Monthly Archives: October 2009

Illustrations of Jacopo Rosati

Posted at 4 pm on October 30, 2009 by Alex Mathers

Posted in: Character Illustration, Digital Illustration, Linear Illustration, Pens and Markers, Photoshop, Toys

I really like the thick, clean lines and dynamic characters of Venice-based illustrator Jacopo Rosati.

Let’s hope to see much more of this fellow in the future.

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MoonApe

Boys Who Draw Like Simon Wild

Posted at 11 am on October 29, 2009 by Alex Mathers

Posted in: Digital Illustration, Fabric Design, Ink Illustration, Mixed Media, Pens and Markers, Vector Illustration

I don’t know about you guys, but when I see Simon Wild’s engaging, fun and busy illustrations, I get an automatic boost of serotonin to the brain. He uses shapes, colour and superimpositions in very striking ways, creating rich, pleasing designs.

Paper Cut Illustrations by Graça Brohm

Posted at 9 pm on October 27, 2009 by Alex Mathers

Posted in: Paper Illustration

Here are some very artfully done papercut illustrations by Graça Brohm from Holland that I saw on her innovative portfolio site.

What is clever, apart from the excellent style in the illustrations themselves, is the use of negative space and shadow to add extra depth to each piece.

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Howlingwolves

Andrew Groves Makes Things, Including Illustrations

Posted at 3 pm on October 25, 2009 by Alex Mathers

Posted in: Character Illustration, Digital Illustration, Fabric Design, Vector Illustration

There is a lot of nice, crisp work coming from UK illustrator Andrew Groves, who has created art for companies that include Orange, Panasonic and Foundation Skateboards.

I especially like his consistent choice of soft colours and shapes that reappear throughout his work. I’ve asked him a few questions to find out more about his background, tools and promotion tips.

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How did you get into the illustration work you do?

I’ve always drawn and made things, so getting into illustration was a very natural thing. It’s been an interest of mine for as long as I can remember but now I’m lucky enough to be able to spend all day every day creating illustrations.

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How long do you think it took to find your style?

I would say I’m still finding my style. I think there will always be common ideas and themes in my work but I’d like to think it will continue to evolve.

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Recently I’ve found my work becoming more and more simple and I’m happy with direction it seems to be heading, but we’ll see what happens…

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What are your key illustration tools?

My MacBook and 2 Pilot pens that I got in Japan nearly 3 years ago and they still haven’t run out. They must be magical.

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Do you have a favourite self promotion tip?

It’s important to maintain a presence online so I would recommend getting involved with anything and everything so that people don’t forget about your work.

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Also, although there are a lot of places now to display your artwork online, I think having a proper portfolio site that displays your work effectively is still really important.

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What are you working on at the moment?

I’ve just finished off a couple of editorial pieces for Orange and Snowboarder Magazine, next I’m working on some T-shirt designs and forcing myself to paint more.

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Sounds exciting, Andrew, thank you!

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MoonApe is on Twitter!

Paper Cut Illustrations of Hiyoko Imai

Posted at 12 pm on October 23, 2009 by Alex Mathers

Posted in: Hand Craft, Paper Illustration, Sculpture

I love the simple and refreshing work of Tokyo born, but living in Amsterdam artist Hiyoko Imai. Her illustration series, that uses pieces of cut traditional Japanese papers on card to compose images, are extremely satisfying.

Finkle Boudit Daily Drawings of Nicole MacNeill

Posted at 12 pm on October 18, 2009 by Alex Mathers

Posted in: Character Illustration, Ink Illustration, Pencil Illustration, Pens and Markers, Sketchbooks

Nicole sent me an email the other day telling me about how I’d left a comment on her drawing-a-day site site ‘Finkle Boudit’ many weeks ago. I’m glad she reminded me of her work, because I was pleasantly surprised to see it again. I’d noticed her drawing-a-day regime was falling back slightly, and thought it’d be great to see those daily drawings re-booted.

Fresh Digital Patterns of C86

Posted at 10 pm on October 15, 2009 by Alex Mathers

Posted in: Digital Illustration, Fabric Design, Hand Craft, Linear Illustration, Photoshop, Vector Illustration

London-based digital and mixed-media illustrator Matt Lyon, also known as C86, is the mastermind behind an extensive body of eye warming digital illustrations (I’m not sure that’s a phrase, but it seems to apply here).