Sketchbattle Jr. 2024
This year Sketchbattle Jr. hit Newlab Detroit, with talent spotted and recognized by General Motors Design and the College of Creative Studies.
Our next generation of designers from grades 7th-11th competed for design scholarships and prizes at this years Sketchbattle Jr. For those that have been to the Middlecott Sketchbattle, the concept is basically the same. Excellence in design skill is displayed, but for the youth it’s also coupled as a workshop with professional mentors. The morning broke into practice rounds and a panel of design professionals there to educate parents on career opportunities in our industry.
Panel discussion with our creatives answering the parents Q&A.
We had Glen Durmisevich and Jennifer Kraska from General Motors Design, Jane Stewart from CCS, and of course Adam tying all of it together with his experience taking concept to reality. He offered his point of view as a parent educating himself, just like everyone in the audience. Major takeaways from him were that he is always there to support his kids passions, and help find ways to connect the dots with them. One question was asked about access, how do we connect kids to these opportunities when they don’t have access to the availability in the first place? Yes there are scholarships available, and yes there are certain after school programs, but the focus should start within their education on what’s available. It’s events like Sketchbattle Jr., free events, that are taking the right steps in opening up to more of our communities. I posted the full talk on our @mobsteel IG for y’all to check out.
We brought MCV (Motorcity Vice) out, all lit up and trunk stuntin with the custom Boombox and Kicks. Both were created with original designs pulled from the mural Brook made for the full display, brought to life by Michael J. Kicks and Jordon Diab and the Kicker Audio sound. It’s always so cool to see everyone’s jaws drop when they first see it, as was intended.
We’ve known Jax, also known as @jumping_jax_draws, and his family for a couple years now. He actually first drew our ’79 Bronco and showed us at Hotwheels a few years back, and when we debuted MCV he took that on too.
His talent this year took him to the winners circle as one of the GM Design picks! So cool to see the recognition and pride in their work.
Our buddy Dave coordinated all the rides coming in for set up, which means we got to see the wagon on our Detroit Steel Wheel’s Delrays. You can see more of that from Autorama in our blog post covering it, here.
With GM repping as a main sponsor, they brought out a couple rides too. The EV Hummer definitely crept up on us during set up, very cool to see some of the kids pull from the inspiration displayed around the show.
This event is all about connecting our next generation of designers with career opportunities. Brook and Judith are laying the groundwork by providing a space for kids learn and express themselves with peers and professionals. The earlier they get involved, the better chance they have for success. For any and all involvement, check out the Sketchbattle Jr. website. Upcoming events will be posted, and don’t hesitate to reach out to the team if you have questions or have an idea for where the next event could be!
