Illustration

Jim Curious

25 December 2012

There’s a growing trend in the interactive comic playground that will hopefully expand over the coming years to keep the industry alive. From last year’s SVK by Berg to the latest project from Éditions 2024 “Jim Curious”, comic needs on top of great stories, new attractive elements.

Jim Curious still (all images via Matthias Picard)
Jim Curious still (all images via Matthias Picard)

Nominated for next year’s Angouleme Festival youth section “Jim Curious” proposes a “3D immersive” experience for parents & kids willing to discover the deep blue sea with all those fish, monsters and many other bizarre creatures. Jim will dive into the ocean rediscovering some forgotten WWII wrecks, the remains of a galleon … and a long list of primitive creatures.

Matthias Picard signs this amazing book (halfway between a comic book & an illustration book) which will be presented tomorrow @ the Strasbourg Soif de Lire coffee-bookshop and obviously early next year during the Festival d’Angouleme. More info & images on Edition 2024’s website.

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Little Big Books

4 December 2012

Some books shouldn’t be cataloged as children’s books. This is the case of Little Big Books, some sort of compilation with some of the best contemporary children book illustrators… but what some editors don’t understand is that usually it appeals elders just as much (they are the purchase decision makers after all).

Little Big Books side (image via Gestalten)
Little Big Books side (image via Gestalten)

Gestalten’s latest jewel is willing to vindicate the picture book as a “key element of the cultural fabric of any society”. They are way too right. Upon some of our recent interviews with generation Y artists we repeatedly ask the artists about their point of view on the younger hyper-connected generations who didn’t know what it was like before the Internet. Will they ever appreciate what an illustration book is without coming back to the home screen?

And the thing is that books like LBB are still very appealing to everyone.

LBB is a book about books, about children’s books, their makers, authors, writers… and their readers. “LBB includes interviews with experts about the educational aspects, make-up, and psychology of children’s picture books as well as the significance of children’s book awards and practical advice on publishing rights and licensing”.

LittleBigBooks Page 2 (image via Gestalten)
Little Big Books Page 2 (image via Gestalten)

Certainly not your average children illustration book… and that’s translated within the price (39€), but you’ll have to admit that a compilation of such captivating artists is not that usual either. More info & illustrations this way.

LittleBigBooks Page 1 (image via Gestalten)
LBB Page 1 (image via Gestalten)
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High Times: A History of Aviation

10 July 2012

Golden Cosmos, the Berlin based couple co-founders of the collective Nepomuk have been producing hand-printed books and illustrations since graduating a couple of years ago. Their latest work (as a collaboration with Nobrow) has just been released in the form of a  Leporello book and should delight most aviators…

High Times - A History of Aviation, by Golden Cosmos
High Times – A History of Aviation, by Golden Cosmos

The history & mythology from the attempts of Icarus to the industrial revolution (although they might have missed the latest Airbus modernities) … and a long wide detailed list of aviation history events. Maybe more of an educational book for your kids… but the artwork by Daniel & Doris certainly deserves (once again) a wider attention, after all, 13€ for a book that can be either read, displayed or framed is always a good book. More info this way.

High Times - A History of Aviation, by Golden Cosmos detail
High Times – A History of Aviation, by Golden Cosmos detail
High Times - A History of Aviation, by Golden Cosmos detail 2
High Times – A History of Aviation, by Golden Cosmos detail 2
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The Line Wars Deluxe

26 May 2012

Being an expert in futuristic battlefield strategy Ernest Conception maybe should reconduct his career path… maybe he should apply for a position in the Pentagon… military headhunters put his name on your interviewing calendar!

The Line Wars Deluxe (Bigfoot vs. Campers) - Ernest Concepcion
The Line Wars Deluxe (Bigfoot vs. Campers) - Ernest Concepcion

The Malina-born, NY-based illustrator moved to the US a decade ago, and despite the existing popularity in his homecountry he’s had to earn a place in the always competitive illustrator market in the U.S. His Line Wars series offer  a large number of entertaining worlds taken from our childhood and opposing forces in some bloody serious battles.

The Line Wars Deluxe - Bigfoot vs. Campers - Ernest Concepcion
The Line Wars Deluxe - Bigfoot vs. Campers - Ernest Concepcion

Campers vs Bigfoot, Boxers vs Samurais, Rednecks vs Greys, Farm girls vs. Nudes… all those fights you’ve always wanted to see but they only happened in our little kiddo heads. His works are experiments in photo-based and landscape portraiture employing war concepts while introducing a large number of fantastical elements to his compositions that reflect the colonial past of his homecountry while adding his Japanese, American and of course Filipino pop influences.

