|1
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Are you interested in submitting to Brightness?
If you’d like the chance of being published in one of issue , get in touch via this page. Please note that we receive many submissions each day and have limited space in each publication. So show us the work you’re most proud of or the work you specially enjoy creating.
Submission Info
Email your submission to Info@brightnessmag.com with “ART SUBMISSION” in the subject line. • Submit images as JPEGs or GIFs • Submit up to 5 images • Image sizes should be at least 600px wide and no more than 1000px wide
Please be sure to include:
1. Your name 2. Your location 3. Your website, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr 4. Your bio (up to 100 words, NO LONGER!) 5. Up to 5 images of your art + a video or the process of your art.
|2
Please note:
• Brightness cannot feature all art/artists • Brightness does not offer payment • By submitting you are granting (Brightness) the right to post your art on this website, on Brightness’s social media accounts, and in it’s Newsletter
Join Our Mailing list!
Join our mailing list if you are an illustrator, artist, curator, art director or just interested in art.
Info@Brightnessmag.com
|3
Digital Journal of Illustration |
|4
COW 2016
International Design Festival COW: ILLUSTRATION International exhibition-competition - a traditional annual event in the field of illustration and book design in the framework of COW International design festival. Admirable works as a young novice authors and world-renowned illustrators you can see at the exhibition. During the existence ILLUSTRATION geography event increased and covers more than 30 countries. For the exhibition in 2016 were selected works of the participants from Ukraine, Austria, England, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Germany, Israel, Iran, Canada, China, Lithuania, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, USA, Taiwan, Turkey, France. Winners 2016 – it’s Top 10 in two categories: Illustration and Book Design. JURY: Anita Kunz, Canada; Shangning Wang, Usa; Zhijun Wang, China; Francisco Valle, Brazil; Mohammad Afshar, Iran; Lev Kaplan, Germany.
WINNERS OF ILLUSTRATION 2016 Weiwei Jiang, China Yu Jiang, China Fatemeh Khosravian, Iran Oleg Gryshchenko, Kiev, Ukraine Wang Jin Huang, China
Elham Ataeiazar, Iran/United States Maja Veselinovic, Serbia Anson Liaw, Canada Oleg Semak, Dnipro, Ukraine Ehsan Bahmani, Iran
In the category “DESIGN BOOKS” Maria Kristopchuk, Lviv, Ukraine Valeria Lihachova, Lviv, Ukraine Justa Justyna Stefańczyk, Poland Alina Komarova, Anastasia Pustovarova, Nikolay Stepanov, Kiev, Ukraine Hassan Karimzadeh, Iran
Maria Gerasimchuk-Djordjevic, USA Sergey Kochmar, Cherkassy, Ukraine Aelina Arshakyan, Kamenskoe, Ukraine Alina Gorbachenko, Alexandria, Ukraine Anastasia Svyatelik, Podgorodnee, Ukraine
official website www.cow.com.ua
|5
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Index
Spotlight | 18 Natalia Zaratiegui | I was born in Pamplona, a little city in the north of Spain.
New Children’s Books | 20 It was in the 1970s that Matthew Lipman, a professor at Colombia University, started advocating for teaching pre-middle and high school children how to think philosophically on the basis that children require an understanding of the procedure that leads to knowledge.
The creative space | 26 It changes everything! | 28 Daniela Tieni is a freelance painter and illustrator who works from beautiful Rome, Italy. Her works have been assigned to various publishers and magazines such as Grazia.it, Rouergue & L’atelier du poisson soluble.
around the world | 36 Natalia Zaratiegui | Concha Pasamar | Glenda Subrelin | Sonja Danowski
Look Deeper | 38 I’m from Italy and I’m 30 years old. Since I was a child, I’ve always been fascinated by drawings and when I was 18 I decided to attend the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, where I studied painting.
Brightness gallery | 46 #iamanillustrator
short news | 58
In This Issue of
Brigh |6
Evocative, dreamy and conceptual I have been drawing since I was a kid, but it was only a short time ago that I got into illustration. After completing my art studies (Art School and Faculty of Architecture), I did not cultivate my passion for drawing consistently because I wanted to experience something different. Then I discovered illustrated books through the works by Shaun Tan, Gabriel Pacheco, and a whole new world opened up before me, the world which I knew a little about. I thought the best way to make some experience and being noticed was to participate in a series of contests and selections, to end up publishing on magazines and several illustration catalogs.
