Alfred Heaton Cooper

Victorian landscape painter from Bolton
His sketches of everyday life are very nice, but his landscape paintings rock my socks. He went to Norway a few times and married a woman from there, so there are a lot of paintings of fjords and glaciers and things alongside lake district and lancashire views.

The paintings that really catch my eye are the ones with the big differences in hues or changes in light and dark.
He mostly used watercolour and oil. Not at the same time though.

FAYE SIMMS

http://www.arenaillustration.com/Artists/thumbsFayeSimms.html

Faye Simms went to University of Falmouth to study Illustration.
I applied there too, for the same course, but I was cruelly rejected...

(I know why now, of course)

http://www.havenforscofflaws.com/

An inspirational website full of cartoons and bits of advice thrown out in blog form.

The thing I like most about it is the mixture of traditional painted backgrounds with a computer generated cartoon in the foreground, or the ones that look like they should be computer generated because of the style, but are actually done with acrylics on paper.

plastic designer toys

From "I am plastic- the designer toy explosion"

Some really fancy looking character designs from around the world.
My favourite is the rabbit octopus at the bottom.

http://les-calepins-de-lapin.blogspot.co.uk/

"graduate of an art school, lapin worked as an art director during 5 years in design agencies, in paris then in barcelona.

since 2008, lapin works has a freelance illustrator for edition, fashion, and advertising.
his style is some place between vintage and modernity.
his vibrant and intimate line is a transcription of his everyday life.

lapin founded with his friend niko the pa- collective, and published 6 reviews from 2004 to 2008, and organised exhibitions to promote young talents.

lapin carries a sketchbook all the time, collecting faces, objets and moments."

Magic Pencil 4

Quentin Blake
Ten Frogs 1998
It was while I was doing the magazine drawings that I came upon the possibilities of spontaneity- that you didn't have to be frightened. When I got into books I discovered that there were other aspects that also sustained my interest- trying to imagine the characters and the way they move and the kind of expressions they make.
When I was doing Sylvia Plath's The Bed Book, I started using a lightbox. I put a sheet of watercolour paper over a rough and then, because I can see where everything has to go, I can draw as if I was making it up for the first time- actually feeling the gestures and expressions with the pen.

I've liked Quentin Blake since I was little, so I might be influenced a lot by him anyway. Whenever I draw something off the top of my head, it usually looks a bit like one of Blake's figures, only he manages to make his look both childish and sophisticated. His drawings are free and expressive but also look like what they're meant to be.

Magic Pencil 3

Patrick Benson- The Sea-Thing child by Russell Hoban 1999
The most important thing for an illustrator to do is the provide lots of visual clues- rather like snapshots- that will act as a sort of springboard for the imagination and help the child to visualise the surrounding in which the story is happening. Does a lot of preparatory drawings.
Usually starts with a pen and ink drawing and applies colour. Owl babies- wanted it very dark, but also with rick colours. Transferred black and white drawing onto clear film, lifted the film and coloured underneath.

 I really love how Benson uses colour. There's a definite mood to each image, especially in the sea-thing child.
In the picture opposite, the landscape is so big and golden, you almost don't notice the character washed up on the beach.
I kind of want to lick the page, to see if it tastes like butter...