Cubao 2020 (Ayuz Lang) - Ernest Concepcion
Cubao 2020 (Ayuz Lang) - Ernest Concepcion

 He only has a on-going exhibition (which opened last Saturday) back in Manila @ the Lopez Museum with the also local artist Nikki Luna, so if you happen to be around… you know what to do, if not… we shall wait until his battlefields come up here.

Campyng - Ernest Concepcion
Campyng - Ernest Concepcion
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Cavaliers de l’Apocalypse

3 April 2012

There were many good (and many baaad) drawings last weekend @ the Parisian Drawing Now fair,  many welcoming and many “stupid” art gallery owners, a few art magazines advertising their wonderful publications… and quite a lot of people. We’ll be focusing on some of those new (and not so new) artists in the coming days, starting with one of the best drawings in the exhibition: Jean Bedez’s “Cavaliers de l’Apocalypse”.

Jean Bedez - Cavaliers de l'Apocalypse - 2011
Jean Bedez - Cavaliers de l'Apocalypse - 2011

Hard to miss one of the biggest pieces in the whole fair, and also one of the most politically-engaged. This first piece of four taken from his “Horsemen of the Apocalypse”  series and which has been exhibited last year all around Paris is Jean’s own interpretation of the passage from the Bible’s Book of Revelation: the end of the world as seen through our contemporary society.

The scene takes place in one of the conference rooms during the 33rd G8 meeting organised in Heiligendamm (Germany) 5 years ago.

Jean Bedez - Collection Leaders - 2007
Jean Bedez - Collection Leaders - 2007

A  lot has rained since right? Europe is about to collapse and our leaders keep printing notes like there was no tomorrow.

While Jean Bedez’s (represented by the Parisian Suzanne Tarasieve Gallery btw) artistic expressions tend to materialize on paintings he’s experimented and tried a varied number of practices from sculpture to aural and visual pieces. He seems pretty interested in the petty games dominant cultures play to stay dominant, power relationships, political history… and our roles as citizens in this complex puzzle.

Jean Bedez - Collection Leaders (4) - 2007
Jean Bedez - Collection Leaders (4) - 2007

Most of his works are available on his page but Suzanne Tarasiève gallery also has big part of his portfolio available on-line. Enjoy!

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Drawing Now

25 March 2012

Quick reminder! Only 4 days to go until the 6th edition of the Parisian “Drawing Now” art fair opens!

FEDERICO SOLMI - poster for Chinese Democracy
FEDERICO SOLMI - poster for Chinese Democracy

15€ are a bit too much if you ask us, but this is one of those “unique” European art fairs that much like Madrid’s Estampa and to some extent Frieze, allows you to discover the freshest in contemporary art… only this time, the fair is only dedicated to the art of drawing.

82 international galleries will show during 4 days the contemporary artistic scene through the drawings of well-known and emerging artists, where? right under the most important museum in the city: The Louvre. The renovated mini-chic-mall “Carrousel du Louvre” will host the biggest part of the exhibition with the focus on “Reference” (focus on 70 well‐established galleries), “Emergence” (a dozen of recently opened galleries presenting the art of “emerging artists”), “Video” ( curated by the Show’s team with the support of Brett Littman), and “Talks” which is a first for the fair… a programme of encounters with artists, collectors and institutions.

Drawing Now Paris - 2011 edition (bis)
From Drawing Now Paris - 2011 edition (bis)

Also very important to notice the always impressive “Hors les murs” (outdoors) side of the exhibition which this year takes place very close by, at 17 rue Richelieu (a 5min walk from the Carrousel). A 2-storey building transformed by artists and willing to become a “giant contemporary drawing laboratory”. Mmmm we’ll see.

Here’s the list of talks, and for a full view of the program itself, (and while we wait for this year’s Drawing Now award announcement), we highly recommend you visit their page.

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Avarice

14 February 2012
Vincent Mahe - Avarice
Vincent Mahe - Avarice

It doesn’t really matter how many times you watch Seven, you never end up remembering each and every one of the 7 capital vices. You’ll miss out usually the one you tend to commit the most, and Vincent Mahe still has 2 left to illustrate… let’s see which one he leaves out.

