The Gordano Home Front are a group of history enthusiasts based in Portishead, near Bristol who recently approached me to design a war-time inspired logo / emblem for their upcoming website and promotional material. Taking visual cues from world-war two propaganda posters such as those produced my the WPA in the 1930s and 1940s, I produced this clean design sporting the old Portishead power station as its main focus, and in a style that sits comfortably between art deco and modernism. A nice, quick job and a lot of fun.
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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 ...
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 ...
Audrey Hepburn and Marylyn Monroe star in this new collection of fashion illustrations. In a departure from my usual illustration style i’ve recently developed these 12 portraits celebrating some of history’s classic female icons. Ranging from the television comedian Lucille Ball (I Love Lucy) to Hollywood Goddesses such as Ava Gardner, Marilyn Monroe and Greta ...
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 the sun beginning to tease with ideas of long days spent at the beach and hanging out at that unrealistically cool and imaginary surf shack, my artistic cravings start to lean towards the work of legendary surf artist Jim Phillips. No other artist captures the feeling of easy-going summers better, with his eye grabbing ...
I was thrilled to have been invited to contribute to the Mail Me Art project for 2013 and after much procrastinating popped my C5 effort in the post yesterday. I eventually decided on a fashion portrait inked on parcel paper with black and yellow acrylics with white gouache for the hair. A very loose, sketchy ...
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 ...
The 1980s was a fertile time for fantasy movies, delivering classics such as The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, Willow and Ridley Scott’s excellent Legend in 1985. A film with a much darker edge than your average family fare thanks to Ridley Scott‘s gothic fairy-tale visuals, superb character design (and performance from Tim Curry as The Lord ...
Robert Maguire (Aug 3rd 1921 – Feb 26th 2005) was an American illustrator synonymous with the world of pulp fiction producing over 600 covers for paperbacks and magazines during a prolific career spanning the 1950s – 1980s. Only a few of his contemporaries (artist’s such as Charles Copeland and Rudy Nappi) could match his ability ...
In the mood for some trashy pulp pop? Try The Midnight Caller. In a new piece for my portfolio, i’m entering the world of pulp fiction with a cover illustration for The Midnight Caller. A story in the tradition of the classic pulp paperbacks of the 1940s and 50s, full of sex, murder, intrigue and now sporting ...
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 ...
Illustration Friday’s theme of Whiskers led me down the path of Catwoman, and specifically Michelle Pfeiffer’s version of Catwoman from Tim Burton’s Batman Returns. After all the different Batman movies including Christopher Nolan’s excellent trilogy, Batman Returns remains my favourite (I could even say that Michael Keaton is my prefered Batman) with its festively dark atmosphere, ...
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 ...
A little Thanksgiving special this week with another John Hughes classic, Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Probably my favourite of the Hughes movies and a masterpiece of mixed emotions; what an ending! I can’t imagine anyone who could pull of the role off Del as well as John Candy. Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving. I’m now taking ...
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) ...
A large range of design, illustration and art prints are now available from my online store over at Society 6. Decorate that special space above your desk or bookshelf with posters, framed prints, canvases and cards. You’ll also find iphone skins, tote bags and even t-shirts available in all shapes and sizes featuring my illustration work, ...
Illustration Friday’s theme of ‘Tree‘ offered the perfect reason to use John McTiernan’s classic Predator as the next Comic Book Movie. If there’s one film that features a lot of trees this is it! Still up there as one of the most enjoyable and quotable action movies ever made. I’m now taking requests for upcoming ...
In my first ever Comic Book Movie ‘by request’ I bring you Stephen King’s classic tale of boyhood friendship and dead bodies, Stand By Me. Many thanks to Tina Mories for suggesting a film that frankly, I should have thought of a long time ago!
I was recently commissioned by the New York based children’s toy and accessories company Skip Hop to produce an eight page comic book for use as a fun way to advertise their products at an upcoming trade fair. I jumped at the opportunity of working with the company whose celebrity fans include Selma Blair, Ricky Martin and Joel Madden, ...
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 ...
How can you do a Halloween special without talking about John Carpenter’s brilliant Halloween. A classic that spawned several sequels of mixed quality and a terrible re-make, the original remains one of my all-time favourites and is the last of my Halloween flavoured Comic Book Movies. Happy Halloween everyone! For more Comic Book Movies visit ...
In the second of my Comic Book Movie Halloween specials, I bring you another favourite The Monster Squad. A light-hearted homage to the classic Universal Monsters, Dracula, Wolfman, Frankenstein and Creature from the Black Lagoon mixed with the teenage adventures of the Goonies. Another absolute classic and perfect Halloween viewing. Enjoy and come back tomorrow ...
The countdown to Halloween starts here with my first of three horror favourites leading up to the fright filled day. Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho is a classic example of sophisticated horror that manages to get under your skin by the use of clever visual design, music, and ideas; never having to resort to cheap gore or ...
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 ...
Darwyn Cooke (born 1962) is an award-winning comic book artist, writer and designer best known for his work on Catwoman, The Spirit and (one of my favourite series of books), Richard Stark’s Parker. He has also worked on various animation projects including Batman: The Animated Series with Bruce Timm, which became a cult favourite among ...
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 ...
It’s been a busy past few weeks here in the Wing’s Art office. I’ve just put the finishing touches to my first commercial comic book which i will reveal very soon, but i have managed (if not a little last minute) this quick sketch for Illustration Friday’s theme of Book. I offer you one of ...
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 ...
Eyvind Earle (April 1916 – July 2000) was an artist and designer whose work at the Disney Studios during the 1950s contributed to some their best-loved features including two of my favourites, Sleeping Beauty and Lady and the Tramp. His unmistakable style is particularly evident in Sleeping Beauty with his beautifully designed backgrounds, characters and colour ...
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 ...
Coby Whitmore (1913-1988) was an American lifestyle illustrator whose prolific output working at the Charles E. Cooper studio was used in advertising for top brands of the 1940s and 50s and featured in magazines including The Saturday Evening Post, McCalls and Cosmopolitan. He was counted among the top illustrators in this field along with fellow ...
In a brilliantly overacted performance by Bruce Campbell in a scene from Army of Darkness, Ash spawns a twin! This week’s Comic Book Movie working to the theme of ‘identical’ as set by Illustration Friday, is a more developed drawing than my usual sketches, but i’m pretty pleased with how this one turned out and was ...
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 ...