Marco Palena
htness 10
Art Director & Editor In Chief
Creative Director & Graphic Designer
Web Designer
Hasmik (Narjes Mohammadi)
Sadegh Amiri
Sahebe Arefimehr
International Contributor
Translator
Sales & Marketing
Ali Ghafele Bashi
Yassin Mohammadi
Brightness Studio info@brightnessmag.com
cover :
M arco Palena
he has recently won
Special Thanks
To
AOI
prize
Mr.Keyvan Ghafele Bashi ask questions about your subscription, please email us i n f o @ b r i g h t n e s s m a g . c o m | w w w. b r i g h t n e s s m a g . c o m to
Š All Rights Are Reserved.
at:
|7
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Letter From The Editor
I am an
Illustrator
Hasmik
(Narjes Mohammadi)
Independent Illustrator
Editor In Chief
|8
As kids only a book’s pictures could engage us enough to flip through the pages for hours at a time. The illustrations were a magical symphony of colors and characters that immersed us into a sweet new world. We drowned ourselves in the exploration of each element in the pictures and enjoyed every moment of it. Many of us even tried to replicate the images we saw, using our youthful and inexperienced pen strokes, without knowing that those images were called illustrations and were the artful work of what is called an illustrator. Illustration is still an unfamiliar art form for not only the general public, but also for gallery owners, professionals, and even visual artists. In many cases the works of an illustrator are thought to be the creations of painters and graphic designers. The problem is further exacerbated by the fact that illustrators are under-compensated for the frames they create, even though each frame requires long hours of painstaking toil to create. Unfortunately, this issue has persisted despite the efforts of many illustrators to be treated more equitably. In order to be able to better tackle the aforementioned challenges and to raise awareness of the artful masterpieces created by illustrators, we have decided to create the company “I am an illustrator.” Our fellow illustrators can also be ambassadors that help the world become better acquainted with the wonderful art of illustration by sharing their artworks in categories such as: advertising, sports, fashion, children, teenagers, the elderly … with the hashtag “Iamanillustrator”.
Hasmik (Narjes Mohammadi)
|9
Digital Journal of Illustration |
| 10
Marco Palena
Exclusive Interview
Evocative ,
dreamy and
conceptual Exclusive Interview With
Marco Palena
| 11
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Marco Palena
Marco
Palena When did you start to dedicate to the world of illustrations? 2012. I have been drawing since I was a kid, but it was only a short time ago that I got into illustration. After completing my art studies (Art School and Faculty of Architecture), I did not cultivate my passion for drawing consistently because I wanted to experience something different. Then I discovered illustrated books through the works by Shaun Tan, Gabriel Pacheco, and a whole new world opened up before me, the world which I knew a little about. I thought the best way to make some experience and being noticed was to participate in a series of contests and selections, to end up publishing on magazines and several illustration catalogs. How do you define your illustrations? Evocative, dreamy, conceptual. I only draw who I am and what I feel around me, with a style that praises on the spectator’s emotions. Basically, my illustrations rise from an emotion and a project. The emotion that emerges from reading a text, is what I want to convey. What can you tell me about your publications or books? What are the latest? My drawings were published on the ILLUSTRATI magazine by Logos Editions and on several catalogs. The latest one is a poster entitled “Bookshops in blossom» which won the first in the advertising category of the Italian Illustrators Annual 2017. With what technique are you more comfortable? Graphite and digital. I mainly freehand draw using graphite, but most of my works are retouched using Photoshop. Sometimes it happens that I need to put a background or an object or something else, so I have to assemble and disassemble. I believe that being able to make thousands of changes to a drawing using digital technology gives you a lot of creative freedom. And this is exciting. Have you published outside your country? No How is children’s publishing industry in your country? I think that the most successful publishing segment in Italy was that of children and teenagers, especially in the illustration industry. There are many factors why children and youth literature is growing. One strength is the quality of products,
| 12
which has been significantly rising in the latest years, thanks to the efforts by the publishing companies. However, I firmly believe that the so-called “children’s books” are not for children only, but have a much wider audience; while books that are not considered to be specifically “for children” can still be read by them, too. Illustrated books are for everybody. Who are some of the other artists you take inspiration from? One of my favorites is Caravaggio because of the way he interpreted the chiaroscuro technique and his mastery in playing with light. Rather than inspiration, what I feel is deep admiration that I feel for several illustrators: Shaun Tan, Gabriel Pacheco, Ana Juan, Roger Olmos. Inspiration is everywhere, though. There is your visual memory, a data bank, your own personal museum: that’s where it all comes from, and then I try to give my personal vision of what I feel. What is your best piece of advice for young artists who are getting started as creators of children`s books? I have been making illustrations for few years and I don’t think I am in the position to give advice. Based on my experience, I would say tenacity and patience; working hard and not hurrying; having a good master who helps you get the real you out, without imposing his style on you; having a great deal of self-criticism; watching nature a lot and deeply; being curious so that you can reinterpret the real world through your sensitiveness and give your personal version of it. “Illustrating is a fantastic way to observe life” says Gabriel Pacheco. And to do this, you need to find your own style which not only makes you recognizable but rather creates an emotion in the readers.
