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Jon Contino
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Mary Lundquist
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Matthew Woodson
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Cleon Peterson
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Alex Raymond (1909 – 1956)
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Scott C.
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Josh Cooley
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Richard Perez
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Kevin Mercer
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Lydia Nichols
Philadelphia-based Lydia Nichols is a illustrator, typographer, designer, and teacher (and anthropomorphizer). After an intern at Pixar, Ms Nichols started freelancing. Some of her notable clients including Bloomberg Businessweek, Chronicle Books, Google UK and MailChimp. She has also taught at MICA and Moore, as well a providing a class for Skillshare.
Squeezing the best out of illustrator and photoshop, Ms Nichols’ work is both lucid and tactile. Her illustrations are clear, sprightly and guaranteed to put a smile on your face, if not, just a simper. Child-friendly too, her illustrations use subdued colour and have a Mary Blair/UPA charm to them.
See more of Lydia Nichols’ on her website and Dribbble page.
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Book Review ~ The Art of John Alvin
Editor’s Note:
John Alvin was an American movie artist who painted movie poster art for over 130 films, including E.T., Blade Runner, The Lion King, The Princess Bride and Jurassic Park, as well as the Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Pirates of the Caribbean film series. He also produced work for Disney Fine Art (Disney character official portraits).
The Book Review:
I have been walking afoot with The Art of John Alvin under my arm for about a week now, and I have been stopped by people who recognize the E.T. image. Once I say, “yes, it’s the art of John Alvin”, they just stare back at me blankly.
The book’s first line of introduction surmises, rather well, the career and work of John Alvin:
“Hollywood’s best kept secret”
No doubt reading through the list of films in the editors note you had a vivid image of each of the movie poster mentioned. John Alvin’s artwork is entwined with movie history, with many of his poster just as memorable as the films themselves.
Reading through the book you get a real sense of what Mr Alvin built, and what boundaries he broke. Way before photo compositions were common place, he was creating friskets using transparent paper. There is a nice quote right at the end of the book that perfectly sums up Mr Alvin’s work ethic and his keenness for innovation, written by Farah Alvin (John’s daughter), she says:
“If there was no tool to make something happen, he’d make it himself”
One of the things I really appreciated about this book is the 30+ plus example it showcased have at least two dedicated pages each. The first page of each poster explains the clients requirements, any possible problem, and the solution. It is a real treat to have such an amount of insight of the working process. It also helps you admire the work, that little bit more, knowing the restrictions faced.
Another interesting tidbit I found out from reading the book was that John Alvin was allowed to sign a few of his movie posters. I bet you have never spotted the small “Alvin” hidden in his posters despite probably staring at them hundreds of times. I naturally then spent the following hour carefully looking for his signature in many of his posters. If like me, you now have time and that uncontrollable urge to satisfy, you can start with the Blade Runner poster.
I get the feeling Mr Alvin was quite content contributing to such a prodigious industry from in the adumbrate walls of his studio. However, it is somewhat a shame an artist like John Alvin with work so recognizable to have his name be virtually unknown. Thankfully The Art of John Alvin aims to remedy this, with a beautiful collection of work, cementing his name to the art for moviegoers and illustrators alike.
Small sidenote: It is particularly enjoyable if you were a child of the 80s and 90s and whilst reading the book you suddenly realize that John Alvin is responsible for a great deal of your moviegoing joy.
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Greg Wright
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Amanda Winterstein
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Robbi Rodriguez
With the release of the anticipated Marvel title Spider-Gwen nearly upon us, I thought now was a great time to feature American Designer and Cartoonist, Robbi Rodriguez.
With just over a decade of making comics, Rodriguez in that time has worked on a host of great titles including his creator-own title Frankie, get your gun, Vertigo’s FBP: Federal Bureau of Physics, Image’s Night Club, 24seven (Vol.2), Hazed and Oni Press titles Tek Jansen, Maintenance and Polly and the Pirates (Vol.2).
Speaking of Polly and the Pirates, I was deeply disappointed to read all the negative comments it has on Amazon. Mostly from readers who preferred the author and original artist, Ted Naifeh’s style. With all respect to Naifeh, these commenters don’t know what they are talking about. I realise that Rodriguez’s work by no means needs defending, but I can not help but put these comments in their place. Yes, art will always be subjective, but Rodriguez brought more energy and better-developed characters to the book. Which, for a swash-buckling pirate book, can only be a good thing.
Interestingly, comparing his artwork from Polly to his recent work with Marvel, really showcases his versatility. Looking at the pages of Polly, you can see a strong European influence in his work, especially from the likes of Pierre Alary and Denis Bodart. His Marvel work has a rougher more edgy feel to it, in a similar vain to artist like Paul Pope and Jeff Stokely. Then there is his personal work where he really goes to town and experiments with his style, medium, and incorporating more graphic design elements.
Check out more of Robbi Rodriguez’s work on his website and DeviantArt page. Also don’t forget to pick up a copy of Spider-Gwen #1 when it hits the comic stands on February 25th.
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Matt Rockefeller
Presenting the very majestic work of Matt Rockefeller. Born in Tucson, Arizona he studied illustration and animation at the talent-breeding Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). After completing his Bachelor degree in 2014, Rockefeller chose to stay in Baltimore and begin his career as freelance illustrator and visual development artist.
During his studies, and in the year that he has been working professionally, Rockefeller has compiled an astounding portfolio. His illustrations are beautifully rendered utilising graphite powder, pencils and digital colours. He is always focusing on how to best convey the narrative and retaining meaning. This care to visual communication is evident looking through his work, and is also what sets it apart.
You can find more of Matt Rockefeller’s work on his website, Tumblr and InPrint store.
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Bill Cone
Californian Illustrator Bill Cone is well known for his sensational pastel artwork and his ongoing contribution to Pixar Animation Studios. He studyied Painting at San Francisco State University before going on to study Illustration at Art Center College of Design. After his graduation, Cone embarked on a career as a landscape painter and for over 17 years he has exhibited annually, both in group and one-man shows.
Cone is both a Production Designer and Teacher at Pixar. He has produced lighting studied, worked as a storyboard artist, background painter, and character designer. On top of all these roles, for over 10 years, Cone has taught light and color classes to the Pixar alumni. He has contributed to successful animations such as Toy Story (1995), A Bug’s Life (1998), Toy Story 2 (1999), Ratatouille (2007), and Up (2009). Interestingly, it was during work on A Bug’s Life that he started using pastels to do lighting studies. Enjoying them very much and seeing their speed benefits, he decided to use pastels in his personal work too.
You can see much more of Bill Cone’s wonderful artwork on his blog, which he couples with eloquent and verbose descriptions.
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Gregory Hartman
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Michelle Woodward
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Brave the Woods
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Dave Valeza
A Savannah, Georgia local, Dave Valeza graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design with a masters in Sequential Art. He worked as a visual development and layouts artist on the touching graphic novel An Elegy for Amelia Johnson, written by Andrew Rostan and illustrated by Kate Kasenow. Valeza has also contributed to comics Love Machines and Anything That Loves Anthology.
I was first attracted to his work via his Tumblr, where he posts up daily observational drawings. Usually sat in a coffee shop, Valeza produces quick brush pen sketches of people, capturing their personality and style with limited strokes. Then in turn includes his observations into his comics, adding the small details that bring his characters to life.
You can find more of Dave Valeza’s work on his website.
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