“Norman Rockwell was a 20th-century American illustrator. His works enjoy a broad popular appeal in the United States, where Rockwell is most famous for the cover illustrations of everyday life scenarios he created for The Saturday Evening Post magazine over more than four decades. Among the best-known of Rockwell’s works are the Willie Gillis series, Rosie the Riveter, Saying Grace (1951), and the Four Freedoms series.” – Wiki

Based in New York Tomer Hanuka is an illustrator and a cartoonist. He works on a range of projects for magazines, book publishers, ad agencies and film studios. In 2008 he won the British Desgin Museum award as part of the Penguin Classics Deluxe Editions. Currently he teaches at the School of Visual Arts and is working on a graphic novel with his twin brother Asaf.

On his blog he shows his illustration process from sketch to final artwork: www.tropicaltoxic.blogspot.com. Find below a selection of his work:

Every now and then there is an illustrator that blows you away and for me Sam Weber is one of those. We have posted Sam Weber before a long time ago – middle of last year. His new work is fantastic. I find them deeply physiological which make his illustrations absolutely captivating. Definatly worth adding to our Illustration Blog.

He has done a wide range of editorial as well as book illustrations. He was born in Alaska but has since moved to New York and lives there with his wife.

I hope you enjoy this selection:

All I can say is:
true attention to detail + brilliant observation + experienced drawing skills + Korean blood + the love for teaching + odd little characters bubbling to tell a story + an impressive cliental + an imaginative mind + beautiful use of soft colours + a love for fishing = Bill Carmen. Genuinely beautiful work.

Wow wow wow, so young and so so talented. Chelsea Greene Lewyta is a student at Pratt Institute for Illustration, New York. Growing up with an adopted Korean older sister, Chelsea has been exposed to much Asian culture. This is definitely visible in her illustrations. Her soft colour pallet and beautiful line work carries heavy mythical and sometimes extremely sexual and violent themes opposed to her childrens book illustrations that are completely innocent and pure. I love the constant connection Chelsea draws between nature, the animal world and the feminine, sometimes innocent and mystiacl and other times brutal and savage.

I am very excited to finally post the work of this brilliantly talented local artist; from my very own beautiful, South Africa. I have been following this illustrator for the past two years and am a big big fan. At the crazy young age of 24 Louis Minnaar creates illustrations that are not only expertly executed but portray an imagination like no other. A darkness runs through Minnaar’s mysterious worlds of human eyed birds, beaked flowers and disjointed figures. Louis’ highly conceptual approach can be seen in an illustration he created for the South African pop culture magazine “One Small Seed”. Louis explains, “The guy in the seed is chasing his own tail. He is searching for truth in the world and does not find it because ultimately, without God, he is alone.”

How much influence did art, the politicians brand and exposure thereof have in the 2008 American elections?

Is there an integral role between art and politics which can guide us in discovering truth or does art and design in politics walk dangerously close to propaganda?

How much does art and design influence the way people think and act? Or is art an embodiment of people’s perceptions implying that the art is in-fact preordained? The logo of a political brand is then a personification of a symbol or in other words the embodiment of the person it represents – similar comments in the video at the end of this post.

To what degree has art and design influenced the way Americans voted in 2008?

With these questions in mind please take a look at the collection of illustrations, caricatures, logos and video’s relating to the 2008 American Elections. You will notice there is more material on Obama which has nothing to do with my personal views. There was simply more of it. For example there were no real variations of the McCain logo like there was for Obama nor where there video’s talking about McCains brand development.

Enjoy: (Click on the images to see fully)

Obama Brand & Logo Development:
An interview with Sol Sender about the Obama logo and the brand that was built.

Sol Sender – Obama Logo Design Part 1 of 2

Sol Sender – Obama Logo Design Part 1 of 2

Other Videos:

This is a video compilation of varies political expressions

Obama And Pop Culture – CBS News

HipHop Scratching Video

That’s it! I hope you enjoyed!

60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – Awesome.

This post marks the beginning of a theme of posts on this illustration blog. I love to read novels. All sorts. I often look at the covers and am interested on how the artist has interpreted and expressed the book through the use of illustration, photography, typography and layout. I’ll start out with a poetic and famous book which is hailed to be one of the most widely read books of all time – Gabriel Garcia Marquez: 100 years of solitude.

“It was as if God had decided to put to the test every capacity for surprise and was keeping the inhabitants of Macondo in a permanent alternation between excitement and disappointment, doubt and revelation, to such an extreme that no one knew for certain where the limits of reality lay. It was an intricate stew of truths and mirages that convulsed the ghost of José Arcadio Buendía with impatience and made him wander all through the house even in broad daylight.” Gabriel Garcia Marquez: 100 years of solitude

“It was as if God had decided to put to the test every capacity for surprise and was keeping the inhabitants of Macondo in a permanent alternation between excitement and disappointment, doubt and revelation, to such an extreme that no one knew for certain where the limits of reality lay. It was an intricate stew of truths and mirages that convulsed the ghost of José Arcadio Buendía with impatience and made him wander all through the house even in broad daylight.” Gabriel Garcia Marquez: 100 years of solitude

