Weekly Topic :: “Liquid”
This week’s topic is:
Liquid
Suggested by Rachel Harnish
Happy drawing!
Posted by Thomas James on 05/17/13 under weekly topics
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Artist :: Daniel Ursache
Posted by Angie
Daniel Ursache was born in Romania and grew up on the coast of the Black Sea. He studied art in Timisoara, Romania, before moving to Montreal, Canada to complete his post-graduate studies. A regular participant in Illustration Friday challenges, Daniel also creates fine art and graphic design, and has illustrated for books and magazines.
Daniel’s work is characterized by energetic linework, bold mark-making, the exploration of various media, occasionally appearing to mix traditional techniques with digital manipulations. His style tends toward surreal imagery and slightly dark, melancholy subject matter.
See more of Daniel’s work: website | blog | other blog
Posted by Angie Brown on 05/16/13 under Angie,artists,IF Participants,painterly
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Marika Maijala :: a Finnish illustrator and graphic designer
Post by Alice Palace
Loving Marika Maijala’s wonderful characters…
Posted by Alice Palace on 05/15/13 under Alice,artists
2 Comments
Master of the Month :: Charles Schulz
Charles Schulz was an American cartoonist, best known for his comic strip, Peanuts.
Charles Monroe Schulz was born in 1922 in St. Paul, Minnesota. His uncle nicknamed him “Sparky” after a character in a comic strip. “Someday, Charles,” His kindergarten teacher told him, “You’re going to be an artist.” His first published work was a drawing of his dog, Spike, that he sent to Ripley’s Believe It or Not. Spike ate pins and tacks and was the inspiration for Schluz’s iconic cartoon dog, Snoopy. Sparky was shy as a teenager, and his feelings were hurt when his drawings were rejected from the school yearbook. 60 years later, a statue of Snoopy was erected at the school.
Sparky studied art through a correspondence course from Art Instruction, Inc. After serving in World War II, he took a job at the school reviewing and grading student lessons. While working at the school, Schulz fell in love with a coworker. Donna Mae Brown turned down Charles Schulz when he proposed to her. In comics, she became the Little Red-Haired Girl, the unrequited love of Peanuts’ protagonist, Charlie Brown.
Schulz created several cartoons before he created Peanuts. The Saturday Evening Post published seventeen of his one-panel gag cartoons. His first weekly cartoon was a series of gags called Li’l Folks. Charlie Brown appeared there for the first time. The character was based on Charles Schulz but named after another teacher at Art Instruction, Inc. Schulz attempted to syndicate Li’l Folks, but his best offer fell through. Soon after, he started making four-panel comic strips. Peanuts appeared in seven newspapers later that year. Schulz earned $90 a week from its publication.
Schulz created other illustrations and comic strips, but he abandoned those projects as the popularity of Peanuts grew and grew. The strip was eventually published in 2,600 newspapers in 75 countries. Schulz drew almost 18,000 comic strips. With merchandise and product endorsements, the artist earned $30 million to $40 million dollars a year. The comic strip was developed into Emmy-winning cartoon specials and a Tony-winning musical, “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.” Original artwork from the strip was shown in museums around the world including the Louvre in France where Sparky received a gala reception and the Order des Arts et des Lettres from the French Ministry of Culture. Snoopy, as the official mascot of Nasa, even went to the moon! The command module and the lunar excursion module on the Apollo 10 mission were named Charlie Brown and Snoopy. In all this time, Schulz took only one vacation, a five week break to celebrate his 75th birthday.
By the 1980′s, Charles “Sparky” Schulz was one of the highest paid entertainers in America “right up there with Oprah and Michael Jackson. “By these standards, he was the most successful visual artist of all time. He lived off the earnings of his comic strip, and used much of the rest of his income for philanthropy. He and his wife, Jean, funded libraries, museums, airports, and other worthy causes. When a local ice rink was closed near their home, Schulz purchased the rink and turned it into a world-class ice arena for local families. He often ate there, drove the zamboni, and even played hockey in the seniors’ hockey league.
