There are several books written on the subject of fashion illustration with many unfortunately proving to be little more than filler or catalogues of aspiring artists, but there are two in particular that stand out for me as recommended titles. The first being David Downton’s Masters of Fashion Illustration and the second, Cally Blackman’s 100 Years of Fashion Illustration. A study of the almost unfaltering relationship between fashion designers and artists over the past century, showing some outstanding examples of work from illustrators such as J.C. Leyendecker, Helen Dryden, Erté, René Gruau, Andy Warhol, Ty Wilson, Jason Brooks and of course David Downton.
It’s a collection that even though might be missing some notable examples (i’m surprised Bob Peak wasn’t included) does tell of the changing trends in advertising and technology, and through its 400 images, many sourced from the pages of magazines such as Vogue and Harpers Bazaar, describe each period of men’s and women’s fashions from Art Deco to Modernism to 60s psychedelia to today’s arguably more sterile, computer generated work. The book’s 140 featured artists offers a superb introduction to a wide range of illustrators and styles making it one the best reference titles available.
100 Years of Fashion Illustration by Cally Blackman
Lawrence King
Paperback 384 pages
19.5 x 3.6 x 25 cm
BUY NOW>
Like this:
Like Loading...
Character designers, animators and illustrators throughout the ages have all shared the wisdom of one simple truth; that adding an eye-patch to a character provides an instant coolness upgrade. From ‘the man in the Hathaway shirt’ to countless cowboys and Kurt Russell’s portrayal of Snake Plisskin, the eye-patch fits the bill whether you’re looking to ...
First released in hardback last year, Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm was so popular that it quickly became hard to find a copy without spending upwards of £100. Thankfully, publishers Flesk now offer a more accessible paperback edition subtitled, The Big Pocket Edition. Although not much smaller in physical size ...
In 2006 the ever popular comic book artist Robert Crumb introduced us via a book of portraits, profiles and accompanying music to his Heroes of Blues, Jazz and Country. Following the same format, it’s now William Stout’s turn to present his Legends of the Blues. Again, another legendary comic book artist, Bill Stout is also ...
It’s something of a coincidence that just a few days before receiving a copy of World Tour from Abrams Books, i’d sat down to watch the classic 1932 film Grand Hotel. A film that couldn’t match this book more perfectly, telling the story of the comings and goings inside this truly grand hotel. Starring Greta Garbo and ...
This week sees the release of the next in Titan Books series of Andrew Loomis reprints, Fun with a Pencil. Actually dating as the first of the Loomis instructional art books (going all the way back to 1939) it inevitably shares some of its content with his later releases, but where Figure Drawing for all ...
With the anticipated release of the new Superman movie, DC’s status as a leader in the comic book industry remains as strong as ever, with its success only really comparable to that of Marvel. It’s testament to the power and longevity of their characters that the very same Man of Steel started it all with ...
With Dave Stevens’ The Rocketeer Artist’s Edition, IDW introduced it’s range of high-end books for the comic collector, featuring reproductions of raw artwork from some of the worlds most renowned comic book artists. So acclaimed (and limited) was this first edition of Stevens’ beloved creation that it sold-out within days, leaving die-hard fans (like myself) ...
Swissted is the brain-child of Graphic Designer Mike Joyce, combining a love of punk rock, indie and grunge gig posters with his own Swiss inspired modernist aesthetic. Featuring great bands such as Alice in Chains, Jane’s Addiction, Beastie Boys and The Cramps, the result is an unlikely pairing of seemingly un-related pop-cultures, collected in a new release ...
During the 1960s and 70s, a time of ever-increasingly functional highrise buildings, existed Archigram, an avant-garde architectural group who’s principal members Peter Cook, Warren Chalk, Ron Herron, Dennis Crompton, Michael Webb and David Greene undertook experimental projects in response to the changing world around them. This was also a time of the moon landing, rapidly evolving technologies and materials, and the influx of ...
During the reading of The Art and Making of Peanuts Animation I found myself watching all of the classic 1960′s TV Specials and subsequently listening to the excellent Vince Guaraldi soundtrack which has been pretty much playing on repeat ever since, so infectious are the characters and stories created by Charles Schultz and brought to ...
