Laura Laine

Laura Laine is a Helsinki based illustrator.
She has studied fashion design at University of Art and Design Helsinki, but during her studies focused on fashion illustration. After completing her studies she has been working full-time as a freelance illustrator and is also teaching fashion illustration at the university.

Her recent clients include Vogue Nippon, GAP, I.T. store, Elle, Zara, Telegraph, Rad Hourani, The New York Times T magazine, Tommy Hilfiger, Muse magazine, The Guardian, I.T. Post magazine, Iben Hoej, and Daniel Palillo. She has also exhibited in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Found Here: http://www.lauralaine.net/

Yoshitaka Amano

Yoshitaka Amano (天野 喜孝 (formerly 天野 嘉孝), Amano Yoshitaka^?) (born July 28, 1952) is a Japanese artist. He began his career as an animator and has become known for his illustrations for Vampire Hunter D and for his character designs, image illustrations and title logo designs for the Final Fantasy video game series developed by Square Enix (formerly Square).^[1] His influences include Western comic books, art nouveau, and Japanese woodblock prints. He has won awards for his work, including the 1999 Bram Stoker Award for his collaboration with Neil Gaiman, Sandman: The Dream Hunters.^[2] In early 2010, he established Studio Devaloka, a film production company.

Amano was born in Shizuoka, Japan. As a young adolescent, he was fascinated with drawing. In 1967, he began working in the animation department of Tatsunoko Productions, where he was introduced to the early Japanese anime movement.^[4][5] His first paid project was for the Speed Racer anime franchise. He was a character designer for anime shows such as Time Bokan, Gatchaman, Tekkaman, and Honey Bee.^[6]

In the 1960s, Amano was exposed to Western art styles through comic books, which he claims among his artistic roots. He has cited Neal Adams as his favorite comic book artist, noting that he would often purchase used comics based on Adams's cover artwork, only to be disappointed that the interior artist was different.^[7] Amano was also fascinated by the art styles of psychedelic art and pop art of the West, particularly the work of American Pop artist Peter Max.^[8] In the 1970s, Amano studied the artworks of the late 19th century and early 20th century European movement of Art Nouveau, as well as the ancient Japanese hand woodblock printing work of Ukiyo-e.^[8]

Amano remained at Tatsunoko Productions until 1982.

In the early 1980s, Amano concentrated on illustrations for science fiction and fantasy works. Combined with the influence of his prior experience in animation, this focus resulted in a personal style influenced by both modern surrealism and realism.^[6]

In 1983, he illustrated the novel Demon City Shinjuku and the first in Hideyuki Kikuchi's Vampire Hunter D novel series.^[6] He also worked as a character designer on the 1985 movie adaptation of Vampire Hunter D, which was one of the first anime movies to be released outside of Japan. In interviews, however, Amano has stated that he was not pleased with the final product of the movie.^{[citation needed]}

His illustrations begin to be published in collections such as Maten in 1984.

In 1987, Amano joined Square (now known as Square Enix) to work on a role-playing video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System: Final Fantasy. Amano produced conceptual design pieces for the game in both traditional and computer designed artwork.^[10] At this time, he also worked for another video game company, Kure Software Koubou, producing box cover illustrations as well as some character designs. This work included designs for Kure's First Queen series.^[11]

Following Final Fantasy VI in 1994, he stepped down as the main character, image, and graphic designer of the series. He continued to provide promotional and character artwork for the following games and to design their title logos.^[12]

In 2006, Hironobu Sakaguchi, the former designer and creator of the Final Fantasy series, recruited Amano and composer Nobuo Uematsu to work on video games at Mistwalker.^[1]

[edit] Branching out

Amano's first exhibition, called "Hiten", was held in 1989 at Yurakucho Mullion in Tokyo, Japan.^[13] In 1990, he began to work as an artist and set designer for stage theater. His first work for theater was Tamasaburo Bando's Nayotake.^[8] He also held further exhibitions and became well-known for his printing works.^{[citation needed]}

Beginning in 1995 with his work at the Biennale d'Orléans in France, he received increased recognition outside of Japan. Further international exhibitions followed, including the 1996 "Hero" at the Angel Orensanz Foundation and the 1997 workshop and exhibition "Think Like Amano".^[14][15]

In 1998, Amano appeared as Hiroshi in the 1998 movie New Rose Hotel, loosely based on the William Gibson short story of the same name.

