Hand to Mouse

Looking at different approaches to illustration through different illustrators.

Illustrations can be-

• Tablet drawn (pro create)
• Vectors
• Illustrator / Photoshop / Figma / Sketch
• Hand drawn on paper.

 

Jorge Colombo

I really like Colombo’s style, simple but his use of colour is effective to his work. I particularly like his illustrations of groups of people. Again, they are simple lines and shapes but what make each face distinct is how he draws certain features with dark thick lines, making these features prominent and giving life and character to the overall pieces. I also looked at his illustrative work on cityscapes, again very simple but added detail that is very bold and distinctive, I think would be worth referring to when considering my background/cityscape designs for my travel app. I find this style to be very interesting and something to try out in my spare time.

 

Ralph Steadman

Artist, writer, sculptor, cartoonist, and designer, he has illustrated the likes of Alice in Wonderland, Treasure Island and Animal Farm. Steadman’s work is familiar to me and I wanted to include him into my designer research this week as I think he is a great example of traditional hands-on illustration, known for his work in pen and ink. His illustration style very messy and free. From watching a quick video on how to he produces some of his work, his process in fascinating. He works so freely and quickly without thinking about it almost. This process seems to be a good way to just get ideas and imagination out. For this research I specifically wanted to look at the work he had done for ‘The Devil’s Dictionary’ and for ‘Animal Farm’

The Devils Dictionary

These pieces for me remind of classic illustration, black on white, minimal shading and just linework, but you can see Steadman’s free nature in his lines which is what makes it unique. This is seen throughout both sets of illustrations looked at.

Animal Farm

As mentioned already, you can see Steadman’s free nature in these pieces, his quick unsteady lines add movement and liveness to his work, which creates an experience of connection between the artwork and the viewer through its evoked emotion.

 

Self-Reflection

This week I learnt illustration can be much more than one style or one media type. I found this content to be helpful in discovering new designers that can help influence and elevate my work, as well as helping me settle into my own style. I think looking at two very different designers will be an advantage to me research and designers later as there is a little bit of diversity there. I think moving forward the works of Jorge Colombo will be good referencing when experimenting with new styles or even adapting more on what I produce now. I think I’m on track this on producing my Master Apprentice work and hope to have them completed shortly.