Fei's Scrapbook

Illustrator Fei shares the inspiration of living in the "most beautiful place in China".

Fei's Scrapbook
Fei's portfolio

Keith Robinson's Latest Newsletter

Keith Robinson's most recent illustration for Fat Man in a White Hat. One of a two-part programme, showing as part of BBC Four's 'Exquisite Cuisine'.

See it again on BBC iPlayer:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/search/?q=fat%20man%20in%20a%20white%20hat

The Cat-Snatcher!

This is Sholto's most recent picture poem 'The Cat-Snatcher'.
See his full portfolio on the website: www.illustrationweb.com/sholtowalker 

Communication Arts Photography Exhibiton

Last day to enter a great photography competition with Communication Arts!

The Art Marketing eBook & Water Aid

Richard Wilde at ArtyBuzz has an art marketing ebook which sheds some light on what illustrators can do to get their work noticed and to promote themselves. If you’d like to have a look it can be read and downloaded at here 

There's also a press pack for a fundraiser that he is currently running on Artybuzz.com for Water Aid, below. It’s a pretty good cause and some illustrators might want to add their work to the cause:

Using Art to Help Save Lives

A little known fact is that it is international World Water Day on 22^nd March this year; and to both financially support and raise awareness for this important date, the art website, Artybuzz.com, is running a special fundraising initiative involving the sale of art.

The Liverpool based website has put together a special selection of water themed art, design and photography, and is going to donate all profits from the sale of these items to the registered charity Water Aid.  The water artworks are all available for purchase as prints, canvases, t shirts and more, meaning you can get a beautiful piece of art as well as donating to a good cause at the same time.

World Water Day is an internationally recognised day that was created in 1992 at the UN Conference on Environment and Development. The day aims to raise awareness of the lack of clean water that is still a problem in much of the world, and seeks to generate support for the many water relief charities that are trying to help get clean water to those most in need.

Richard Wilde, the founder of Artybuzz.com said “the lack of clean water is clearly a great problem in the world, and I wanted to do my bit, and give others the opportunity to help support this cause as well by providing these art gifts as a tool in which people could effectively make a donation and get something back themselves”.

Up until 23^rd March, 100% of the profits from the sale of the selection of water gifts Artybuzz has compiled will go to Water Aid.  The selection of gifts can be found and purchased on the Artybuzz website at www.artybuzz.com/water-art-gifts.php. Any artists, designers or photographers who would like their own work to be sold for this good cause can also add their work to Artybuzz.com and it can be added to the selection.

Saatchi & Saatchi viral predicts death of traditional ad agency

LONDON - Saatchi & Saatchi Canada has created a viral that predicts the death of advertising agencies unless they embrace the power of digital creative.
The viral, entitled 'The Last Advertising Agency on Earth', is a dark and sombre film that compares the death of the advertising industry to the fa

Greg Becker's Scrapbook

This week Greg Becker shares his love of Raymond Briggs and pumpkins.

Greg Becker's Scrapbook
Greg Becker's portfolio

Angus and Julia Stone

Bringing music to life with his marvellous imagination is Nick Murray Willis's latest animated music video for Australian band Angus and Julia Stone.

Featuring in Filter magazine, Nick gives us a view of a prisoner’s mundane world. Keep your eyes peeled for further animated mastery by Nick as he has just completed another video for the latest song by band The Keyz.

Denis Zilber's Scrapbook

Illustrator Denis Zilber shares his 20 year passion for Martial Arts and collecting childrens books.

Denis Zilber's Scrapbook

Denis Zilber's portfolio

Gail Armstrong and Paper Sculpture in Computer Arts Magazine

Designers have always used paper, but now the medium really is becoming the message as the humble sheet takes centre stage. Dom Hall meets the illustrators at the cutting edge. 

UK-based illustrator Gail Armstrong also describes herself as a “paper sculptor” and creates work for children’s books, magazine editorial, advertising and commercial clients including Rotary Watches, Virgin Travel and Nestlé.