In 2000, Amano illustrated Neil Gaiman's Sandman: The Dream Hunters,^[17] which won several awards and was nominated for a Hugo Award.^[2] In 2001, Greg Rucka and Amano collaborated on another comic book tale, Elektra and Wolverine: The Redeemer.^[18] His character designs were used in another Vampire Hunter D movie entitled Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust. In 2006, the first volume of his HERO series was released by Boom! Studios.

He illustrated three album covers for the Japanese power metal band Galneryus: The Flag of Punishment (2003), Advance to the Fall (2005), and Beyond the End of Despair (2006).^[19]

In 2008, Amano created an illustrated adaptation of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's The Magic Flute, published by Radical Comics.^[20] He also collaborated with Christopher "mink" MorrisonQuentin Tarantino's A Band Apart production company, providing illustrations for the novel Shinjuku and two other projects that have yet to be announced.^[21] He was the character designer for the 2009 Jungle Emperor (Kimba the White Lion) TV special, directed by Gorō Taniguchi, to commemorate both the 50th anniversary of Fuji Television and the 80th anniversary of Osamu Tezuka's birth.

Found Here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshitaka_Amano

Louis-Maurice Boutet de Monvel

Louis-Maurice Boutet de Monvel (1851, Orléans, Loiret – 1913) was a French painter and illustrator best known for his watercolors for children's books.^[1] He was a major figure in nineteenth century children's literature illustration.

Boutet de Monvel was an academic painter born in Orléans who studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris under Alexandre Cabanel, Gustave Boulanger, Jules Joseph Lefebvre, and Carolus Duran.^[2][3][4][5]Salon de Paris and earned the medal of the third class in 1878 for a painting called "The Good Samaritan".^[4][5]

During the late 1870s he exhibited at the

Boutet de Monvel began doing illustrations for financial reasons.^[5] After contributing illustrations to several magazines he published Vielles Chansons et Rondes pour les Petits Enfants (Old Songs and Rounds for Small Children) in 1883, followed the next year by Chansons de France pour les Petits Français (Songs of France for Little French People).^[5]Anatole France for Nos Enfants (Our Children) and a number of other children's books, many of which were translated into English in the early twentieth century.^[5] Boutet de Monvel collaborated with

According to Anita Silvey in Children's Books and Their Creators, Boutet de Monvel's skill at capturing the moods of children made him a popular portraitist for the children of leading society families in France and elsewhere.^[2][5] His work was warm and sensitive and he received so many commissions for portraits that he contemplated giving up book illustration.^[5]

In 1895, however, he published an illustrated children's history of Joan of Arc which has been regarded as his masterpiece.^[2][5] Working epic scenes in a muted palette that he described as "It's not color, really, it is the impression, the suggestion of color," he conveyed an emotional spirituality despite his disappointment with reproduction technology. The book gained esteem although he was neither a writer nor a historian.^[5] It was republished in 1973 ^[6] and 1980.^[5]

Children's literature critic Selma G. Lanes describes his Joan of Arc illustrations:

Boutet de Monvel's full-page illustrations have a nobility and grandeur akin to the great church frescoes of the Renaissance. Their pleasingly flat rendering combined with a sophisticated use of design elements…owe a debt to the Japanese prints so popular in the artist's day.^[2]