Despite enormous success and a happy family, Schulz was often lonely, depressed and plagued by panic attacks. By sharing his personal anxieties through a popular comic strip though, he provided humor and comfort to the rest of the world. Schulz himself compared his panic to that of a dog ”running frantically down the road pursuing the family car.” The dog ”is not really being left behind,” he said, ”but for that moment in his limited understanding, he is being left alone forever.” The simplicity of Peanuts made these depths accessible. And Schulz’s comic strips have since been studied by scholars, poets, philosophers, and, of course, other artists. In Arthur Asa Berger’s assessment, Snoopy is ”an existential hero in every sense of the term,” a dog who ”strives, with dogged persistence and unyielding courage, to overcome what seems to be his fate — that he is a dog.”
Near the end of his life, Schulz suffered from Parkinson’s disease. His tremors were so bad at times that he had to steady himself against his desk to continue drawing his comics. Over the next ten years, his health deteriorated until he could no longer read or see clearly. He announced his retirement reluctantly, and died on February 12, 2000, the day before his final comic strip was published. Two days before his death, Charles “Sparky” Schulz was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor that the United States Government can bestow. A few months later, he was honored by more than 100 cartoonists who incorporated his characters into their cartoons. In August 2002, The Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center opened in Santa Rosa, California, two blocks from the artist’s former studio.
When I was a kid, Peanuts was too slow and talky for me. As I have grown up though, I have come to appreciate the work of Charles Schulz. It doesn’t make me laugh as much as it moves me and even comforts me sometimes. The first strip that caught my attention was one of Charlie Brown’s “Sometimes I lie awake at night” setups. I don’t remember the punchline, but there have been a few of them. (Schulz actually said “A cartoonist is someone who has to draw the same thing day after day without repeating himself.”) When I read that comic and suddenly knew that other people were up late with their thoughts and fear, I felt some relief. I felt not so alone. To this day, I think of Charlie Brown when some sticky thought has me up at three in the morning.
Last month, one of my students asked “Why are all the famous artists crazy or drunks or whatever?” It inspired a weeks-long conversation. Schulz is my closing argument. His life’s work demonstrates that artists can be authentic, successful, and kind.
Portrait of Charles Schulz drawn by yours truly, Rama Hughes
Posted by rama on 05/14/13 under artists,master of the month
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Editorial Submission :: Chiara Dal Maso
Posted by: Natalie
Chiara Dal Maso is a multi-faceted Italian designer based in Vicenza, Italy.
Her skills include logo design, typography and web design, and she has also created some wonderful illustration work. She is fascinated by photography and brings her camera everywhere she goes to shoot landscapes and just about anything else that catches her attention.
See more of Chiara’s work: Portfolio
Posted by Natalie on 05/14/13 under artists,editorial submissions
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Artist :: Sarah Archambeault
by Wendy
Sarah Archambeault’s digital work has such a textural quality to it, you almost don’t believe it was made on a computer. Her acrylic paintings are pretty swell too.
See more of her work here:
Tumblr | Carbonmade | Blogspot | Twitter
Posted by Wendy Schiller on 05/13/13 under artists
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Jon Gray’s Typographical Book Covers
Post by Sarah
In my career I’ve been focusing on illustration for the last years, but coming from a much broader background in graphic & communication design I am fascinated with the whole book cover designing process and the challenges it comes with.
Creating visuals that somehow represent a whole story without going the most obvious route or being too bold and simple is a skill that results in beautiful work when it’s mastered. Jonathan Gray aka Gray 318 clearly is one of the masters in this field. His mainly typographical works are always smart, thought-through and often show a dry wit. If you are a fan of Jonathan Safran Foer you might already be very aware of Jon’s fantastic cover work.
You can see a video on youtube about the extraordinary cover design of Nineteen Eighty-Four (3rd cover shown above) here.
For more work and some videos of Jon Gray here: Portfolio | Blog
Posted by Sarah Palisi on 05/11/13 under artists,books,conceptual,design,Sarah,typography
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Illustrator :: Danielle Kroll
Post by Clio.