See the rest of Gail's portfolio here: www.illustrationweb.com/gailarmstrong

An Interview with Computer Arts Magazine: Paper Chase

Designers have always used paper, but now the medium really is becoming the message as the humble sheet takes centre stage. Dom Hall meets the illustrators at the cutting edge.... Read the full article here:
http://www.computerarts.co.uk/in_depth/features/paper_chase


To see the rest of Emma's portfolio: www.illustrationweb.com/emmarios

Jellymongers Bompas and Parr's Architectural Punchbowl

Bompas and Parr impress with a project, vast in size and vast in alcohol content!
Watch the TV Sketchbook to find out how they flooded a building with liquid, and offered it to the public to drink for a one off experience.

See the rest of Bompas & Parr's portfolio: http://www.illustrationweb.com/Bompas&Parr

New DeWitt Campaign

The latest DeWitt campaign to launch

A timeless, classic selection of images with additional, contemporary additions by Martin Hargreaves, launched this week.

Click above for the rest of Martin's portfolio.

Ian Naylor's Scrapbook

Digital Illustrator Ian Naylor shares his passion for precision design & technical drawing.

Ian Naylor's Scrapbook

Ian Naylor's portfolio

Ian Naylor's animation portfolio

Sarah Beetson: The Metro Gallery

Illustration is a mania now-a-days,  I blame the easy availability of badge making machines and Frankie Magazine for the illustration glut.  I wanted to like illustration and find an artist to follow and cherish but bar the bastions like international sensation Swoon, I came up with nadda, damn glut. 

Happily today our Director pointed me in the direction of artist and illustrator Sarah Beetson. Glut avoided.

Her work reminds me of the time I dropped a brick on my bag which had a new pack of highlighters in it (true story, convenient no?)

http://metrogallery.com.au

New Project with Creative Boom

Creative Boom are very excited to share with us this morning some of the first entries to our ongoing contest, requesting photography, art, designs or illustrations that represent 'City Life and Urban Freshness'. This one is from our very own illustrator Madamesange entitled 'It's all about London'. Love it!

DISCOBEANS GALLERY presents YOU ARE NOT WHAT YOU EAT

Sarah Beetson explores society’s preoccupation with body image and the rising global trend in eating disorders. She collaborates with several fashion designers to create one-off wearable art that sit alongside a series of portraits and limited edition Body Mass Index badges which are for sale.

http://gallery.discobeans.com/

238 High Street, Northcote, 3070 Victoria, Australia, Sunday March 14 – Sunday March 28

See Sarah's portfolio: 

New Music Video for the Keyz

Our latest addition to our animation site, Nick Murray Willlis, has just completed this wonderful new video for a new band called The Keys:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfMuLTQjxLI

See the rest of his animation portfolio on www.animationweb.tv/nickmurraywillis

Rosie Sanders and Her Elephant Go to Town

Rosie Sanders, the acclaimed Devon based botanical artist, is painting flowers all over a life size model elephant as part of the ELEPHANT PARADE LONDON 2010. This colourful conservation project is being run in association with 'Elephant Family', the conservation charity set up by Mark Shand. The money raised will inject funds into key conservation projects across Asia.

The elephant, made of fibre glass, stands over four feet tall and is one of 200 that will adorn the streets of London in May and June this summer. All elephants are being painted voluntarily by famous artists including Marc Quinn and Jack Vetriano, and Rosie is among them. Rosie has chosen to paint Vanda orchids. One sits over his eye, three others on his side and back, the leaves wind themselves down his tail and legs.

All elephants will be auctioned on June 30  at Sotherbys and each artist will receive 15% of the proceeds, the rest goes to the Elephant Family Campaign.

Rosie has taken a break from work for her bi-annual one man show, Flowering, coming up at Park Walk Gallery from 9 - 26 June 2010. Her theme this time is one of change and flux, and the show centres on the flower’s life and decline in to graceful demise. The exhibition showcases Rosie’s large scale paintings of flowers painted from life.   She works in bold and saturated colours in watercolour on Arches

paper and is considered to be at the cutting edge of botanical art.