Vincent Mahe - Envy
Vincent Mahe - Envy

Not Magnum’s 7 flavors but simply a modern approach to those cardinal sins we’ve all thought about at some point. We wonder if the virtues would be just as appealing for Vincent to illustrate. The other 2 this way… while we wait for pride & anger to emerge.

Vincent Mahe - Lust
Vincent Mahe - Lust

(via Meathaus)

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Ramen Music cover illustration

Ramen Music n9 cover by Phil McAndrew
11 January 2012

Ramen music is one of the best on-line music zines on the planet, no joke, but we’ll talk about them another day. Their upcoming issue cover (n9 already) has been designed by Phil McAndrew (whole process this way), and we tell you… this is their first, but not their last collaboration…

Ramen Music n9 cover by Phil McAndrew

Ramen Music n9 cover by Phil McAndrew

After so many exhibitions (the last one about Cloudy Collection), works for big, small and tiny magazines, brands and musicians there are few things left from the Syracuse cartoonist, except, maybe… us.

diplomacy - for a project that never was - Phil McAndrew
diplomacy - for a project that never was - Phil McAndrew

(Funny to see how he’s got many more followers / friends on google+ than on fb, twitter or else). Anyway! Phil is preparing a new book…which managed to partially fund via Kickstarter last May and if we’re lucky, it will join the long list of kids, sharp minds and comic books he’s been releasing over the past 6 years very shortly.

work for Kingmag - Phil McAndrew
work for Kingmag - Phil McAndrew

As a self-publishing expert Phil knows how hard it is to get partners on board, but now he’s pretty well-known so it shouldn’t be a problem from now on to get all those super-secret projects out in the daylight. Hopefully we’ll get to see not only that personal comic book but also his other formal book on advices for new illustrators project. This year should be.

slide by Phil McAndrew
slide by Phil McAndrew
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its got a tank for a face

23 December 2011

Guess where K3loid short filmmakers BLR got their inspiration from? Not that they copied it or anything, they just asked Wellington concept artist Mr Aaron Beck to give them a few ideas and here are the cyborgs drawings the came up with that were then re-used for the SWAT robots.

Aaron Beck artwork for K3loid
Aaron Beck artwork for K3loid
Aaron Beck artwork for K3loid2
Aaron Beck artwork for K3loid2

Aaron is one of the fortunate artists working at NZ studio Weta Workshop (behind the biggest visual effects of some of the biggest blockbusters … Lord of the Rings, Avatar, Hellboy…etc), and when not working on those “super secret film shit” effects, he’s either imagining new versions of Chrysler’s E Platform (Dodge Challenger, Plymouth Barracuda..), working on his car related work “kustoms“, photographing spiders or …

Aaron Beck's Medtech robot artwork - 2006
Aaron Beck's Medtech robot artwork - 2006

… drawing funny robots (a lot of GIT & Evangelion influences here…) that delight and calm our anxiety for a new futuristic animated series. More artworks on his blog.

Aaron Beck's ghost in the shell 'fanart'..
Aaron Beck's ghost in the shell 'fanart'... mmm amazing but in blue would have been cuter 😉
TankHeaded by Aaron Beck
TankHeaded by Aaron Beck
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Everything Dies #1

7 December 2011

That was fast, announced barely a few days ago and Box Brown’s “Everything Dies” first anthology number is already sold out. Print more! What do we do the rest of us poor mortals? Maybe Lulu can distribute a few more?

Everything dies gets an anthology
Everything dies gets an anthology

His mini print comic and web comic winner of of two Ignatz Awards gets a first compilation of some of his best historical and religious variations on fanaticism and human desperation.

This first volume features the non-fiction and auto-bio stories such as: The Great Disappointment, The Great Upsucking, Alpha, Omega, Ben Died of a Train and many others. “More than anything, Everything Dies’ chief success is that it is an exercise in theological reverse-engineering, breaking down theunfathomable whole to better understand all of its working parts. 

 His upcoming post-apocalyptic “The Survivalist” is also available for pre-order, but while it arrives (or future numbers of ED) we shall keep trying to get our own copy of all dead things #1.

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Brench Evens @ Galerie Martel

22 November 2011

Our big favorite Flemish illustrator Brench Evens is bringing his amazing watercolors to Paris. La Galerie Martel is exhibiting the Sint Lukas de Gand’s graduate works until December 10th.