Boutet's Joan of Arc work soon became known to the English speaking world through translation.^[2] In 1899 he traveled to the United States to exhibit and received a commission from a wealthy American to create a series of large scale panels based upon his Joan of Arc illustrations.^[5] Another six panels originally planned for the Joan of Arc chapel near her birthplace Domrémy-la-Pucelle, France became part of the collection at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.^[5]

The Buffalo, New York Fine Arts Academy, which held a collection of his works during World War I, assessed his style by stating "There is no unnecessary detail in his portraits, his studies, or any of his compositions."^[3] In describing the illustrations among its exhibit a museum publication stated his "masterly creations stand out not merely as a graphic comment on the text but as a revelation of a subject which the writer has treated only in a fragmentary and superficial manner."^[3]

Silvey ranks Boutet de Monvel alongside Kate Greenaway and Randolph Caldecott as leading figures of the nineteenth century golden era of children's book illustration.^[5] He died in Nemours in 1913.^[3]

Found Here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis-Maurice_Boutet_de_Monvel

Boutet de Monvel, Louis Maurice (lwē mōrēs' bOOtā' du môNvel') [key], 1851–1913, French painter and illustrator. His fame rests chiefly on his decorative illustrations for children's books and his charming watercolors, e.g., Chansons et rondes pour les enfants, Chansons de France, La Vie de Jeanne d'Arc, and Nos Enfants.

Read more: Louis Maurice Boutet de Monvel — Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0808550.html#ixzz100emiXD5

John Paul Thurlow - Cover Drawings

'One more hipster contributing to the end of western civilization'

Yes that's me! It's the end of the world, one magazine at a time... I'm part of the generation that never made anything new. Supposedly.

This is an attempt to recreate cover art for every great magazine and record I own. And with each Cover I take a perfect mass-produced object and turn it into a fucked up one-off, full of my thoughts and feelings.

From time to time this blog will feature work outside the Covers series - commissions, fashion illustrations, scamps, type, random shit - drop me a line if you'd like to collaborate on something special.

What is Lyric Type? Song lyrics that get stuck in my brain rerendered in hand drawn type.

John Paul Thurlow Cover Illustrations

Check out these awesome cover illustrations by artist John Paul Thurlow.


Found Here: http://vectroave.com/2009/12/cover-illustrations-by-john-paul-thurlow/

Annie French

French Style

Annie French had a lovely style, creating delightful jewel-like pen and ink watercolors.

Found Here: http://mydelineatedlife.blogspot.com/2009/11/french-style.html

The daughter of a metallurgist, Annie French was born in Glasgow and studied at the Glasgow School of Art under Fra Newbery and the Belgian Symbolist, Jean Delville (1896-1902).Influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites, Aubrey Beardsley and Jessie M King, she developed a style combining vivid colours, curvilinearity of form and almost confetti-like textures. While still a student, she contributed an illustration to The Book of the Jubilee of the University of Glasgow (1901), and later illustrated one book, a selection of Heine?s poems for Foulis (1908). However, her watercolours (often on vellum) and drawings are mainly in the form of illustrations, and she designed a number of postcards and greetings cards. In 1906, she began to share a studio with Bessie Innes Young and Jane Younger and, three years later, became Tutor in Ceramic Decoration at Glasgow School of Art as successor to JESSIE M KING. But following her marriage to the artist George Woolliscroft Rhead (1854-1920), she settled in London, and became a frequent exhibitor at the Royal Academy, until the mid nineteen-twenties. She died in Jersey.

Found Here: http://www.lochgallery.com/component/option,com_art/action,artist/id,125/Itemid,30/

Jean Coulon Engravings

Born in Brussels in 1947

Studied drawing and printmaking at the Ecole d'Art de la Cambre, specialising in the techniques of engraving on copper (burin engraving, drypoint and mezzotint) and wood engraving.

With a fine technique, he makes prints that are a product of his teeming imagination, creating a world rich in detail, not without humour, a little disturbing, both ancient and futuristic.

Jean Coulon's work has been exhibited both in Belgium and abroad.

Found Here: http://www.jeancoulon.be/