Ideas behind Illustration earn $1,000 award for Malaspina Graphic Arts student

September 13, 2006 - 5:00pm

Every illustration starts with an idea.


It was the quality of his ideas combined with technical excellence that earned Malaspina University-College Applied Arts - Graphics student Scott Booth the annual $1,000 Copeland Communications Award.


A gifted artist with a flair for illustration, Booth enrolled in the two-year Malaspina program to learn the technical side of graphic production. Already able to produce work in traditional media, he enjoys the challenge of also mastering digital creation.


"I’ve been very impressed with the program," he said. "The amount of information in each of the classes is quite impressive and because it’s a relatively small class, the instructors are able to give one-on-one attention to each student."


To compete for the Copeland Communications Award, he put together a presentation board showcasing his best work from his first year in the program. Several of the pieces he selected had strong concepts behind the images.


"That was what Copeland picked up, his conceptual strengths," said instructor Iris Churcher, who has taught the program for 16 years. The Copeland Communications Award is offered annually to a student entering the second year of the Graphic Arts program.


To win the award, students must produce outstanding work and maintain a good overall grade point average, Churcher said.


Booth originally graduated from John Barsby Secondary School and worked at a Nanaimo video store. After graduation from Malaspina, he hopes to apply his artistic skills to produce illustrations, work in film, or work on graphic novels, which are longer, more detailed versions of what used to be known as comic books.


He plans to use part of the $1,000 award to purchase a digital camera, so he can also explore photography.



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