Evangeline Than

Kate Beaton’s “Hark! A Vagrant” comics are smart and funny. Quite often they are educational. Sometimes, too educational, like this one, which made me curious enough to search for stuff on the Internet, and then mad that the Internet was so good at letting people search for stuff. WHY, JAMES JOYCE, WHY?

Image used with permission (thanks, Kate!)

James Gurney has a blog! And a fourth Dinotopia book! What planet have I been living on?

Gurney’s blog is an excellent repository of news and information for artists, and as you will see, his vivid and meticulous painting style has only gotten better with time.

I especially like this little tip he recently posted, about finding a drawing subject that will sit still long enough for you to get some detail in.

Source: “Watching Television” at Gurney Journey, URL: http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2009/04/watching-television.html (posted April 11th, 2009)

Shaun Tan is a local (i.e., Perth) boy who’s made a name for himself internationally, both as an illustrator and a designer. His art can be simple, complex, layered, direct, subtle; it draws you in so powerfully and then you start feeling a little light-headed and you realise you’ve been holding your breath while taking it all in. Tan can draw and paint in many different styles and his work appeals to both children and grown-ups.

One of my favourite Shaun Tan books is The Red Tree. The colours are glorious.

You can watch the interview at the inframe.tv website by clicking on the link below:

http://www.inframe.tv/videoproject.aspx?id=10

If you visit the Fremantle Children’s Literature Centre, which is located in the old prison hospital of Fremantle Prison, you can actually buy limited edition prints, and in some cases, original work by Shaun Tan.

Sources: I originally saw this on Draw! The Illustration and Cartooning Blog at http://drawn.ca/2008/12/08/shaun-tan-and-inspiration/, and followed it to the original material at http://www.inframe.tv/videoproject.aspx?id=10.

I subscribe to Scott Campbell’s RSS feed and I really like this Portugese ad campaign series he’s done for Show Off!, an independent film group.

A famous or recognisable person/animal/object appears on the left, with the caption “idea” underneath, and on the right you see its nemesis, with captions like “focus groups”, or “new director of marketing”. Hee.

I first saw Scott’s work at the Galleries One Nine Eight Eight website, and I was an instant fan of his drawing style. It reminds me of Sergio Aragones’s or Quentin Blake’s work; utilising an innocent, playful naughtiness.

To see more of the pictures from the ad campaign, click on the picture above or go to http://scott-c.blogspot.com/2008/12/portugal.html.