If you would like to donate to the elephant campaign, please see www.elephantfamily.org

Rosies London show runs from 9 -26 June, Private View 8 June, at JONATHAN COOPER, PARK WALK GALLERY, LONDON SW10 OAQ.

www.jonathancooper.co.uk

To see the rest of Rosie's portfolio, go to www.illustrationweb.com/rosiesanders

Body MOT

Fashion gets a work out this month by Christian David Moore.

He was commissioned by Conde Nast to create this stunning illustration for their March Spa supplement. The article focuses on tackling issues with poor diet, posture and stress, Christian's accompanying illustration beautifully depicts the subject.

The Nostalgia Issue

A snapshot of the past in Bec Winnel's dreamy fashion flashback.

The illustration is currently gracing the front cover of Mecca, a Melbourne based fashion magazine created by Madeline Boyd as part of her dissertation. Bec’s job was to take a trip down memory lane to create this front cover for the nostalgia issue, also within the pages is an interesting profile on the artist herself.

testing 1234

StockIllustration Artist: Maurizio De Angelis: Affordable Art Fair

Maurizio De Angelis will be showing his 'Broken Glass Series' at the Affordable Art Fair Spring collection at WH Patterson (Stand F1), Thursday 11th - Sunday 14th March, Battersea Park, London: http://www.affordableartfair.com/

Check out his other work at Stock Illustrations: www.stockillustrations.com/MaurizioDeAngelis

The London Book Fair

The London Book Fair: 19th-21st April with an all new Illustration corner in the Children's Zone: www.londonbookfair.co.uk
There's an illustrator's competition too! 

Check it out: www.londonbookfair.co.uk/illustratorscomp

Some lovely new work from Madamesange

Madamesange: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fresh_wetpaint/
She has been chosen as a candidate to be part of the Jotta & Fedrigoni papers "Sprung" exhibition from April 1st- April 30th. Watch this space! There might be a private view to attend!

Ron Borresen: Flair Winner

Ron Borresen has won the Creativematch February Flair Competition with his 'Man Salads' illustration for the Herald Tribune.

Ron Borresen's portfolio

Reaching Beauty

Reaching out to you with this gorgeous illustration is Robert Carter.

Commissioned by Deliver magazine to illustrate an article about the global reach of a beauty product company's mail samples, it was a tricky topic to make interesting. Robert welcomed the challenge to bring to life the subject with this eye catching image.

A Big Voice

A big shout for Ben Tallon who has just completed the VOICE Project with this dynamic image.

Ben explains that it's the start of a "long term project aimed at rallying creative professionals to turn their talents to important issues in important times". The images are about speaking on behalf of those that need to be heard but don't have the voice to do so.

Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics

Transmoflection - Vancouver 2010 Olympics

Living in Vancouver and being an illustrator, you can’t help notice the city being covered in illustrations "giving a highly detailed, true-to-life, and almost photographic sense of the athlete performing the sports" .

These illustrations were all done by VANOC’s in-house design team (Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games), with one key texture created by local aboriginal artist Xwa lack tun.

http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-videos/transmoflection_89280ut.html
Transmoflection is the title of a video showing the process of the design process

Patrick Boyer's Portfolio

Do You Believe in G.O.D?

John Holder is the man behind this compelling project.

"Good Old Drawing" is aimed at collecting together drawings by like minded artists who believe in the fundamental G.O.D skills. Along with colleague Philip Hodgkinson, John has amassed approximately 100 artists including Hockney and Scarfe, with samples of their work and reasons for believing in G.O.D. The project also supports young artists. Keep your eyes out for a G.O.D book, currently in progress.

John Walsom Open Studio

A must see if you are in the area of Kingston, Upon Thames, Surrey...... John Walsom is having an open studio weekend next month on 6th and 7th March 2010 11am-5pm at 38-42 Fife Road, Kingston Upon Thames KT1 1SU. On sale will be lots of original paintings in oils, watercolour and acrylics.