“Carmelia Montiel, a twenty-year-old virgin, had just bathed in orange-blossom water and was strewing rosemary leaves on Pilar Ternera’s bed when the shot rang out. Aureliano José had been destined to find with her the happiness that Amaranta had denied him, to have seven children, and to die in her arms of old age, but the bullet that entered his back and shattered his chest had been directed by a wrong interpretation of the cards.” Gabriel Garcia Marquez: 100 years of solitude

View Wiki

Paul Terry-toons – Dingbat and Sylvester the fox

Paul Terry-toons Sourpuss and Gandy Goose

Paul Terry-toons – Heckle And Jeckle

Paul Terry-toons – Oil Can Harry and Pearl PureHeart

Paul Terry-toons – Mighty Mouse

Paul Terry-toons – Terry Bears

Paul Terry-toons -Dinky

Paul Terry-toons -Little Roquefort

Beatrix Potter (1866-1943)
‘The Rabbits’ Christmas Party’
About 1890
Watercolour

At Sotheby’s London, Beatrix Potter’s original watercolour illustration of the final scene from “The Rabbit’ Christmas Party” was sold for the remarkable amount of £289,250 – nearly five times its presale estimate (est. £40,000-60,000). This has set a new record for book illustration sold at an auction.

The watercolour was one of 20 original illustrations, books, unpublished Christmas cards and letters by Beatrix Potter. They came from her brother, Bertram Potter, which were offered for sale in today’s auction of English Literature and History. The whole collection, which represents the most extensive group of Beatrix Potter artwork to have appeared on the market went for a total of £748,200.

Bertram Potter must be a very happy man.

Here is some work by Julie West.

Julie West – Exposif

Julie West – Grumpy Yeti

Julie West – Octile

Julie West – Wachi Fichuz

Illustration Blog

Los Angeles based artist James Jean has produced some of the most amazing artworks I have even seen. The viewer is captured by the mythical stories each artwork tells. James Jean has won countless awards for his work. His clients include Time Magazine, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Spin, ESPN, Atlantic Records, Target, Playboy, Knopf, Prada among others.

James Jean Supertron

James Jean Didleybo

James Jean Maze

James Jean Prada bloom1

James Jean prada bloom3

James Jean Prwave

James Jean’s drawing process with “Fables-76″

www.jamesjean.com

This set of print adverts where developed right here in my home city Johannesburg. Network BBDO is the agency. I guess I am somewhat patriotic.

Creative Director: Mike Schalit
Copywriter: Gary Du Toit
Art Director: Mariana O’kelly
Illustrator: Ree Treweek

Tim Biskup is a Southern California fine artist whose work has been shown worldwide, including galleries and museums in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Tokyo, Kyoto, Barcelona, Berlin and Melbourne. He’s collaborated with artists and designers around the globe and organized art auctions and exhibitions. Read More…

Samurai Jack Monster Stack
Digital Art For Giclee/Iris Print
2003

A Decade Of Decadence
Poster Design For Juxtapoz Magazine
2004

Calli Garden
Gouache On Paper 24″ x 18″
2006

White Dragon
Gouache On Paper 12″ x 9″
2005

Injected
Cel Vinyl Acrylic On Wood 24” x 18”
2007

Fawn Fruits (AKA) Daniel Hyun Lim is a New York based artist.

Gallery 2008

Website

This post marks the beginning of a new category – Comics. In truth I have never really been an avid comic reader. I did once collect Ghost Rider, about 10 comic books in total. However there is defiantly something to be said for the artistic skill that goes into these comics. Here are a couple images from varies comics and publishers.

Above: This illustration is a snip it from the Marvel Superhero Team “Thunderbolts“.

For those of you not familiar with the world of comics, me being one, there is a whole universe that has been created around these superhuman characters. With political faction and superheroes joining each other to form teams and rally against other heroes. Much like Tolkien and his imaginary world of Orks, Hobbits and speaking trees.

Above: Achebe from Marvel Comics: “Reverend Doctor Michael Ibn al-Hajj Achebe’s true identity remains unknown. Stories persist that he was originally a Ghudazian farmer until Ujankan guerillas took refuge in his home, repaying his hospitality by stabbing him repeatedly, burning his farm, and stealing his unfaithful wife. Refusing to die, the farmer sold his soul to the devil for revenge, hunting down and slaying everyone associated with his wife, from close family to casual acquaintances.” Read More…

Above: “A.I.M. (Advanced Idea Mechanics) is an organization of brilliant scientists and their hirelings dedicated to the acquisition of power and the overthrow of all government by technological means.” Read More…

The stories are rather elaborate. If you go to the site there is a publishers rating for thing like power and intelligence. There is also a user rating. Then you have a full profile breakdown. What color hair, occupation (E.G.: Revolutionary, minister; former farmer, co-regent of Wakanda), Education (E.G: Ph.D. in Law (Yale)), Relatives (E.G: Unidentified alleged wife (deceased)) etc…

There you have it.

Sam Weber was born in Alaska but grew up in Canada. He moved to New York to pursue illustration and attend graduate school at The School of Visual Arts. Sam worked part time as an assistant art director of the OpEd page at the New York Times. His studio is now in Brooklyn.

Illustrated campaign for The Economist. Six illustrators where brought in by the agency AMV.BBDO. It was quite a drastic change from there old stuff but I think it works.

The Economist – Fine n Dandy

The Economist – Geoff Mcfetridge

The Economist – Matthew Green