You know I’m busy at work when instead of going through art samples with my morning coffee, they pile up on my desk. Today, I finally took lunch to sort through a few. Check out some exciting new finds that came in lately!
Casey Uhelski / For pet lovers (like me!), this SCAD grad has mastered the expressions of adorable dogs, cats and bunnies.
Victoria Jamieson / Victoria’s anthropomorphic characters have landed her a two-book gig with Dial (part of the Penguin family) in 2012/2013. In the meantime, I think her revisiting of Ramona Quimby is spot-on.
David C. Gardiner / This image might suggest that David and I are cut from the same cloth, stylistically, but his Flying Dog Studio also produces everything from fairly realistic older characters to animations.
Caitlin B. Alexander / This Austin-based illustrator’s folksy-yet-modern style looks mostly editorial, for now… but wouldn’t it make a charming children’s book?
Veronica Chen / I was intrigued by her intricate black-and-white patternwork, but her color piece Chameleon City just begs for a story to be told.
Jillian Nickell / This quirky, vintage-inspired vignette was fascinating enough to lead me to her website, where there’s a great series of pieces based on The Borrowers, and more. I can picture her style being perfect in the right book for older readers!
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Today was a more wackadoo day in illustrator submissions than usual, so I thought I’d give myself a pick-me-up by highlighting three great illustrators who draw some super-cute animals. Enjoy!
1. Charrow / My first favorite recent find is Charrow, whose quirky illustrations exude a playful spirit and sense of humor. Her light watercolor and drawing technique feels breezy, like she just jotted down some animals, and they happen to be hilariously adorable. She’s also a frequent contributor to They Draw and Cook. Her Etsy shop is down at the moment, but when I checked it out a few weeks ago, it was easily my favorite part of her portfolio… be sure to check back for it soon!
2. Stephanie Graegin / Probably my all-time favorite illustrator submission ever is a little “mini portfolio” booklet from Stephanie Graegin. Her Renata Liwska-style woodland creatures, accented by limited color and unlimited sweetness, had both design and editorial drooling. Crossing my fingers that I see a book with her name on it soon!
3. Lizzy Hallman / If illustrator David Catrow’s art proves anything, it’s that there’s a place in this business for a little ugly-cute. And if my love of french bulldogs proves anything, it’s that I will always get behind ugly-cute! Hallman’s characters may have wonky eyeballs, but they make their expressions unique and humorous. And her color treatment? 100% sweet!
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While going through the slush mail today, I came across a pair of standout illustrators in a pile of recent UArts grads. Jim Tierney and Sara Wood, a young Brooklyn couple, have a fantastic approach to book cover design. Their masterful combination of type, hand-lettering and drawing makes both of their portfolios equally impressive.
Check out Sara’s D. H. Lawrence book cover series, and Jim’s interactive Jules Verne thesis (there’s a
video too!).
I put the cards up on the “Wall Of Stuff I Like” in my cube, right next to our other favorite hand-drawn type designer,
Kristine Lombardi. Lombardi’s cards have been up on our wall for ages. While her cards have more of a feminine, fashion style (although I do like her
Kids page!), they are the first thing that designers walking by are ALWAYS drawn to. Check out a great interview (including the below image of her promo card)
here.
These designers got me to thinking: where’s the place for hand-lettered type in children’s books? Before the age of thousands of freebie fonts on the internet (hey, it wasn’t that long ago!), hand-lettered display type was commissioned for book covers all the time. I recently worked on the anniversary edition for Jacqueline Woodson’s
The Other Side, and I was so impressed to discover that the handsome title was calligraphed by the original in-house designer.
And while I’m sure it took a lot more effort than downloading a font, there’s something careful, purposeful and yet whimsical to hand-drawn type. So it’s no surprise that it is experiencing a rebirth of magnificently hip proportions. Now, type everywhere looks like this:
Whoa. I love Jillian Nickell’s illustration there. So cool!