I was so completely inspired by this video feature on writer and illustrator Oliver Jeffers that I picked up my own pens and brushes and made some art without a computer this weekend.
I really enjoyed this short video from Gestalten on designer and illustrator Christoph Niemann. Niemann is probably most known for his popular New York Times blog, Abstract City where he tells stories in interesting and powerful visual form. His approach to visual communication is inspiring and leaves me wanting to make my own images.
(Semi-related: Niemann and his wife were recently featured on The Selby and their apartment is beautiful.0
Mark Twain wrote in his journal about the ten types of people he shows his writing to before publishing a book. In 2009, these journals were published and John Lithgow did a brilliant reading at the New York Public Library. In this video, Lithgow reads Mark Twain’s “Whenever I’m About to Publish a Book…” while Flash Rosenberg illustrates. The result is an entertaining and insightful meditation on audience and creative work.
Issue 7 of Sway, the experiment zine I publish with Rory King is now online and available for download! This issue’s theme was “nature” and to add an extra challenge on top, we decided that each spread had to include an original illustration. This presented a new challenge in the creation of the issue as we couldn’t rely on imagery from the web but were left to experiment and create our own. I think they turned out well. Rory handled the first six spreads and I took the last six and I love how different each of ours look this time around.
I’ve been itching to do more illustration lately. I’m trying to draw more again and have been filling my sketchbook with collages and sketches. I also sometimes make these collages in Illustrator, combining various elements and illustrations. I like how this one turned out — thinking about making it a print to put up in the shop.
What a fantastic video showing design studio DKNG’s process for designing and producing a poster for The Black Keys! Watching this made me realize (1) I still have A LOT to learn in Illustrator, and (2) I really need to learn how to screen print!
I was especially interested in the way they produced the small details in the illustration from the locks on the guitar case, complete with shadows as well as the way they added texture to the piece. Completely fascinating.
“I love watercolor because of the limitations. And it’s within those limitations that I find new possibilities.”
I had the pleasure to hear this legendary children’s book illustrator speak this morning. Endlessly inspiring. I nearly fell out of my chair when he said those words above.
I updated my portfolio with tons of new work in preparation for The Great Job Search of 2011™. Some pieces I’m especially proud of include The Spirit of Overton branding project, the annual reports, and, of course, the Being God’s Medium books. I’ve also included for the first time ever a few pages from my sketchbooks.
“Art and love are the same thing: It’s the process of seeing yourself in things that are not you.” —Chuck Klosterman
I found this quote saved in Evernote last night. I originally found it a few months ago, liked it, saved it away, and then forgotten about it. I rather like it and I love the truths behind it. I made this little graphic as a way to honor it.
Just a little collage/illustration I made last night. I like how it turned out. I need to do more of these. It was making stuff like this that taught me Photoshop and eventually got me into this whole thing. It’s interesting to see how these “personal sketches” I do have evolved over the years. I think I’m doing my best work ever right now and I’m really excited about where it’s going.
I had a few left over elements I made from another project I’m working on and instead of letting them go to waste, I threw them together to make this quick little illustration.
When I was a kid, I turned my room into a laboratory and would ask for test tubes and beakers for Christmas to conduct my science experiences. Though I’ve never lost my interest in the sciences, somewhere I along the way I left science for art. Figures.
