During my blog reading this week I found a great feature on Illustrator Abner Graboff. For those of you who dig children’s book illustration, especially stuff from the 50’s and 60’s, this is a great read. Portland, Oregon Illustrator Ward Jenkins did some research on Graboff and even did an interview with Graboff’s son Jon. Over three posts, Jenkins show off a lot of great images from Graboff’s books from the 50’s and 60’s.
Check it out: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Jenkins himself has recently released his first childrens book, “How to train with a T Rex and win 8 gold medals” about olympic swimmer Michael Phelps. Great stuff.

Illustrator Mark Todd currently has a limited edition mini-zine available for sale on his site. As he describes it: “This is a collection of some of the altered comic cover pieces I have created over the past four years.” I need one for the office. It looks so great.

Also check out the rest of Todd’s art. He’s done work for Mtv, Coca-Cola, Sony Music, The New Yorker… the list goes on. Here are a couple of my favorites from his portfolio:

via Illustration Friday

Some time last year I was contacted by Cat Staggs and was very excited by the work she was doing. She has a very painterly style and her techniques give her film and comic book icons a rich presence.

From her bio:

llustrating over 130 cards for the Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith card set for TOPPS, Cat joined the Star Wars / LUCAS FILM family in 2004. The highly collectible artist’s sketch cards brought Staggs into the forefront of Star Wars fandom. Having produced exclusive prints for Star Wars Celebrations III, IV, and Europe, Cat has also contributed drawing tutorials and Halloween masks articles for the kid’s section, as well as illustrating short fiction for starwars.com

Not content to only play in that galaxy far, far away, Cat’s work has also been featured on The Lord of the Rings Evolution and Masterpieces card sets and three sets featuring Indiana Jones for TOPPS.

Moreover, further cementing her reputation among collectors and fellow artists, Cat’s distinctive work can also be seen on Rittenhouse Archives’ Iron Man-The Movie, Complete Marvel Avengers, X-Men Archives and DC Legacy card sets, as well as The World’s Finest VS trading card game for Upperdeck.

See below the interview for a brief description of her process.

What is your earliest memory of drawing or making art?

I don’t remember not drawing. My mother tells me I was drawing something the second I could hold a crayon.

Do you have formal training or are you self-taught?

Both. I would draw all the time but I also focused on art classes from an early age. I never wanted to do anything else. I went to a University Of Texas in San Antonio and studied fine art, obtaining my Bachelor’s Degree. That is the extent of my formal education. But to this day I am still learning something new everyday. Whether it be something I figure out on my own or learn from my peers and/or mentors.

Can you briefly describe your illustration process?

I usually come up with an idea. I Frankenstein reference together. I normally shoot my own(myself or with the help of a photographer ) as it is the only way to make sure i get exactly what I need. Then I will do my layout sketch. Once that is finished I then scan the sketch and print out a blue line version to do the coloring on. I usually start with an under drawing of the basic light and shadow. Once that is complete I go in with the color, layering until i reach the desired render. once i am “satisfied” I go in with a white acrylic to had the highlights in the final layer.

Paint vs. Markers? What is the deciding factor?

For me i really enjoy markers. I feel like I have a little more control over the media than I do with paint or a paint brush.

How did you get into doing trading cards for film and comics?

I started going out on the convention circuit and handed out portfolios. I was then contacted a few months later by Topps asking if i was interested in working on the Revenge Of The Sith trading card set. And the rest is history.

Who are some of your favorite illustrators/ artists?

I am a big Norman Rockwell fan as well as Jon Whitcomb and Robert McQuire. More recent illustrators include Adam Hughes, Phil Noto, Mitch Breitweiser, Mark Brooks, Brian Stelfreeze and Dustin Nguen to name a few. I am lucky that part of my job is going to conventions and getting to sit in the middle of some of the most talented illustrators of our time. It is really inspiring.

What advice/crit from a teacher or mentor have you received on your work that really helped you develop?

My high school art teacher told me to go with my gut and trust my line and keep the focus on one idea at a time. Continuous second guessing is never a good thing and in the end you will wish you went with your initial instinct and could lose your idea in the process. It was great advice at the time.

