There were a few tense moments when the talk was interupted by a group of angry Robots. They were unhappy about not being included in the panel. After flinging some flyers about the room they calmed down and left the room.
Geeze I thought there would be all kinds of talk about man flying through the air in metal tubes to far away cities and being able to use a laser to get editors to have our ideas, but.... No, it turns out the Future of illustration according to the speakers, is a little formula called creativity, hard work, and smart promotion. Daniel Pelavin, Seymour Chawst, Rep Louisa St. Pierre and Thunderdog Triston Eaton turned rather beginner-oriented questions (seemingly directed at students) by the moderator into a positive take on the wild wacky world of illustration. Some good bits about licensing pricing was offered by Ms. St. Pierre. Mr. Easton seemed energetic and a communicated well, Danny was funny and charming as ever, and Mr. Chwast added the extra ingredient of being a legend who still does his own promotion and haggling.
I got comped the 35$ fee to attend. Event: Future of Illustration sponsored by Graphic Artist Guild.