to create community, because it requires artists to really “see” each other.

Instagram: @jeff_ranjo




Caricature 101

Caricature 101 is a recurring seminar where we invite a top tier caricaturist to break down the basics. Whether you’re a first year artist or 20 year veteran, learning how someone else handles the fundamentals is beneficial for everyone!Caricature 101 is a recurring seminar where we invite a top tier caricaturist to break down the basics. Whether you’re a first year artist or 20 year veteran, learning how someone else handles the fundamentals is beneficial for everyone!

Damon Renthrope is an award-winning San Diego, California artist whose work is featured on MTV, Netflix, etc etc etc. 

Most notable for finishing 61 tacos in 4 days, Damon began caricature in 1999 with an arts and design background at San Diego State University. 

Ranging in styles, Damon’s work is most readily available on Instagram @DamonArts_gallery and @DamonRenthrope




Caricatures in Motion: An Animated Discussion

This panel features artists currently working in TV & Film who apply their experience and passion for caricature in their current careers. Join us for an engaging discussion of how caricature is utilized in the fields of storyboarding, character design and animation. Learn how you can employ the caricature skills you’re using now in the next step on your artistic journey!This panel features artists currently working in TV & Film who apply their experience and passion for caricature in their current careers. Join us for an engaging discussion of how caricature is utilized in the fields of storyboarding, character design and animation. Learn how you can employ the caricature skills you’re using now in the next step on your artistic journey!

Moderator:

Lindsey Olivares is currently working as a Production Designer and Character Designer for Animation in Los Angeles.

Lindsey’s background is in animation, but she discovered a love for caricature while working in the animation industry and drawing exaggerated sketches of coworkers during meetings. After leaving her first animation job at Dreamworks she pursued freelance illustration/animation work and started trying live caricature events. She enjoys bringing what she’s learned about observation, abstraction, and exaggeration from caricature into her character design work. Animation Clients include, Disney Television Animation, Sony Pictures Animation, Dreamworks Animation, Locksmith Animation, Pixar. Recent credits include Production Designer and Lead Character Designer of Netflix/Sony’s “The Mitchells vs the Machines” and Character Designer on Apple +’s “The After Party”. 

www.lindseyolivares.com

Instagram: @lindseyolivares

Panelists:

After studying animation at CalArts, Ricky De Los Angeles’s creative career took off as a caricature artist, drawing at state fairs and private events and winning a few awards from ISCA along the way. Afterwards, he joined Disney Consumer Products, where he produced artwork that was seen on Disney merchandise in the Parks and in stores. Ricky illustrated the Disney Publishing book, "Miguel and the Amazing Alebrijes," which features a new story set in Pixar's COCO world. He has worked as a character designer for Nickelodeon, Bento Box, and most recently is at Disney Television Animation on the upcoming animated show, "Primos." Some of his contributions to animated series include, Apple Tv's "Pretzel and the Puppies," and Disney Tv's "Hailey's On It." His pet caricatures have garnered great popularity and he can be seen drawing dogs and cats at various pet themed events around Los Angeles. Ricky's rekindled love of nature thru bird-watching has him spending way too much time outside lately instead of drawing. 

Instagram: @rickyanimation

Asia Ellington is a character designer and illustrator from northern California. Her first job in high school and through college was as a caricature artist for Kaman’s Art Shoppes, and had worked at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Cedar Point, and Six Flags Over Texas. She started in the animation industry in 2019 as a Creative/Production intern at Disney Television Animation, and has since worked as a character designer on The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse, various development and unannounced projects for Disney TVA, Sony Animation, Cartoon Network, and Netflix, and is currently the lead-character designer on the upcoming animated series for Disney TVA, Primos. As a freelance illustrator she also has worked on a variety of illustrations and animated projects for the Disneyland and Walt Disney World resorts. She takes her love for theater, vintage fashion, and mid century modern art and infuses them into her work any chance she can, and continues to practice her caricature work through the Caricature Resolution challenge every January!

Instagram: @asiadraws

Seo Kim is an artist; Cartoonist, caricaturist, painter, drawer, storyboard artist, character designer, comics creator, costume maker, songwriter, and probably more. She storyboarded for Adventure Time and someother cartoons. You can also call her Seosie, now. She is based in LA.

Instagram: @instantdoodles

Ben Lane has over 25 years experience working in the animation industry as a story artist, character designer and animator. Among the several projects he’s been involved with include Disney’s ‘Zootopia’ and ‘Frozen Fever', as well as ‘Family Guy’, ‘King of the Hill’,’ The Oblongs’, ‘Ben 10’ and ‘The Simpsons’. Ben learned the art of caricature while working several summers at Opryland in Nashville, TN. During college, he did caricatures for conventions, parties, private events and festivals. Recently, his caricature work was featured during the ending credits for Netflix’s ‘The Ranch’. When Ben is not drawing, he spends his time hanging out with his family, playing ukulele, building arcade machines and preparing a new yard haunt for the next Halloween.

