Krystin Anderson

Margaret Weber walked briskly into the Utah County Health and Justice Building, a bulky cardboard package cupped under one arm and a black tote slung over the other. Carefully leaning the package against a wall, she paused to catch her breath before mounting the last few works of art.

Weber, art director of Covenant Communications, is one of the many BYU illustration alumni whose artistic training has branched off into different fields, but who, at the end of the day, remains rooted to that world and can't miss an opportunity to reunite with former classmates near the ground of her beloved alma mater.

Just two years shy of the BYU illustration program's 30-year anniversary, works of graduates spanning the entire length of the program's existence are lining the halls of the Utah County Gallery for the BYU Illustration Alumni Show, which will run through Feb. 22 at the Utah County Health and Justice Building.

Jose Flores, one of Weber's classmates in the early 1980s, motioned proudly to his whimsical, acrylic airbrush pieces and explained why he has gotten where he is, which is, among other things, designing and creating furry animal robots for Robotronics.

As an illustrator, Flores said, he has been taught to live by deadlines that have forced him to get it right the first time, a skill he feels the budding generation of artists lose because of computer programs.

"The disadvantage is that you can't mess up in airbrushing," Flores said, "But I've been doing this so long, I do not make mistakes ... because I cannot afford it, and so you gotta get it right on."

Perfectionism and precision are things that define illustrators, said Weber, who coordinated the show, but whose pieces aren't in it. She said illustrators, unlike artists of the "fine art" variety, have more easily marketable skills.

"The difference between fine artists and illustrators is that a fine artist paints something they hope will sell, and an illustrator paints something they already know will sell," Weber said. "I think the other thing about illustrators is you could say we're the people's artists. ... Almost without exception, people can relate to what we do."

The BYU alumni, in particular, have the advantage of staying in contact with each other after graduation, said Richard Hull, a BYU Illustration faculty member and keynote speaker at Friday's opening reception.

This, he said, along with a strong sense of business, which is woven into the program, helps the graduates turn their artistry into marketable skills.