Local Columbus illustrator is a national name

Nina Pieri
Fri, 26 Apr 2019 17:51:35 +0000
Arts & Life, News

“For a Few Dollars More” movie poster commissioned by Jason Kincaid. Courtesy of Jason Kincaid.

For many enthusiasts, the 80’s style of old movie posters are simply a pastime. For a local Columbus artist, they are a career.

Jason Kincaid, a self-employed illustrator and designer based in Columbus, works in mixed media for top companies such as Disney, Topps Trading Cards and FX. He is an advocate for bringing back the old illustrated movie poster style of art.

“I’m working towards proving once again that traditional illustration on movie posters and in advertising are very valuable,” said Kincaid. “I’m seeing a lot of fellow artists out there following my art, and I’m seeing their art evolving at maybe taking a run at doing a movie poster or something of that nature.”

Kincaid is an enthusiast of the art style that he works in and protects. He said he wants to see it come back into mainstream, into the limelight like it once was.

“I feel that it’s kind of lost — an art form that is slowly coming back to play,” Kincaid said. “There’s been a long, dark period of emotionless movie poster advertising of slapping together crappy Photoshop images. I wanted to see the movie posters I grew up loving. I figured I would start trying to help push that back into the entertainment spotlight, and make the advertising interesting again.”

He said he is not as concerned with rivalry as he is with the overall goal of bringing the art style back into circulation.

“I’m not too worried about competition right now,” Kincaid said. “I’m more interested in being a part of a movement of artists proving to the advertising and marketing communities that traditional art and illustration can be very valuable.”

While Columbus is not typically seen as a hub for illustration, it is known for its medium size while still offering all the benefits of a larger city.

“It’s not too big for networking and connecting with other artists and employers,” said Alissa Breakiron, Illustration Program Coordinator at the Columbus College of Arts and Design. “There’s always an opportunity to learn and grow from other creatives by visiting one of many gallery spaces or conventions that visit downtown.”

Illustration is a diverse, yet distinctive field, with many differing definitions. Breakiron said each artist can go into a large range of specializations varying from animation, to tattooing, to biomedical illustrating, to toy design.

“The uniqueness is in the diverse training that comes with studying illustration, which allows for adaptability and problem-solving development,” said Breakiron. “When I was in school, I knew I wanted to draw, but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my skills after graduation. Illustration was very helpful to study because there were so many different courses offered so that I had a chance to experience what different job opportunities are out there.

Kincaid said he was drawn to the field through his passions, and finds a lot of significance through his work.

“If you’re gonna do a job, it better be something you enjoy doing, and has a lot of meaning to you,” Kincaid said. “Growing up, movies and comic books were really my main inspiration, so I decided I was going to pursue a career doing this.”