Inspiration: Lilli Carré

Chicago illustrator and experimental animator Lilli Carré makes wicked "moving pictures."

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Weekly Inspiration: Jon McNaught

Although writing a weekly blog post about an artist or piece we currently draw inspiration from was only a course requirement for last semester, I kind of miss researching into someone's work a bit and writing about it here. So I've decided to keep it up.

Let's take a look at Jon McNaught this week.

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I've recently re-discovered his work and have once again been blown away at the amount of talent this guy possesses. He creates incredible books, comics, prints, and illustrations that can only be described as visual poetry. The way he is able to capture something mundane in everyday life and turn it into a thing of beauty is phenomenal.

The aspects of his work that I really admire are his limited colour schemes and the moods he creates with them, the sense of rhythm he evokes through repetition, the way he focuses in on small things or actions to tell a story, and the way he can tell a story without any narrative text at all (the only text you really find in his work seem to be background sounds and overheard noises, but I suppose you could argue that this text could be considered narrative).

Here's a spread from his most recent book, Dockwood.

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And here are some awesome prints he's made.

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Weekly Inspiration: Brooks Shane Salzwedel

Made with graphite, tape, and resin, these layered drawings by LA artist Brooks Shane Salzwedel are simply breathtaking.

I absolutely love how the layers create such a misty background. It gives the drawings a wonderful dreamlike quality.

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Looking at Salzwedel's portfolio has got me longing for more foggy days like the two we experienced a couple weeks back here in Edinburgh. In my opinion, the city's even more beautiful when completely covered in clouds than it is on the sunniest day.

Check out an interview with the artist here.

Weekly Inspiration: Peter P. Plasencia

These greyscale illustrations by Peter P. Plasencia from Jules Verne: The Man Who Invented the Future are absolutely stunning! I love the dynamic compositions, textures, and characters.

According to this site, the illustrations were done in gouache. I've been staring at these images for a while now trying to figure out how Plasencia managed to achieve such great textures from gouache. I want to know his secrets!

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Weekly Inspiration: They Draw & Travel

Super cool site! Artists from around the world can create and submit their own illustrated maps to They Draw & Travel where they are then posted for everyone to see! The site creators even plan on publishing a book with their favourite map illustrations. Maps that get published on the site are also available for purchase in their online shop, with a royalty going back to the artist. I really want to create a little map of Edinburgh now and send it in!

Here are some of my favourite maps from They Draw & Travel:

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Weekly Inspiration: Molly Jacques

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Molly Jacques is an incredibly talented illustrator and designer from the US. Not only are her hand-crafted letters an inspiration on their own, quite often the words that they illustrate are beautiful and inspiring as well.

Check out her new series entitled Words to Inspire, as well as Down to Business. Here's a little peek below:

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Weekly Inspiration: Lim Heng Swee

Lim Heng Swee's work is so inspiring. He goes by the name "ilovedoodle" and has been one of my favourite artists for quite some time now. Everything he makes is creative, clever, and beautifully done. "His mantra is 'Doodling A Smile,' aiming to make people smile more in their everyday lives." I love that. Visit his website here.

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http://www.ilovedoodle.com

Weekly Inspiration: Mysteries of Vernacular

Here is a really interesting and well done series of animations created by Myriapod Productions. Each episode explores the origins of a word through a combination of illustration, narration, and animation, and takes over 80 hours to complete! When finished, the series will have 26 episodes: one for each letter of the alphabet.

I really love the style of illustration and animation used in these videos. The simple images and the ways in which they move around work well to show the story the voice is telling. They are quirky, creative, and you learn something very interesting in the end! What's not to enjoy?

Take a look at "Clue" for the letter C below.



Go to Myriapod Production's website here to view more episodes.