Recognizing the importance of developing the next generation of fantasy and sci-fi artists — not just for games like Magic: The Gathering, but also for the art community in general — Vintage Magic is proud to announce that it will establish a yearly scholarship at the annual IX Show in Pennsylvania for one winner to attend The IMC at Amherst College in Massachusetts. The scholarship recipient will have his or her tuition paid in full for the 2016 session.

“Vintage Magic is dedicated to serving the overall art community in many ways, and this scholarship is just one example of how we want to foster up-and-coming artists,” said Daniel J. Chang, founder and CEO of Vintage Magic. “We believe that The IMC is one of the best ways to do that, which is why we’re extremely proud and honored to share in this relationship.”

The IMC was established in 2008 by artist Rebecca Guay, with the cooperation and enthusiasm of a core faculty group that included Boris Vallejo, Julie Bell, Donato Giancola, Greg Manchess, Scott Fischer, Dan DosSantos and Irene Gallo — all of whom remain as the program’s core educators.

In the beginning, The IMC focused mainly on teaching the art and business of genre illustration. It has since evolved into a program covering sci-fi and fantasy illustration, book covers, comics, concept art, and now gallery and personally driven work, in order to best reflect the current climate of where industry artists are working and want they want to work on.

According the Guay, The IMC provides “a boot camp week of experience for people at different levels coming into the industry,” whether they want to work in publishing or gaming, concept art, or personal or gallery work. “And in all of those places,” she added, “we provide the professional connections through the teachers, through the other students, and through industry connections such as editors, art directors and gallery representatives.”

The intensive program allows burgeoning artists and young professionals working in a variety of disciplines to hone their skills, work with masters from several fields, and have their art overseen and critiqued in a peer-review setting, while at the same time being able to ask about and learn vital business practices and make powerful industry connections. Previous graduates of The IMC have gone on to work for book publishers, comic book companies, and gaming institutions like Wizards of the Coast.

“We’ve seen in the past eight years people come through our program make connections there that have carried them forward into doing Magic cards, children’s books, comics for Dark Horse, and any number of projects that have directly and indirectly been brought forth by our program,” said Guay.

The decision to present the inaugural award at IX 2015 is especially notable as well, since IX is the world’s largest gathering of traditional imaginative realist artists. Dozens of painters and sculptors will be present Oct. 21-25 in Allentown, Pa., representing some of the finest and most sought-after names in sci-fi and fantasy art. In addition to the Main Show, Showcase and Weekend Salon, there will also be demos, lectures and workshops.

“Young artists who are dedicated enough to travel to IX to help further their craft, to help further their career and gain inspiration, are exactly the type of people that should be getting the chance to go to The IMC. And so we figured it was a good way for us to recognize that,” said Patrick Wilshire, co-founder and director of IX.

The scholarship will be awarded via random drawing, and anyone attending IX is eligible to enter. Entry slips will be available at the registration table from 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21, through 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24th. Guay will draw the winning entry during the Saturday evening Showcase.

“It’s important to foster the next generation of imaginative painters to make sure that there is a next generation of imaginative painters,” explained Wilshire. “Anything that can be done to help support these young artists and help the best of these young artists not to get buried in the mix is good and is valuable and is something that we and anyone involved in this field should really be taking a principal interest in.”

Guay agrees: “No one is ever under any obligation to ever offer a scholarship. When people step up to the plate and say they want to do this good thing, it’s just a really nice thing to do. This is just fabulous that Daniel wants to do this. maps vietnam It shows that he is committed to art, and the love of art, and bringing forth new artists who can be trained and integrated into the industry.”

For more information about the scholarship and to view Vintage Magic’s other recent philanthropic work, visit vintagemagic.com/giving-back.

For more information on IX 2015, visit www.illuxcon.com.

For more information on The IMC, visit www.illustrationmasterclass.com.