We are pleased and proud to announce our first Sketchbattle Pro event in New York City timed to coincide with the New York Auto Show.  Can the news get any better than that?  How about we are doing the event in Jalopnik’s swanky Headquarters (full disclosure, never been there, have no idea if it is swanky or not, but you don’t either so let’s just run with it).  Details are below as well as a list of our contestants (which will be updated daily as we add new sketchers daily until full)….

Who do you have to thank for this awesomeness? Aside from Jalopnik, we have support from Covestro, a world-leading manufacturer of high-tech polymer materials for key industries such as automotive.  Their vision “To make the world a brighter place,”  fits the Sketchbattle perfectly.  Per usual the Winner receives a title belt constructed by hand by Mobsteel and a fantastic watch will be awarded to one of the contestants courtesy of our official timekeeper Brazen Sports. PS If you want a Brazen watch of your own, Sketchbattle and Jalopnik fans qualify for a special 20% discount by clicking this link and using code MSBEXP20.

Since the space is a little more intimate than our normal events, make sure to get a ticket early because they are severely limited.  You can purchase a ticket here – by making a contribution to charity.  Because the space is tight, we have reduced the number of contestants to 8 and the rounds to 2 so the pressure will be ramped up as they fight to the death.  We don’t call ourselves The Fight Club of Design for nothing.  In reality, the only thing that gets injured at our events are egos.

The contestants’ sketches will be judged on sketch quality and how successfully they meet the theme of each round within the 30 minute time frame.  The winner takes home a prize package worth $2,500.

For Sketchbattle 16, here are your contestants (updated daily)

Daney Chhang/Art Center/Frank Stephenson Design

The number 1 ranked contestant for New York is Daney Chhang, a designer for Frank Stephenson Design.  Stephenson was Head of Design for the new Mini when it debuted (I have 3) and also led McLaren and others.  They currently collaborate with companies from all sectors of industry creating style, refinement and performance.  Chhang is originally from Dallas Texas and had stints at Embraer Jets and Faraday Future.  He went to school at Art Center and you can read about Daney’s fantastic win here.

Or, if you want to follow Daney’s journey to the Sketchbattle you can watch his video series here.

Finn Yonkers/Pratt/Studio 1011

Our next contestant for the NYC Sketchbattle is Finn Yonkers! Fin began his career teaching design and visualization at Pratt Institute’s Industrial Design department and has extended his portfolio to include automotive, exhibit, graphic multimedia and interactive design.  While Yonkers is unranked (this being his first Sketchbattle), we expect great things from this Award winning designer known for his work with a wide variety of industry leading brands.

Ricky Ryan Goimarac/CCS/McLaren

Our 3rd entrant and second highest- ranked contestant is Ricky Ryan Goimarac, currently an engineer at McLaren.  Ricky holds the record for Sketchbattle appearances as he has competed in 8 of the 14 previous events.  While he has never won, his first event saw him eliminated in the first round and steady improvements have resulted in final round appearances in Sketchbattle 12 Detroit 2018 and Sketchbattle 14 Las Vegas 2018.   @sketchbook_audio

Kevin Richards/CCS/Surfac3d

The 4th entrant is Kevin Richards, an automotive surface developer and designer living in Brooklyn, NY.  Kevin went to College for Creative Studies, and is an innovative designer with extensive conceptual and 3D modeling experience.  See how he drew this truck in his latest youtube video:

Chris Corrado/Concept Design Academy

Announcing our next contestant for the NYC Sketchbattle, Chris Corrado! He has been a competitor in previous Sketchbattles, 11 in Los Angeles, 13 in San Francisco and 14 in Las Vegas. Chris says the Sketchbattle has opened a lot of doors for him, including getting published in Automobile Magazine, Cartoons Magazine, and Core77 online articles!

Jeffrey Hernandez/Art Institute/Steve Madden Footwear

Jeffrey Hernandez, is our 6th contestant for the NYC Sketchbattle. He graduated from The Art Institute of California – Orange County as an Industrial Designer. He is currently a Footwear Designer at Steve Madden!

Ariel Barcia/Queens College

Ariel Barcia is the next to last contestant! He attended College for Creative Studies between 2008-11, and now he’s finishing up his design degree at Queens College to hopefully work in UX/UI design or brand identity. Ariel has worked in automotive dealerships and body shops, painted custom cars and helmets, as well as custom touches to exotic vehicles. @barcia.ariel

Mark Randall/Academy of Art University

Our last contestant for the NYC Sketchbattle is Mark Randall @hedinger_design . He is a Swiss-American dual citizen and moved to the US in 2011. Mark graduated with a degree in Industrial/Transportation Design from AAU (Academy of Art University) in San Francisco in 2018, and recently moved to NYC. He has also won a Gold Award in Transportation at the Spark Design Awards. Transportation, product, furniture, toy, and even 3D animation, are all forms of design he enjoys.

TICKETS CAN ALSO BE FOUND HERE

The Middlecott Sketchbattle Experiment™ is presented by

            AACS and Middlecott Design.

AACS (Advanced Automotive Consulting Services, LLC) is a business development consultancy working in all aspects of the automotive industry.  AACS specializes in helping automotive suppliers with their difficult objectives like introducing new technologies, expanding business onto new continents or breaking down walls to bring in new customers. We are experts in customer engagement!

MIDDLECOTT Design is an international design organization based in Detroit, Michigan. As Detroit’s premier design consultancy, MIDDLECOTT will supercharge your brand through its award-winning formula of high-octane design.