Few artists are as appealing to me as Mike Giant. His clear, crips black and white drawings and illustrations coupled with his unmistakable tattoo-art influenced visual vocabulary make him one of my all-time favorite artists. As a matter of fact, one of his Rebel 8 T-Shirts is in the mail now for me.
How many people do you know that have a sharpie named after them?
Finding illustrations like those of Matthew Woodson is why I (admittedly intermittenly) do this website. His work seems fresh and relevant – small moments of beauty in a dreary world. Definitely bookmark this one, and check out his blog if you get a chance.
The world of Justin Cherry is alien, vivid, and wonderful to inhabit. Especially if you’re into character design, check this guy out or read his blog.
"Ms. February" Line Art by Brian Ewing
Man am I glad that I checked out Brian Ewing’s Flickr page. While there are plenty of sick drawings on his website and blog, the real action is on Flickr. Ewing is an illustrator who pumps out amazing illustrations for band T-Shirts, posters, magazines, skateboards, etc. For those of you who like the skull and, more broadly, tattoo aesthetic, you’ll get your fill here.
The real treasure trove, beyond the pictures themselves, are the tutorials and how-to’s that Ewing has put together on his Flickr account. Detailing every step of the way (minus colors) of how he’s arrived at some of his most memorable work, including, for example, the cover of I Want Your Skull #5, you get a really intimate look at the whole end-to-end creative process. There are lots of little tips that simple invaluable to the new artist – for example, don’t tape down your drawing but move it to preserve the motion of your hand and wrist. If you want to know how a professional does what he does, you simple must check these out.
Of course you’d also be doing Ewing a favor by buying some of his stuff. Really, you should.
3 more images below the jump.
Untitled No. 33 by Richard Colman
Vomit, decapitation, lewd sexual acts — what’ s not to like? While all these are in fact exhibited in the works of Richard Colman, raunchy or offensive would certainly not be adjectives to describe his work. It is rather an uncomfortable world that he portrays, one in which its characters are seemingly dominated by each other and the world itself, one in which hopelessness reigns supreme (or maybe it’s just me). Remarkably, he works in watercolor, surprising given the fact straight lines and flat surfaces of his paintings. Richard hail from Bethesda (which I used to live quite close to for four years) but is now part of the LA scene.
You can check out more of his work on his website, RichardColmanArt.com.
4 more images after the jump.
“February” by Jason D’Aquino
“Wrong” by Jason D’Aquino
I gotta say that I love Jason D’Aquino’s drawings – it’s like the 50’s on a bad acid trip: vintage psycho. Jason definitely has a vision of his own that remarkably show through in all of his drawings. The materials he chooses to draw on add a subliminal quality to the final work, and his subjects seem a study of the subconscious.
In a weird way some his drawings remind me of Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun” video. Do yourself a favor and check out more of Jason D’Aquino’s work.
More pics below after the jump.
Nurse Hypo by Phillip Jackson
Phillip Jackson, aka Jolly Jack, creator of the memorable “Sequential Art” and other online comic strips, has a great little sketchbook section to find a little inspiration. His drawings are fresh, sexy, and humerous – not a bad combination.
More below the jump.
Although his site seems to not have been updated recently (I could be wrong), you definitely need to check out the work of Chris Legaspi. Rarely do you find someone so diverse in talents: from fine art to cartoon, this guy has all styles on the lockdown. Definitely sick.
More below the fold.
Looking at the drawings Phillip Rauschkolb has posted on his sketch blog, it’s easy to see that he’s way into comics. Currently working at an ad agency in Portland, Oregon, his true calling is the comics industry. He’s working on his own comic book, and by the looks of it, I’d say he’s well on his way to becoming a great comic book artist.
More pictures below the jump.
Lauren Nassef, a Chicago artist, does a great job of conveying a lot of emotion in very simple, minimal drawings. Sometimes – probably more often than not – simpler is better. Case in point.