Instagram: @weezllane

Hollie Mengert is a passionate character designer working in the animation industry in Los Angeles, currently at Disney TV Animation. Hollie has also worked as a kidlit illustrator and as an art lead in the games industry. She loves any opportunity to help tell a story or solve visual problems! For Hollie, caricature in her design work is all about finding creative ways to push shapes and play with proportions.

Instagram: @hollieart

Born in London and currently residing in Los Angeles with his wife and two kids; Stephen Silver has been a professional working artist, character designer, and teacher in the industry for over 30 years. He developed intellectual properties for some of the largest media companies in the world; such as Disney, Warner Bros., Nickelodeon, Sony, MAD Magazine, Reel FX, Bento box, Hasbro, Universal, DreamWorks, and more. Stephen is responsible for the visual character development and design of some of animation’s most iconic shows; including Disney’s Kim Possible, Nickelodeon’s Danny Phantom, and Disney’s Clerks: The Animated Series, to name a few.

Having designed characters for multiple major studios; Stephen founded Silvertoons, Inc. and subsequently opened The Silver Drawing Academy. Stephen conducts workshops and seminars worldwide for corporations, schools, and studios teaching character design and guiding participants towards achieving the creative mindset.

Instagram: @stephensilver7



Sketching Success: A Business Discussion

This panel brings together a diverse group of caricature business owners and managers who have successfully turned their passion for caricature into thriving enterprises. Join us for a discussion as these industry leaders share their invaluable business knowledge and experiences in the world of live caricature. Discover the strategies they have employed to establish and grow their businesses, explore the unique challenges they have faced, and learn practical tips on marketing, client management, and expanding your caricature business. Whether you're an aspiring caricature artist or a seasoned professional, this panel is a must-attend event to gain insights and inspiration for taking your caricature business to the next level!

Moderator:

Nolan Harris has been drawing caricatures professionally since 1999. Since co-founding Over The Line Art in 2010 with his business partner Dexter Rothschild, their business has expanded to include multiple retail locations and employs 30 artists local to the Pacific Northwest. In addition, OTLA books art-entertainment events nationwide and has collaborated with companies that include Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Facebook.

Nolan’s non-caricature accolades include providing art-direction and illustration work for brands that include Rock Em Socks, ChalkLine, RSVLTS, Fanatics and Topps. Nolan is also a partner in the company Big Shots, which offers licensed pop-culture themed pillow buddies to fans all over the world.

Instagram: @nolanium and @overthelineart

Panelists:

Tad Barney has drawn at theme parks, festivals and private and corporate events since 1979. He created The Nose Caricature Company (www.the-nose.com), the internet’s first caricature artist booking agency, in 1997 and represents over 500 artists in the US and Canada. Tad has been an ISCA member since the early 1990s and has attended all but two conventions since his first in 1998.

Instagram: @tadbarney

Kimberly Hooper-Davis has been working in theme parks with Kaman's Art Shoppes since 1998, where she is currently a Regional Manager. As a lifelong-learner with insatiable curiosity, she also volunteers her skills as an artist for community outreach programs, or freelances as an artist, business consultant, large event producer, and airbnb host in Joshua Tree, CA. She has earned several professional accolades from over the years for her team's sales performance, philanthropic endeavors, operational excellence, and overall partnership.

Instagram: @hoop411

You may know him as ISCAcon 2007’s Golden Nosey winner or the first inductee into the ISCA Hall of Fame, but Kage Nakanishi has been drawing caricatures since he moved from Tokyo to San Diego in 1996. After five years of living in California, he returned to Japan and opened his first store, Caricature Japan, in February 2002. Over the next few decades Kage led Caricature Japan to grow into as many as 28 individual retail locations. Now, post-pandemic, Kage and Caricature Japan have a new business strategy, focusing on nine stores in five major Japanese cities and they're doing better than ever. Come hear Kage tell his story at Sketching Success: A Business Discussion at ISCAcon32!

Instagram: @kage_nakanishi and @caricaturejapan_official 

Emma Tipping has owned and operated Cali Caricature on the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in California since 2012. In that time, Emma and her team of skilled artists have drawn over 200,000 guests. Emma has created numerous training initiatives which have launched many careers in caricature, brought in some of the industry’s best as trainers, and developed multiple ISCA award-winning artists.

Emma is a founding member of Women in Caricature. She is expanding into illustration and her first published book will be announced & available later this year.

www.calicaricature.com

www.emmatipping.com

Instagram: @emmatippingink




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