Les Amateurs - 2010-2011 by Brecht Evens
Les Amateurs - 2010-2011 by Brecht Evens

His comic “Noceurs” was considered by many one of the best 2010 comics when released in the Francophone world, and despite having already released several works under the Belgian edition house Oogachtend his international recognition (Angoulême’s 2011 “Audace” award) hasn’t truly arrived until this year. If you remember well we discovered him when contributing early this year to the animation festival “Anima 2011” identity.

Les Amateurs - 2010-2011 (2) by Brecht Evens
Les Amateurs - 2010-2011 (2) by Brecht Evens

Galerie Martel (well-known for their comic-release parties) thinks he deserves a solo exhibition, and now that he’s recently released his new  “Les Amateurs” in France the original drawings of his two latest comics will be hanging on the central Parisian gallery walls.

Les Amateurs - 2010-2011 (3) by Brecht Evens
Les Amateurs - 2010-2011 (3) by Brecht Evens

No excuse for this free exhibition of the young Flemish talent! Full address, info (in French) on the gallery website and photos from the opening party on their blog.

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Marvin Friedman and other mid-century illustrators

21 October 2011

Leif Peng has been reviewing cartoonists & illustrators from the 40s & 50s @ his Today’s inspiration blog for years… when his many other blogs and commercial artistic tasks allow him to. Harrison Fisher, Joe Bowler, Charlie Allen, Tina Cacciola…sharing the knowledge pretty much every day with extensive analysis & essays on famous figures, old classics, “top” lists and even historical business comparisons on the illustration business (to which he belongs).

Marvin and one of his illustrations for Cosmopolitan
Marvin's frist illustration for Cosmopolitan

One of his latest posts focused on the Marvin Friedman figure, someone who besides being one of the best American illustrators of the mid-XX century, had to experience himself the decline of the publishing industry and budget constrains new technological advancements (popularity with colour TV’s, photography…) brought to the magazine market.

Friedman's work for Boys' Life Magazine
Friedman's work for Boys' Life Magazine

Illustration stopped being amazingly lucrative all of a sudden, and prices froze. Many of you probably keep experiencing it right now. A matter of discussion Lief will be taking to Toronto’s The Nook next Wednesday from 7-9pm. He’ll be talking not only about Friedman but about many other mid-century American & Canadian illustrators… stories, anecdotes… so if you happen to be around Toronto have a drink or two while listening to Lief will you? (via Drawn). More images on his flickr page.

Work for Boys' Life magazine
Work for Boys' Life magazine
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Britt & Bert

11 September 2011

Bert & Britt eat & drink a lot. And by a lot I mean A LOT, well… the Belgian average I guess. Very gourmand people from Flanders who when not dressed up as living dead (or as anything else), and not traveling the world, still manage to find some time to draw us a sketch or two on their blog.

Mr. Sieve-head by Britt
Mr. Sieve-head by Britt for one of her animation projects

And so Bert & Britt, Britt & Bert, one working at Belgium’s media company D’M&S the other one about to graduate (next year) from Gent’s KASK (precisely where our Nachtspel friends studied) are busy trying to build their Birdbee empire.

Britt Raes' Homemade film poster
Britt Raes' Homemade film poster

It certainly won’t be easy but even if it’s only for their sketch blog and their monthly Sketch Gent afternoons they deserve a lot more of attention. Make sure you also pay Britt’s flickr page a visit.

Playstation Sketch by Bert
Playstation Sketch by Bert
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heads

30 July 2011

Think i saw Atkinson’s doodles or those of his Cafe Royal Books at this year’s London zine symposium (a while ago now). There were soooo many good publications to buy that day … so short on cash at the same time… I went for an Eric Rivera one in the end, but Craig’s doodles & style have been following me.. and seem to be omnipresent on most publications nowadays.

Rocket

He needs no publicity for his artworks (Dazed, NYTimes, WAD…), constantly summoned by major publications and “arty” branding (Orange, J&B…) but we thought his latest “Heads” series need some more buzz…

heads in cards

Red heads, blue heads, brainy headed heads, smashed heads, ugly, flirting, masked, scary…

A project that was born after his successful “commission me”  idea (you could ask Craig to draw anything for a fee). So many people asked him for heads that he’s now decided to start his own cranium project. You can ask him how many heads you want and he’ll prepare them for you… ” ready to be mounted or hung, and send them to you wrapped in an airtight bag, carefully inserted into hard packaging. £5/head, plus shipping.”

heads on badges

And because he’s fully committed to make some money out of his heads he’ll try to put them wherever… for now cards & badges but soon enough mugs and pens…. which you can get from his website directly.

