Ape on the Moon: Contemporary Visual Arts » Vector Illustration

Philipp Zurmöhle’s Structured Sketching Style and Digital Drawings

Philip Dennis — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:46:44 +0000

We’re enjoying the energetic and structured pencil work from Philipp Zurmöhle. Based in Nuremberg, Germany, Philipp works as graphic designer for apparel at Adidas Performance, while also working on his own illustration and design projects. His work is a real mixture, balancing a more digital style with his pencil drawings. He tells us more.

My artworks have recently moved away from abstract graffiti-inspired drawings to more figurative ones. Those often show monkeys or other animals in a tribal or cult-like situation. They tend to have a vigorous expression, that contrasts with their almost soulless eyes. I mostly use pencil, ink and aquarelle on big sheets of paper.

For my commercial illustrative work, I use a combination of hand drawn elements and vector forms. I don’t like the very digital outlook of images, so I try to make all them look a bit more tangible.

Win a Copy of the Great Big Book of Fashion Illustration

Alex Mathers — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 10:12:51 +0000

*Winner Announced*

Pleased to announce that the winner of the Great Book of Fashion Illustration is Claire Kearns. Well done! The book will be heading your way shortly!

Thank you to everyone who contributed and took part in the competition!

–

We’re lucky to have partnered with Anova Books to give away a free physical copy of the brand new ‘Great Big Book of Fashion Illustration’, published on September the 16th, 2011.

Written by Martin Dawber, an internationally acclaimed author on contemporary fashion, style and image, the book provides a range of fantastic illustration images from around the world. From the publisher:

As the scope for today’s fashion illustrators is ever widening, the artists and illustrators featured here relish the opportunity to embrace a multitude of techniques and values that challenge the accepted ‘rules’ of traditional fashion expression.

Digital masterpieces as well as traditional drawing and painting are included along with styles and sketches using techniques such as drawing, painting, collage, photograph and watercolour. Further details are below.

Shiho Matsubara. Personal Work, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator.

Victoria Kim. ‘Lovers 2′, Pastel

Kerstin Wacker. ‘Flower Dress’, Watercolour, Ink, Pen, Adobe Photoshop.

To be able to win, you’ll need to do one of the following:

Tweet this line, exactly as it is, on Twitter:

Win a copy of the Great Big Book of Fashion Illustration, on Ape on the Moon > http://su.pr/2IfQj6 < RT for a chance! (via @moonape)

…Or write a comment in the comments area below this post!

The winner will be announced here on Tuesday 4th October, 2011 and contacted individually. You have up until the afternoon GMT, on the 6th to tweet or comment.

Bob Kessel. ‘Roger Federer’, Adobe Illustrator

More details from the publisher:

Fashion illustration is an almost lost art, with our digital age providing endless alternative sources for creating and crafting new art forms amid limitless boundaries. Full of fresh, cool and creative artwork – every kind of fashion is covered here, from women’s couture to tweenies, from lingerie to lipstick, swimwear to separates.

New for this edition, a range of fashion sketchbook work for insight into the creative and technical process is also featured. With over 1000 illustrations, this is the must-have sourcebook to have on the shelf of all those involved in fashion and graphic design as fashion illustration continues its onslaught on today’s media.

Good luck!

Concise Design and Illustration by Denis Carrier

Philip Dennis — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 15:00:55 +0000

We previously mentioned Denis Carrier as part of the Spindle exhibition. Here’s some more of his work, all of which shows how well he puts together his concise, thought-out ideas in his perfectly places forms and clean lines. He also took some time to tell us a little more about his collaborative projects and his own work.

My name is Denis Carrier, I’m 28 years old and I live and was born in France. I founded Studiofolk, my graphic studio where I work everyday on illustration, graphic design and art projects. I also work with Aurélien Arnaud under the name PNTS and with Oriane Latour under the other name J’ai pas qu’un physique.

My work could seem very simple but I always try to tell something with fewer shapes. I would like to do illustrations which are a mix between intelligent and fun and which talk to a lot of people and not only to illustrators or artists.

In my work, I use two technics, I draw and scan my work and I use Photoshop for the color or I do the illustration with Illustrator. It all depends on what I want to tell through the illustration.

Marian Bantjes’ Heart-felt Graphic Design

Philip Dennis — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 14:00:36 +0000

Marian Bantjes obviously designs to make your heart melt. Not just in her modular Valentine’s Day cards, but her poster designs shown here, too.

Creating cards for Valentine’s Day has become something of a tradition for Marian. She does it every year and sends them to a select (and very lucky) list of recipients. This year’s project came with the idea of passing them on, with people receiving a collection of varying designs to forward on.

Marian worked in sections of the heart shape, drawing out simple decorative lines, but intentionally avoiding typical romantic forms. After having a few variations per segment, they were shuffled into unique combinations and colours, and overlaid transparently, concluding in individual, special hearts.

Although finalised in Illustrator, Marian prefers to work initially in pencil. She finds it easier to form ideas on the page, while polishing off on the computer.

In a lovely video about the project on her website (have a look!), Marian states that what originally spurred on the on-going project was the realisation that everything she does, she does for love. A sentiment I think we should all carry on into our work!

Keetra Dean Dixon Bringing Positivity and Typography

Philip Dennis — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 11:45:39 +0000

Here’s some great typography from Keetra Dean Dixon in the form of an ongoing series of invitation cards. Her imaginatively decorative type illustrates life-affirming messages, spelling out a bit of positivity into the world. I especially like the reversable, “Do, then think, then do again”/”Think, then do, then think again” message.