Fashion Illustration

Max Gregor, Montana Forbes, Petra Dufkova and Victoria Ball all appear in 'Fashion Illustrator', a book celebrating illustrators with a fashion edge. Published by Laurence King the book is "...A comprehensive, visually-led overview that covers all areas of fashion drawing, presentation and illustration, Fashion Illustrator (2e) both teaches students how to draw the fashion figure and provides an extended showcase of established and emerging illustrators..."


Max Gregor's portfolio. Montana Forbes's portfolio. Petra Dufkova's portfolio. Victoria Ball's portfolio.

Snoopy Revamped

Snoopy, one of our most beloved comicbook dogs has had a fabulous make over by the celebrated illustrator Christopher Corr.

Chris was invited to participate alongside other artists, illustrators and designers to individually decorate a Snoopy in celebration of the dog's 60th anniversary. These resulting designs were exhibited in Hong Kong before being auctioned off for charity.

Munch! by Sholto Walker

This month sees illustrator Sholto Walker completing some charming illustrations for two novelty children’s books.

Commissioned by paper engineer David Hawcock both take a light hearted view at nature. “Munch” features the food-chain with larger and larger sea creatures eating each other and “Making Tracks” is an entertaining look at animal tracks. Sholto says: “Both used an ingenious piece of paper engineering to increase the fun - but it sure made for a complicated job!”

Illustration opens in Shanghai

Great bit of PR that Tianyin has got for us with Media. Asia

SHANGHAI – London-based illustration company Illustration has opened its doors in Shanghai.

It has also launched a Chinese website to cater to clients in China. The Shanghai office is currently working with advertising agency's including Interone for a Mini campaign and Fashion Weekly publication.

“Illustration no longer means traditional illustrations, it is all about visual communication,” said Tianyin Wang, the agent for Greater China at Illustration.

Wang added: “China is a first-world country now and with that has a very fast maturing marketing and advertising industry. That is exactly the environment where illustration is used to add individuality and sophistication to campaigns.”

China is the second Asian country that Illustration has ventured into, besides Singapore.

Apart from the UK, Illustration has offices in the US and Germany. Clients in its UK and US portfolios include BBH, JWT, BBC, and Bloomsbury Publishing, Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press.

Optimism from Brand Republic Daily News

IPA Bellwether Report: Optimism returns despite more marketing cuts
by Arif Durrani, Brand Republic 18-Jan-10, 00:01

LONDON - Optimism is returning to UK marketing companies and budgets are set to rise in 2010, despite the ninth consecutive period of cuts in Q4, according to the latest IPA/BDO Bellwether Report out today (18 January).

The IPA survey panel, made up of marketers at 300 leading companies, collectively presented the most upbeat financial outlook for their industries since the question was first asked in the second quarter of 2005.

To read more click here.

Tianyin Wang and Arting365

For those of you who can speak or read Chinese you must take a look at these interviews with our very own rep in China Tianyin Wang, for Arting365.com.

http://www.arting365.com/vision/character/2010-01-13/content.1263348870d219207.html
http://www.arting365.com/vision/character/2010-01-12/content.1263287933d219199.html

is the arrival of the iPad 15 years earlier than predicted here?

Written in 1999 for the AOI Millennium edition of Images

The Next 25 Years

To consider the styles and fashions into the future is the most difficult thing of all. We will see the usual retro styles coming round in fashion, but whatever the style the market will use highly skilled and creative illustrators who are both professional, good to deal with and progressive in their work.

I very confidently base any thoughts that I may have in this piece on the one over riding belief that illustrators will be playing as an important, if not greater, role in the worlds' media in 25 years time as today.

The real question is what will constitute an illustration? We are already seeing hybrid images that float between illustration, animation, computer graphics, model making and photography. These images are being created principally on computer systems that have now become affordable and software that is of a standard that can be used commercially by the majority. This is only going to evolve and embrace more illustrators. There will be just as many individual styles and techniques. Illustrators will be as confident working on screen as they were with brush in hand, as many are already. The market is and will demand animation and 3D imagery in nearly all styles along with quicker delivery.