But Mr Atkinson is much more than just heads so give his flickr page a go will you?

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Pixel Octopus

18 July 2011

And here’s one more example of the pixel-trend. Indie games and animation are not enough, and it’s only a matter of time before we get to see some comics or daily cartoons with 8-bit characters. Laura Bifano‘s newest series “Menagerie” is a  show of 10 polygonal animal paintings she’s been working on for the last three months. It reconciles her fascination with the natural world and computer game aesthetics.

Honey Badger

The Canadian illustrator now living in Victoria, British Columbia has several upcoming shows programmed in Los Angeles (Gallery 1988) and seems to finally make her way out of the Canadian magazine market into the American dream. We wish her the best of lucks, and for the time being you can visit her Etsy shop and grab a few of those animals from her pixel series.

A dainty Peacock overlooks the forest from his perch.
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Spotting Deer

25 June 2011

The Canadian comic & animation youth pool is prolific indeed. Maybe I should go to Trafalgar Square next July 1st… I’m sure half of the Canadians there will be animators or illustrators….

Michael DeForge just published on-line one last week his latest strip “Spotting Deer” at that great on-line Canadian source named “What things do“, one of the bests American indie comic webs out there bringing daily cartoon pills from the likes of Porcellino or Jordan Crane (who initiated this whole crazy project a couple of years ago). Now back to Michael!

This Toronto-based Ottawa born dogs-with-sunglasses lover has an on ongoing comic book series Lose which is currently published by Koyama Press. Last year he won the 2010 Doug Wright Award in the category of “Best Emerging Talent” (with Lose precisely), and we’re pretty convinced his paranormal bacteria is going to keep spreading in the coming years.

Issue 2 of Lose was released in 2010, and issue 3 is scheduled to debut at the 2011 Toronto Comics Art Festival. His influences include Jack Kirby, Eduardo Munoz Bachs, Mark Newgarden and Hideshi Hino.

Anyway…. Spotting Deer is fully on-line on this WTD page, but maybe you should check his previous (and also very recent) strips… hair-raising!

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Taffy Colored Clouds

2 June 2011

From Aleix to Alex, another young cartoonist but this time from San Diego (now moved down to Culver City, LA). Mr doodles (or Chiu if you prefer) lives in a big messy house with neon paint all over the garage floor and loads of old records and fliers… symptoms of a compulsive-obsessive disorder… or of someone who knows how to live well.

High Heels

He describes his own works as “nonsensical drawings”, very loaded visceral pieces that keep invading the local (LA) and on-line worlds with his bubbly eyed creatures… our page, zines, t-shirts, art shows… (a few already scheduled for this month in LA). And how did we get to know him? Well, he got recently interviewed @ Saatchi On-line, and that can’t go unnoticed for us.

Nice to meet you

But besides earning his pennies in this crisis climate Alex also participates actively in the DIY Grad school which seeks to “question our current higher educational system through the use of technology, multi-media interaction, peer groups of learning, community art and music events, and the praxis where theory and practice meet“. The collective itself provides with collaborative higher learning in the arts without having to pay the excessive tuition fees (and believe us we know a bit about that here in the U.K.). More like a complement to your academic education, maybe you should check it out if living around the LA area.

Hellish Nightmare

Oh and if you decide to Google him, please go for this one, not the immortality one (he’s fake). More images (or even buy his prints) this way.

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War studies

24 April 2011

This, is a magnificent reproduction of a Portuguese cannon cast by Javanese at Macao in 1672  then captured from a Chinese War Junk by the Honourable East India Company Steamer Nemesis under the command of Sir Kyle Platts in 1856.

Ok it looks more like a WWII cannon but for a second you believed me huh?

Kyle Platts is no Sir (yet), and I bet he wouldn’t like to become one, getting more recognition for his works (and not necessarily his military ones) would also be a big achievement. About to graduate from Camberwell College of the Arts this summer Mr Platts has a particular fixationwith pen, ink and skateboards.

and we discovered his works through his Zine a few weeks ago

“My drawings are informed by a mixture of my own imagination and satirising everyday life”. And despite what you may think, he’s a truly committed catholic, one of the few left in this land of sinners!

Hopefully he’ll get another exhibition, at least his graduation one! (rest of his works on his blog).

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