Danielle Kroll is a Brooklyn based designer and illustrator who graduated from Tyler School of Art with a BFA. Her work is fun & playful yet sophisticated and carries over a vast range of materials. Danielle is inspired by the great outdoors, her childhood, the weird and wacky, and vintage treasures (though some might refer to it as junk). She has worked with clients such as The Land of Nod and Anthropology and also keeps a steady flow of personal work going, the illustrations above are a mix of both. See more of Danielle’s work on her website.
Posted by Clio Meldon on 05/10/13 under artists,cartoon,Clío,creativity,design,digital
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Weekly Topic :: “Future” and an Introduction to Thomas James
This week’s topic is:
Future
Suggested by Steven Bremner
In honor of the future of Illustration Friday!
Introducing Thomas James
After 10 years, Penelope Dullaghan has handed the reigns of Illustration Friday over to Thomas James, illustrator and Creative Director of Illustration Age (that’s me).
After devoting last week to honoring everything that Penny has done for everyone who has ever participated at Illustration Friday, it’s time to introduce myself and tell you a little bit about the exciting future of the community.
Who the heck is Thomas James?
Good question.
I’m an illustrator who creates smart visual concepts for clients like WIRED Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and many others, some of which have been recognized by the Society of Illustrators and American Illustration.
I’m also the Editor/Creative Director of Illustration Age, a site devoted to keeping up with what’s happening in the illustration industry, and former Editor/Creative Director/Podcast host of Escape from Illustration Island, a now-defunct site devoted to resources and inspiration for freelance illustrators that has now been merged with IA.
I’ve also created several downloadable ebooks, audiobooks, and resources for illustrators such as theIllustrator’s Survival Kit, 15 Steps to Freelance Illustration, Inside Illustration Competitions, and 5 Qualities of a Successful Illustrator, just to name a few.
What’s going to happen to Illustration Friday?
Even better question!
Rest assured that more will stay the same than will change with IF. The most important thing to me is keeping the same spirit of community, inspiration, and fun that Penny has nurtured for so many years. You’ll still have your weekly themes, inspiring blog posts, and inclusive community that you’ve always enjoyed.
Of course, I’ll naturally be bringing my own voice and approach to Illustration Friday, drawing from my past experiences as an advocate for illustrators everywhere, and finding some areas of collaboration between Illustration Friday and Illustration Age. You may have already noticed some minor design tweaks here and there as I clean things up a bit and try to make the site even easier to navigate and more of a useful resource for you.
Further additions will involve incorporating some of Illustration Age’s popular resources such as the Illustration Bookstore, as well as working with industry-related companies for some exciting contests and giveaways to spice things up!
Is there something you’d like to see on Illustration Friday? I’d love to hear your ideas, so don’t hesitate to let me know! I’m really grateful for Penelope’s trust in taking over what is both a personal project and a thriving community of artists, and I look forward to getting to know you all a little better and seeing all the great art that you create
Thomas James
Posted by Thomas James on 05/10/13 under IF news update,weekly topics
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Artist :: Isidro Ferrer :: No Stranger to the Surreal
Posted by Angie
Isidro Ferrer began his career as a stage actor in Madrid, Spain. After an accident
and long rehabilition, Isidro became an illustrator and graphic designer. He has
designed book covers, posters, wine labels, sculptural found objects, and he has
created tile design for public works. His clients include Canal + , El Pais,
Santillana, Volkswagen, and the Centro Dramático Nacional. He has won many
awards for his work including the National Award for children’s illustration from
Spain’s Ministry of Education and Culture (2006).
Isidro’s work often uses three-dimensional objects re-imagined and combined
with traditional media to take on a new meaning. Textures play a significant role in
his compositions and he is no stranger to surrealism. I love the simplicity and
high drama of his work, and the clever elegance of his ideas.
Posted by Angie Brown on 05/09/13 under Angie,artists,collage,design
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