Creating the Filmation Generation tells the story of the famous animation studio that coloured the airwaves of the 1980s with its classic Saturday morning cartoons such as Batman, Star Trek, Archie, Flash Gordon and my personal childhood favourite He-Man and the Masters of the Universe! Told by its co-creator Lou Scheimer, the book covers in detail the ...
Publisher Manuel Auad and art historian David Apatoff deliver the first major retrospective on the life and career of Albert Dorne, one of the most prominent figures of American illustration in, Albert Dorne Master Illustrator. Aside from his incredibly popular and accomplished work that graced magazines and billboards of the 1940s and 50s, Albert Dorne is ...
In Awakening: The Art of Halo 4, games journalist Paul Davies takes the reader through the creation of the latest instalment of one of the most popular video-game series of all-time, and one that established Microsoft’s Xbox in 2001 as a major force in the video games industry. It’s fair to say that this book’s near 200 ...
The Art of Wreck-It Ralph is the next in Chronicle Book’s excellent behind the scenes series, this time taking a look at Disney’s latest video game inspired feature. Maggie Malone and Jennifer Lee Monn introduce us to Wreck-It Ralph, a Donkey Kong like figure and baddy of the 8-bit era, on a journey to prove himself through all ...
Sketch Travel from Chronicle Books is a hardback reproduction of an ambitious and collaborative project started by artists Dice Tsutsumi and Gerald Guerlais. For the benefit of children in need and the non-profit literacy organisation Room to Read, one solitary red sketchbook travelled 75,000 miles across the globe passing through the hands of 71 accomplished ...
The first time I became aware of John Buscema was via the compilation magazine Hacoc that was released by Marvel in the early 90s. This magazine collected a some of their edgier stories such as Deathlok, Ghost Rider, RoboCop and most importantly, the Buscema illustrated Conan. This story was beautiful to look at and oozed an ...
For the demographic of those around the age of 30, the mention of Jim Henson provokes a warm glow with memories good times spent with The Muppets, The Muppet Babies, Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock and The Storyteller. I’m still a little astonished to find anyone who doesn’t love (or dare I it say hasn’t seen) ...
I can’t claim to be much of a gamer nowadays. My PS3 has long been reduced to a simple blu-ray player and with every new instalment of Call of f Duty, Medal of Honour or Assassins’s Creed, I become a little more disinterested. So it was with some surprise that I was actually rather impressed ...
Classic Disney fans should feel grateful toward film historian J. B. Kaufman who brings us not one, but two beautiful books on Disney’s groundbreaking animated feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The first, The Fairest of them All: The Making of Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, is a large format coffee ...
A grounding in the correct use of type is essential for any Graphic Designer. Effective use of typography are skills that will be called upon again and again in virtually all areas of designer’s career and once you have a grasp on the basics, simple errors become glaringly obvious and easily avoided. Mastering Type: The ...
To coincide with Sign Painters – The Movie, due for release later this year, Princeton Architectural Press bring us Sign Painters (the book) by co-directors Faythe Levine and Sam Macon. A brief history of the hand painted sign industry told through anecdotes by those working during its heyday and those dedicated to keeping the art ...
Steven Heller, author and editor of several books on art, design and popular culture including; Menu Design in America, Advertising from the Mad Men Era and Typography Sketchbooks, presents this new peek into the minds and working processes of contemporary comic book artists in; Comic Sketchbooks – The Unseen World of Today’s Most Creative Talents. Over ...
After what feels like a painfully long wait for a definitive career retrospective on one of America’s best known illustrators, The Art of Bob Peak is finally here and this heavy-weight coffee table book packs it’s near 400 pages full of everything us devoted fans could possibly ask for. Bob Peak is recognised first and foremost ...
Brand new from The Book Palace is the quarterly magazine Illustrators. A first of its kind for the UK in that it focuses purely on the work produced by commercial artists and illustrators of Europe. Following a very similar format to the already well established and popular USA based Illustration Magazine, it offers articles, interviews ...