The first card’s soft, overlaid vector design reminds me of something quite crystalline or bejewelled. I think it fits in well with the message, “Make luck”, possibly suggesting that the recipient creates their own pot of gold, rather than looking for it.

While aesthetically beautiful, I also like the concepts within the type. Again, here in ‘Make Luck’, using the negative space in and around the letters, too. Taking it further in the last image, ‘Twist the Cynical Loop’, she uses pattern in the centre of the C’s form to highlight the letter.

Intelligent, gorgeous, typographical design putting out positive vibes— you can’t go wrong!

Kyle Tezak’s Four Icon Challenge

Philip Dennis — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 09:55:43 +0000

The ability to clearly communicate ideas is an essential tool in a designer’s belt. Being able to distil visual language down into a simple, easily understandable form takes time but is essential. The well-practised designer, Kyle Tezak knows this well, demonstrating it perfectly in his project, ‘The Four Icon Challenge’. He sat down with AOTM to tell us more.

Can you tell us a little about yourself and your background as a designer?

My name is Kyle Tezak. I’ve been working as a designer and illustrator since graduating from Southern Illinois University in 2008. I live in Madison, WI and work for Swink.

Is iconography something that particularly interests you?

I’ve always loved icons. Taking complex ideas and explaining them using just a few lines and shapes is, to me, design in its purest form. It’s striking to see a well designed icon, you have this moment of recognition like you’ve learned something. You get to discover an idea’s essential parts.

Can you tell us more about ‘The Four Icon Challenge’?

When I came up with the idea for The Four Icon Challenge, I was designing a slew of icons for a project we were working on. When the icons were lined up on screen they looked like hieroglyphics creating these little stories. I decided I wanted to take some of my favorite stories from books and movies and try to reduce them to a few icons. I don’t recall how I ended up at four icons, I’d like to say it had something to do with dramatic structure but honestly it just seemed to work at the time.

Where do you usually start when beginning to tackle a brief?

When tackling a brief I usually start by researching the subject and trolling the web, books, comics, Madison, anything for inspiration. Then I start sketching. I usually have to sketch for quite a while just to get all the clichés and bad ideas out of the way before I start coming up with something original.

Do you work directly onto the computer of prefer to work mostly by hand?

I always start a project with pencil and paper. If I start on the computer, I get lazy and everything comes out circles and squares. When I’ve got my sketches where I want them, I go to the computer and finish the job.

Film narratives have obviously been an inspiration to you, what else inspires you?

Recently, I’ve been trying to get inspiration from outside of the design world. I started reading graphic novels. Otomo’s Akira is just beautiful. His sense of composition and the care each panel is drawn with is incredible. I’ve also been making an effort to note interesting color groupings I see when I’m out.

Madison has some interesting folks and people aren’t shy about painting their houses pink with green trim. I read a lot of science fiction, William Gibson and Philip K. Dick in particular. Reading in general has given me more ideas and inspiration than anything else. Visualizing the written is an important skill for creative people, I think.

Leather-Bound Book Cover Design by Jessica Hische

Philip Dennis — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 13:39:41 +0000

It doesn’t get better than a beautifully designed, leather-bound, foil-stamped book! Jessica Hische created this set of books covers for what must have been any designer/book-lover’s dream commission.

The project was for Barnes and Noble and, working with art director Jo Obarowski, produced a range of new covers for a set of classic literature. Each book was complete with marbled end papers and matching details, such as ribbons, headbands, and coloured page edges.

Jessica has done a lot of work for books as a typographer and designer. You can see her typographical design and illustration in advertising and editorial work, too.

Digital Fashion Prints by Sarah Arnett

Philip Dennis — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 21:29:23 +0000

Here are a few examples from Sarah Arnett‘s spring/summer ’11 collection, ‘Modern Love’. Her designs have been created to be digitally printed onto fabrics and sold as prints.

Most of Sarah’s work draws inspiration from plants and flowers, filling it with an abundance of leaves and petals. I think her packed, colourful, digital designs stand out for their sheer multitude in detail and decoration.

Heath Killen’s Film Posters

Philip Dennis — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 10:17:32 +0000

I love this set of imagined film posters by designer and illustrator, Heath Killen. There’s something about the creamy pink and peach shades he’s used that works so well. It’s nice to see such a bold, graphic style that comes across as also quite seductive.

The Newcastle-based designer says he’s inspired by film poster design and the iconography that goes with them. This project was inspired by this, along with an interest in alternative histories, resulting in a group of images representing what he describes as a hypothetical collection of lost films.

Fragmented Illustration by Ari Weinkle

Philip Dennis — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 18:30:08 +0000

Ari Weinkle has quite a different touch when it comes to vector artwork. His abstract designs, although primarily made on computer, have a soft, natural feel to them. Earthy palettes and patterns that seems to grow organically, appear to be made more by a soft brush and smooth paint than in Illustrator.

I was especially drawn in by the first image shown below, Rhinestones and Morals. Here, Ari has broken up the form into thin, separate lines, laid out carefully, parallel to one another.

On closer inspection, you can see that great attention has been given, giving each it’s own shade and dimensions. The result is a beautiful portrait of a woman, but almost as if seen through a pane of uneven glass, or a kind of linear kaleidoscope.