That being said, I have come to learn, the initial idea is not always the strongest. There are times when another set of eyes will see things that the creator does not. Things that can bring a new energy to a piece, especially if it is just not coming together. Art tends to always be evolving even within a single piece. An idea can strike right in the middle that would make it better. Inspiration can strike at anytime. I have found that most artists will never complete a piece. We are constantly seeing ways to make it better, even years later.

What’s the best part about being an illustrator?

Working freelance.

What is the worst part about being and illustrator?

Working freelance…LOL

Here is a brief step-by-step of the above Batman image Cat did for a private collector. She used Copic Markers as well as white acrylic for highlights.

Top left to right
1) cleaned up sketch
2)Blacks
3)Warm Grays
4)Tonal grays
5)Neutral and cool grays
6)blue violet under drawing
7)first color layer
8)second color layer
9)whites

If you dig what she does then check out her website, her deviantart page and her blog.

In 2008 U.K. based artist/designer Daniel Eatock did an interesting experiment with markers and paper. Using upside-down drinking glasses arranged in tight rows he stood individual markers on end allowing the ink to fully drain and soak into the stack of paper. The description from his website:

Over the course of the 39 days of the exhibition (September 18 through October 26, 2008), the paper absorbed the ink from the pens. The sheets at the top of each stack absorbed more ink than the sheets farther away from the tips of the pens. The result is an edition of organically related prints, each unique.

Check his website for images of the project and the unique print editions.

Last year Graphic Designer Jessica Helfand released a “Scrapbooks, An American History“. National Scrapbooking day was back in May (5.03) and we didn’t have a blog at the time so I had no place to point this out. She wrote a short essay on the subject at her blog Design Observer. In the clip above she describes her book and the process of her work. The book is available at Amazon and on that page you will also find some other short clips that walk the viewer through some of her favorites she examined during her research.

I personally find it interesting, as part of the art industry and one that supplies scrapbooking enthusiasts, how much has changed and how much is similar. Motives for making them remain, but the execution largely has been affected by the industry that has developed around them. There are those that love the latest tools and embellishments and create a polished look and those who want the aesthetic qualities of old journals and scrapbooks and strive to achieve the same weathered affect.

Hopefully the history of these books can shed some light on the contemporary activity itself, personally and artistically.

If you haven’t heard about the 1000 Journals Project then you really should check out their site. I’ve had this book sitting on my desk for months and pick it up all the time for inspiration or just a quick visual break. It is a great reminder of the flexible nature of visual communication. Everyone has their own approach to mark making, drawing or doodling. There is a great deal of mixed media/ collage work in here as well. Makes me want to get up from the computer and go to my drawing table with nothing but a pile of old magazines, a glue stick and my favorite drawing tool.

From their about page;

The 1000 Journals Project is an ongoing collaborative experiment attempting to follow 1000 journals throughout their travels. The goal is to provide a method for interaction and shared creativity among friends and strangers.

How it Works:

Those who find the journals add something to them. A story, drawing, photograph, anything really. Then they pass the journal along, to a friend or stranger, and the adventure continues.

It has become pretty popular and so it may be difficult to get a hold of a journal to add to. Nevertheless, their FAQ page provides insight on how to be a part of it. Or you can get involved in the 1001 project, an extention which aims to provide more people with a chance to make art with others.

Nicholas Stohlman, 2008

Found this artist today. He has some great conceptual, pen and ink stuff. I love this kind of quick sketch. Check out the rest of Nicholas Stohlman’s work.

Hellboy, 2009, Trev Murphy

Our Product Specialist Marianne Walker sent me a link this morning to Illustrator Trev Murphy’s website. He does some great Copic based illustrations. Plus he has some great tutorial videos on his marker illlustration process. Great stuff.

The Imagi Studios booth was just down the way from us this year and they were showing the newGatchaman trailer. This is a fan video but you get a sense of what is going on. The script was written by Paul Dini of Batman the Animated Series fame.

via Cartoon Brew