What is Illustration? Part 1: Illustration Categories

I developed a stomach bug last week which resulted in me having to unfortunately having to miss Thursday and Fridays studio time and workshops. I'll have to make up for what I've missed but I was able to spend a bit of time working on my Study Task 2.

Socio/Political:

http://www.belltoons.co.uk

I found this by Steve Bell a cartoonist for the Guardian. It looks like he made this during the last general election. I'm a fan of Bell's work as he draws politicians with such awkward humour, especially David Cameron - a bloated condom.

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/08/10/dr-seusss-wartime-propaganda-cartoons/

I then found a cartoon by Dr Seuss from the war. His work is so similar to that of his Children's Illustrative work which works well in keeping away the graphic horrors of war and focusing more on the political.

http://blogs.buffalonews.com/adam-zyglis/

This piece by Adam Zyglis, a cartoonist for the Buffalo News, brilliantly shows the outrage on the Republic Elephants face at the prospect of Obama's health care reform.

http://www.nickandersoncartoon.com

Nick Anderson's piece perfectly encapsulates the weird fixation with the ugly pop cultural phenomenon we currently have to witness in the media.

David Horsey gives an interesting example of the American (Or Western) take on fairness and finance. I'm a fan of Horsey's work as he makes cartoons that are more interactive than most cartoons and pull the audience. Like this for example:

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/topoftheticket/la-tot-cartoons-pg,0,1019230.photogallery#axzz2jIRSR1to

Narrative/ Sequential:

http://www.craigthompsonbooks.com/category/sketchbook/

I've recently finished reading Blankets by Craig Thompson, a coming of age graphic novel based on his own life. His amazing brush work convinced me to buy a brush pen of my own.

http://quentinblake.com

Quentin Blake is a favourite of mine. For years I've thought that his loose, style was what I wanted to reproduce. However since starting this course I've began to realise I have to create my own form.

http://www.shauntan.net

Someone in the studio recently brought in The Arrival by Shaun Tan. I had a look through this book and found the work to be so amazingly detailed! Simply beautiful illustrations aided by the lack of text in the book.

http://pdlcomics.tumblr.com

I've set up a Tumblr account and found Poorly Drawn Lines by 'Reza'. He narrates crazy irrelevant works drawn very minimally.

http://tonymooreillustration.com

The Walking Dead is currently drawn by Charlie Adlard but originally when the comic was only expected to run for possibly 6 issues it was drawn by Tony Moore. His work had much more detail and shading than what Adlard's work is.

Attention to Detail/Skill/Complexity:

http://cosasminimas.com

Blanca Gomez is a graphic designer and illustrator whose work I had never seen before now. This piece works for me as it centres around this huge balloon around the top of the page creating an interesting balance with the lower part of the page.

http://chrishaughton.com

Chris Haughton is an Irish children's book illustrator whose work is beautifully minimal and tells the tale of a little owl that falls from its nest with his mommy no where to be seen.

Phillipa Rice is one of my favourite people to follow on Tumblr. Her book 'Soppy' is a collection of small narratives that examines the day to day life of relationships in just red, white and black. She also works in very different mediums as can be seen on her Tumblr.

http://cardboardlife.tumblr.com

Conceptual Development

http://www.bobrafei.com/galleries/jak1/characters/source/jak_final_stance.htm

Bob Rafei is a cook designer who created the characters for the Jak and Daxter series on Playstation. I like how he exaggerates body parts to create a more cartoon like character.

http://conceptartworld.com/?p=33940

I'm a big fans of the Lord of the Rings/Hobbit films and look forward to the next film. This is largely due to the amount of concept work that goes into creating a fantastical world. Nick Kellar worked on the next film creating the dragon Smaug.

http://io9.com/5568011/ralph-mcquarrie-god-of-star-wars-concept-art/

The concept work is so different to the final outcomes presented in the film. I love the work of Ralph McQuarrie and his wonderful vision in creating these worlds and characters.

http://conceptartworld.com/?p=17507

Lisa Keene's concept art is occasionally darker than the what is seen in the Disney films she works for. However I like these darker images.

http://jeradsmarantz.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/thing-designs.html

The Thing is a film that terrified me as a child, and I found the reboot/sequel/prequel quite freaky too. It's not wonder with concept art like this by Jared S Marantz.

Humour

http://miamigo.ca/index.php/previously

I like Ani Castillo's unusual humour. I also appreciate how she uses mostly just black ink with nothing more.

http://www.progressiveboink.com/2012/4/21/2912173/calvinhobbes

Calvin and Hobbes is a cartoon strip that appears in both black ink outlines and occasionally colours. Its an interesting view of life that can be both serious and humorous. 

http://bitterendblog.com/?p=11308

I've only just come across Chow Hon Lam, but i think he has a great humour to his work and a good eye for colour! There is also a good use of space within the piece here.

https://www.arcamax.com/thefunnies/hagarthehorrible/

With my parents unfortunately being 'The Sun' readers there were always copies within our house. I plus side was Hagar the Horrible that runs inside. It was sometimes cringe worthy however other times hilarious. It's very basic with usually only a few items within each panel.

I recently joined Tumblr and came across this piece by Alba Blazquez. Its a very simple piece with an illustration and text, however I feel it works very well.