We need to consider, as the basis of all thoughts on the future, where illustration will appear. For about the last 250 years illustration has enjoyed print as it's main platform, in fact it was this technology that really gave rise to our genre.

Will this remain our platform when screen use is accelerating so fast? We have come to a fork in the road as I see it. Over the last year or so our agency has seen a significant rise in commissions for use in New Media and it is set to grow. Things will really change when two technologies arise:

Firstly, the merging of the web and television. This is just around the corner and within 5 years the majority of the population will have a Web/TV in their homes and offices. This will mean that web sites become more like channels as we know on TV, and every one of those will need visual content. Some of the content will be film and studio. However there are going to be millions of channels requiring illustrated images in all forms.

Secondly, the development and distribution of wireless broadband technology. This is already advanced and we will be seeing this easily within 10 years. The important thing about this that we will all have our own highly portable real-time "tablet' (for want of a better word). This tablet will be our complete communication tool. It will be our PC, Web/Tv, phone, e-mailer, we will be able to type on it, write on it, dictate to it, read our books, newspapers and magazines on it. And we will probably have several of them, one for the office/work, one for home, one for school, one for holidays and reading in the bath etc. They will all hold the same info and have the same functions, but will be differently designed depending on the use, i.e. waterproof, or flexible, leather-bound etc.

How often, if this is the future, will our work be reproduced on paper? Less and less I would suggest. When everything is so portable, when memory is not ever an issue and processing power is real-time, will we need many of the reference books, the educational books, the picture books to be printed, let alone the newspapers and magazines?

There will be, for the current living generations, a printed requirement. Print output may well rise up until the time that the 'tablet' is both affordable and taken up by most of the population.

How do we exploit all the changes ahead rather than feel threatened and swamped by them? Well it is an attitude of mind as much as anything, new technology and a changing way of life is happening and will continue at an ever increasing pace. To turn our back on it is to jeopardise our futures so we must embrace it and use it. Leading illustrators in the future, much as they have always been, will never rest on their laurels. Perhaps this has traditionally been as much to do with continually evolving ones style and perfecting techniques. Now with technology giving us what it does they will seek out the latest developments and harness them to their own creativity, building on what they do and taking them on to new levels. The boundaries for the majority of illustrators are being taken down giving them access to a whole new market on the screen.

The marketing of our work is changing rapidly. The web allows a truly international audience and what with e-mail and cheap international calls it is now not an issue to think beyond our shores. This applies to us going to the rest of the world, but it also means the rest of the world is available to our traditional markets. Clients are losing their fear of international commissioning to the extent that where you live will be a complete irrelevance from now on. One of our busiest artists moved to Australia 2 years ago and has more work now from the UK than ever before. This is a liberty that technology has given us and it may as well be taken advantage of.

Our agency currently enjoys over 50% of inquiries involving our website. This has changed from zero in just 3 years. Each month we see this gradually building and with it a lesser use of portfolios. I can only assume that in not many years from now traditional portfolios will become somewhat redundant. We place as much importance updating online portfolios as on the traditional. This has meant a very heavy investment in technology, personnel and training to achieve and maintain it. This is not a process that we will see diminish, increasing our investment year on year, learning new ways to market ourselves on the net and create the best possible platform for our artists. This has not meant a reduction in printed promotion yet, it may be increasing. However this is bound to change in the longer term, as people's first point of call becomes the web, rather than the bookshelf. The marketing challenge will be to get commissioners to find your website.

Stock image sales are perfect for the web and I am sure that we will see an increasing availability of stock illustration. However it must not take over from bespoke commissions. If we allow too greater proliferation of stock and cheap prices we will be saying to our clients that we are would rather they bought stock than commissioned us. This could lead to our industry starving itself and drying up in many quarters. It is beginning to happen in some instances and we have all heard how some photographers have been put out of business as stock proliferates in their industry. It is our duty to take a long-term view on this and manage our stock resources responsibly.