The dust has settled on the release of The Dark Knight Rises, Christopher Nolan’s final part of his Batman trilogy and I think it’s safe to say that we all thought it was great; possibly one of the finest movie trilogies of all-time. So a definitive ‘making of’ book would be a welcome read and ...
Something a little different this week with Creative Stuff: An Activity Book for Visual Thinkers. A collection of engaging visual exercises geared toward those of us working in the art and graphic design industries. Chris Elkerton and Dave Gouveia – design veterans whose collective clients include Discovery Films, Levis and IMAX – present a collection ...
Regular readers of this blog will already know that i’m more than just your average fan of pin-up and comic book artist Dave Stevens. I’ve already featured the excellent biography Brush With Passion and The Complete Sketchbook & Studies on this very website, and he’s also been part of my Artist Spotlight feature. My hunt ...
“The best book on the subject I have ever seen.” – Norman Rockwell Whenever I get hold of a new Andrew Loomis book I always stop what i’m doing and don’t return to the drawing board before i’ve given it a good read through. This is essentially for fear of missing some perfect nugget of ...
Christopher Nolan’s final part of his Dark Knight trilogy hits cinemas across the UK today and will no doubt own the big screens this weekend, so I thought it an appropriate time to take a look at a book that traces the origins of characters such as Batman and Superman all the way back to ...
Chris Cooper (aka Coop) is someone i’ve been a huge fan of for years and almost certainly the artist responsible for my interest in the American Gig Poster scene. So it was with some excitement that I received my signed copy of his latest book Idle Hands – The Art of Coop. A book that covers ...
As a nice companion piece to Surf Graphics (as reviewed on WingsArt a couple of weeks ago), I can recommend Graphic Surf: Decals, Patches and Stickers by Ben Marcus. A collection of over 1250 examples of logos and branding that have graced surf boards going right back to the 1920s with Duke Kahanamoku, through the ...
If you happen to follow my Facebook page you will already know that i’m slightly obsessed with vintage pulp paperback covers. An obsession that’s shared by Gary Lovisi, author of Bad Girls Need Love Too. A collection of 100 examples of the brilliantly illustrated covers that graced lowbrow paperbacks of the 1950s and 60s. If ...
Legendary surf and skate illustrator Jim Phillips (the man behind the famous Santa Cruz Screaming Hand) introduces Korero’s latest collection of eye-popping alternative artwork in Surf Graphics. A new 250 page hardback book following a trend established with their previous titles, Kustom Graphics, Burlesque Poster Design and Skullface, in which they pack hundreds of pages ...
To accompany the release of Disney Pixar’s 13th animated feature, Chronicle Books have released the next in their excellent series of behind the scenes titles, The Art of Brave. Written by Jenny Lerew (story artist on How To Train Your Dragon), readers are offered an in-depth look at a darker take on what could otherwise ...
“In the early 80′s a lot of my customers traded their entire record collections for compact discs; now they’ve gone back and traded their CD’s for records” – Fred Cohen Always judge an album by its cover. Subconsciously i’ve believed in this idea ever since I first started buying music, and it’s this visual approach ...
Alex Ross counts among the greatest and most prolific comic book artists working today and has consistently held my affections thanks to his Gouache and Watercolour style that harks back to the Golden Age of American Illustration. Clear influences coming from artists such as Norman Rockwell and Andrew Loomis, who have passed on a working ...
In the same poster-book format as Gig Posters Vol 1 and 2, Quirk Books delivers this July, 100 Presidential Campaign Posters, a large paperback with ready-to-frame, pull-out pages offering a history of American politics shown through the visual propaganda, showboating and one-upmanship that either won or lost its candidates a place in the White House. ...
I’m just about young enough to have missed the dubious mail-order opportunities presented in the back pages of comic books of old. Age, geography and plain old common sense has protected me from the ultimate disappointment resulting from the ads bold claims. “Have amazing X-ray vision instantly! Learn the world’s deadliest fighting secrets! Own genuine ...
Released this month by Abrams ComicArts in conjunction with The Oakland Museum exhibition of the same name is The Art of Daniel Clowes; Modern Cartoonist. A career retrospective on the artist, writer and creator of some of the worlds best-loved comic books including The Death Ray and Ghost World. The latter of which, under the ...
