Wesley Allsbrook

Hey Guys,
since I've been working in my studio I don't spend so much time surfing the internet anymore, which has reduced my posting and commenting on our blog... NOT GOOD! I'll be catching up, keep my contribution alive. For now; meet Wesley Allsbrook. Great dynamic work with a lot of energy, lovely looseness and a sweet mix of digital and traditional media. 

Sam Bosma

Look at Sam Bosma's work. Awesome! Also don't forget the sketchbook section...

Tadanori Yokoo

Described by some as the 'Japanese Andy Warhol', Tadanori Yokoo is apparently one of Japan's most successful and internationally recognized graphic designers and artists, but I had unfortunately not heard of him before. Just found an article and some of his images online, and I'm very interested in pursuing more of his work. It seems like he fuses 'traditional' Japanese art and print with Gilliamesque collage and Heinz Edelmann-like illustrations, and I really like the results. Note to self: pursue further.

Andrew Hem

I love these paintings! Andrew Hem makes such awesome use of the material, great vibrant colors and superb loose style. He comes from a graffity background, but made it to the regular fineart galleries. There is also a lovely sketchbook section on his website and more high resolution close-up snapshots of his paintings on the blog. I'd love to see some originals of those paintings, I'm sure the detail and texture must be stunning.


click to enlarge!

Nice trick or great work?

I came across these cool portraits by Gium Tió Zarraluki and I think they are really cool. They have a lot of expression and a weird feel to them. I only noticed after a while that they are painted on magazinecovers and parts of the faces are leftovers from the underlying phtographs. This partly makes them so weird, but it also makes the works less special I think. On one hand I like the idea of distorting the 'perfect' portraits on glossy magazines, on the other hand by doing it over and over again it might become a trick. I wonder if the works are created from a certain feeling or from the posibilities the original image offers. Probably both. But i'd like to see what happens if those characters would be recomposed, interact together and become more than a funny portrait. Still very inspiring work all together! Here's lots of 'm!

Botlek

Meet illustrator par excellence Daan Botlek. He studied in Rotterdam too, a few years before me, and you'd meet him every now and then at the bars, always with his sketchbook ready, no matter how late or drunk. He never felt comfortable in the 'classic' illustration business, he was more of an autonomous illustrator and over the years he has devellopped a very unique and recognisable style. His drawings look simple, but are extremely complex. The clear lines and subtle use of shading, combined with a great sence of composition reveal a huge knowledge of form and shape. He can be funny in a slapstickish way, but also graphicly intelligent like Escher. Who knows one day he will be the next Escher. Or the first worldfamous Botlek maybe? He has tons of work on his flickr, his website doesn't seem to work right now. Enjoy!






click to enlarge!

Nice cover

I like it.

Scientific Illustration

Here is a nice little collection of scientific illustrations - illustrations we all love and adore:

Dutch Classic: Jan van Haasteren

You might be familiar with the funny jigsaw puzzles made by Jan van Haasteren (JvH). His drawings are part of our Dutch collective youth memories, and known all over the world. Born in 1936 he is an old man now, but still produces three puzzles a year. To me, he is a hero that has had a big influence, I remember being utterly fascinated by his posters, at the butchers, in the hospital, wherever I saw his posters I would stop and try to find all the hidden jokes he squeezed on the paper.
He started out as a comic/animation artist for the famous 'Toonder studios' and worked on the various projects they produced, like Donald Duck magazine, the Smurfs, commercial illustrations, mostly anonymous in others' styles and set formats.

He got more and more credit for his work and started creating his own series in which we can see his his style devellop into the one we know.
But far more than for his comics, he is famous for his posters and puzzles. With his vast imagination he makes every scene he draws into a hilarious chaos, adding jokes and funny details in every small space available. But he does this with great craftmanship, superb drawing skills in terms of placement and perspective, character design and use of color. It is always a chaos, but never a mess. He has some copycats trying to do what he does, but he is the master, and always recognisable by the shark fin coming through and the hands coming from everywhere since those are registered trademarks!

Victorian Infographics

Ah, the beauty! This warms my heart and makes me happy. :) Victorian Infographics on BibliOdyssey.





(Via BoingBoing)

Meet Tavis Coburn

This Canadian illustrator combines 1940s comicbook art with Russian propaganda styles and old printing techniques. This wonderfull mix makes powerfull, fat illustrations that explode right of the page.
What I think is really good on these works, is that from a distance they seem simple and clear. However, if you look closer you discover a ton of details, anatomical knowledge and sweet printmaking 'accidents'. Not only is it well illustrated, also very well designed. Typography, composition and use of color fits perfectly together.
What also works, and this is something I've been thinking about more often, is how his works look like they belong together, consequently the same style, recognisable and therefore probably better marketable. You call this guy, you know what to expect. It will spread his name easier and agents can promote him efficiently to specific jobs. This is hard if you look at my work, a mixture of everything more or less. I should keep this in mind and maybe slowly form a more united body of work.
I'm not so fond of his animations found on his website. I miss the printed feel and the time you can take to look at all the details. But take a look at his portfolio if you like the ones posted here. There's a lot more and all are great.

Eerie Publication Covers

Something for Bart, this...

Vintage Technical Documents Porn

Beautiful. Simply beautiful. For all of us who love old technical documents (and old technology in general), this is a good place to be.


Marc Weidenbaum of Disquiet writes:

The legendary BBC Radiophonic Workshop closed down in 1998, after 40 years. (...) Over at the BBC website, there is a treasure trove of old technical monographs from the Radiophonic's heyday. The documents, packed with technical diagrams and detailed descriptions of BBC procedures, date back to the 1950s.

via BoingBoing.

The Art of Penguin Science Fiction

Holy cow! Here's a great reference for anyone interested in the last fifty years of science fiction pocket book cover design... lots of beautiful work here, including previously mentioned David Pelham.

Old master in close-up

I've always been amazed by the old masters of illlustration, Norman Rockwell, J.C. Leyendecker, those kind of guys. Great craftsmen, painting vituosos whoes works are widespread and well known. They worked rather big, in order to create spectacular detailed smaller reproductions. By doing so it is almost impossible to study the works, how they are built up, but I've found a blogpost of a guy who went to see some originals and published some close-ups so that we can actualy see the brushstrokes. And they are FAT! Beautifull stuff.