One of the greatest evolution that I see coming to our practice is the involvement of the art director / designer in the commissioning and creating process. Illustration has been thought by a sizeable part of the market as a bit risky, because clients had to wait until the final delivery to see if the illustrator had recreated their minds eye. These days are going as clients are already able to see, and get involved in the process via e-mails. In the future real time invited access to the artist's screen along with a webcam chat will complete this involvement. This will put us on a par with the photographer's Polaroid, and should see new clients come our way.

Again our agency has seen a marked move from the days when changes had to be sent back to the artist, this never happens now as the client will have seen the work before it left on an e-mail. Rejected work, which painfully happened from time to time, seems to be a thing of the past. And it is all because clients are so much better informed on who and what they are commissioning and being that much more involved in the process.

In summary, if an e-year equates to 7 normal business years then being asked to reveal the next 25 is to consider the next 6 generations of illustration and how it will be used in the technology that will be available to us. Challenging and highly speculative but there are some happenings and that can give one a steer.

I believe the future is very rosy. It is changing fast and there sadly will be casualties along the way. But it is a future where the illustrator will become a key supplier of visual content in New Media to a much greater extent than we have ever seen in the role to date. The work will be much more widely seen and appreciated, giving a greater acknowledgement and public awareness to the genre. Illustrators will be consulted and play a fundamental role in the direction and production of content, be it TV, websites, presentations, publishing, ads and graphics.

Harry Lyon-Smith

November 1999

Hancock's Antique

This exquisitely executed watercolour is the work of Philip Bannister, who was commissioned by antique dealers Hancock's.

The illustration has a magnificent timeless quality, perfect for the antique market, and will feature across all Hancock’s company literature and correspondence material.

Magic Hamster Ball

Reached a crossroad in your life? Bill Greenhead has an app for that—in the shape of his Magic Hamster Ball creation!

Just like a magic eight ball, Bill’s hamster will answer any yes/no question you care to ask. Developed alongside Appcreatives, Magic Hamster Ball awaits your questions now at the itunes store.

Cupcakes for Kathryn

Kathryn Rathke is the talented hand behind these portraits for Seattle’s The Stranger.

The magazine awards a yearly $5000 sum to accomplished local "geniuses", and Kathryn was thrilled to be commissioned for the feature. As well as 10' x 10' reproductions, the portraits were also printed on(presumably limited edition) cupcakes.

Back in STYLE

Great news for Montana Forbes who makes a welcome return to the pages of The Sunday Times STYLE Magazine.

Montana was the illustrator on two weekly columns for three years at the paper, and is back creating imagery for a relationship column called ‘The Trouble With Women’.

Robert Carter

A warm welcome please to the massive painterly talents of Robert Carter.

Award-winning Robert brings a portfolio of powerful portraiture with him, one that often spills over into the surreal, and one that always astounds with its vibrant and striking approach to every subject matter.

Mumbai One Year On

Some illustration goes way beyond the reach of words. Shailesh Khandeparkar’s stark and powerful poster design is one such illustration.

The first anniversary of the terror attacks are remembered in these posters and prints, and were distributed by India's DNA newspaper.

British Comedy Awards 2009

Setting all his paint-guns to ‘funny’ is Keith Robinson and his epic work on the 2009 British Comedy Awards.

Keith created branding, titles and packaging—including logo, to reflect the superhero theme of the set. He also produced storyboards for Marvel comic artist Mike McKone, later animating Mike’s characters.

Creamy

Jelly mongers Bompas and Parr delight us all again with this cover for The Independent's Sunday Magazine food issue special.

The job was quite a challenge due to the large mould required, and was also the first time the duo had created type in negative for the cream to be poured in. Credit for the final photo goes to Sara Morris.

Largo City Banners

People visiting Largo City, Florida are in for a treat this month thanks to the visual celebration which is Pete Pachoumis’s latest offering.

Commissioned by Largo City, Pete was asked to create 9 banners representing different parts of life in the city. The results are these fantastic images which will be hanging in down town Largo in the next few weeks, the banners are also being sold at City Hall as a series of prints here.