“Illustrat ing is a fantast ic way to observe life” Gabriel Pacheco
Exclusive Interview
| 13
Digital Journal of Illustration |
| 14
Marco Palena
Exclusive Interview
| 15
Digital Journal of Illustration |
| 16
Marco Palena
Exclusive Interview
| 17
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Spotlight
I was born in Pamplona, a little city in the north of Spain. When I was eighteen I moved to Barcelona to study Art, and I´m still in love with the city. Because of my interest in Art I decided to study the degree of History of Art. I always loved to draw, and that was the reason to study Illustration at Massana School. Once in Massana I discovered that Illustration is much more than drawing , is an important tool to communicate ideas. I always draw in notebooks. I draw ideas that could work by themselves or maybe later will become a new concept. The most important thing is to draw, with or without a clear intention. You never know when a good idea may appear. I have worked in many different projects and areas. Each project is different for me, and the way I work depends on the kind of work I have to do. It is not the same to work for a publishing house than for an advertising agency, and neither it is to have an open brief or a closed one.
| 18
Natalia Zaratiegui
I l l u st r a t o r www.nataliazaratiegui.com www.behance.net/nataliazaratiegui
Normally I love to take my time to develop the ideas, but sometimes the client needs it very quickly and I have to work fast. I spend most of the time thinking about what I want to tell with my illustration. When I have a clear idea I start to work with the images. I always think in the sentence “less is more� to choose the elements. I also need to think about the composition, the reading order and colours. When I think I have one or more images that could work I draw a coloured rough. I really love to work with colours, their poetry, their power of communication and symbolism. When the client approves the rough I start the final art. I do this part of the process pretty fast. Normally I work with Photoshop. Sometimes I start with a scanned sketch and other times I start drawing with my computer. Drawing with my Wacom or my pencil are the same for me, it is not so different to draw with an analogic pencil or a digital one. The digital technique allows me to work really fast with the colors and textures. I can also make changes faster and easier than in a traditional way. With the computer I can also work with layers, something really necessary to work in animation, or to create an illustration for an specific printing technique, like Risograph or silkscreen. I love to make book covers and to discover new authors. I love to read the books and imagine the scene or the concept I want to illustrate. I always think about what I want to tell with every book cover I do. I always want the illustration to be suggestive and powerful enough to urge the reader to discover the story laying beneath the cover.
| 19
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Article
New Children’ s Books Explore the World in the Woods | 20
Julia Turner | www.nytimes.com One risk of raising bookish children: You create little shut-ins. No matter how blue the sky, how warm the day, how the susurrations of leafy trees beckon, they want to stay in the dark, cool house and read. I should know. I was one. “Put that down and go outside,� I often heard, along with a lot of importuning about the benefits of fresh air. Four new picture books bring the outside in, taking young readers on adventures in illustrated forests. Strange, inscrutable creatures live there. These are unruly tales that conjure mystery and a little fear, bringing the wildness of nature to the cozy couch.
| 21
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Article
The owl surveys the forest: From “Deep in the Woods.”
“
The sensory pleasures of the woods are on display in “A Walk in the Forest,” a quietly beautiful book written and illustrated by Maria Dek. Simple prose describes the “wonders” and freedom that await among the trees: The chance to “find treasure,” “follow footprints” and “shout as loud as you want.” Dek’s illustrations are warmly colored and full of movement — birds wheeling in a sun-dappled canopy; another flock flushed to the sky (possibly by that loud shouting); the hind quarters of a deer leaping out of the frame. Shifts in perspective abound. One spread shows a wooded pond from the viewpoint of a bird above. The next shows ticklish pond weeds and a blissful pair of submerged feet. These clever visual leaps show how small and how big the forest can feel, and how many different places the forest can be. One of those places is “a little scary.” As the book progresses it gets wilder and darker. Our hero encounters birds with “secrets” and an imperturbable fox, animals nestled in their woodland burrows, nightfall and the wide eyes of an owl in a dim, piney tableau. He retreats indoors and watches the night woods from the safety of his window. “You’ll go there tomorrow,” Dek concludes, “when you’re older.” Forest animals are the main characters of “Deep in the Woods,” a vibrant modern retelling of a classic Russian folk tale from Christopher Corr. Rendered in electric hues — neon coral, Starburst pink, Jolly Rancher orange — against cool, unusual grounds of lilac, aqua, violet and periwinkle, the book looks more like a delectable candy box than anything photosynthesis would produce. “Deep in the Woods” is alluringly strange. It tells the story of a white, wooden house in a forest, with “nine neat windows and a red front door.” The house stands “empty, cold and sad” — until some woodland creatures happen along and make it their own. A mouse, a fox, a lavender bunny, a swooping speckled owl: Most of the animals have eyes shaped like human ones, which make them look more sophisticated — knowing, mischievous, sometimes sad — than your average picture-book fauna. This diverse menagerie keeps house together until a big orange bear ambles along and wants in on the action, causing first strife and heartbreak and then — after some light woodworking to make a house that will fit his lumbering frame — rejoicing.
| 22
“The Gold Leaf”
| 23
“
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Article
There is a lesson here — about friendship, and sharing — but the book never feels plodding or pedantic. Its rhythms are as surprising as its vivid hues, full of small but powerful subversions of kid-lit logic: The animals show up in bunches, not page by page; there are a dozen or so creatures crammed into those nine neat windows. What’s more, there are no grown-ups here. The animals are peers: They create their own society, and resolve their own conflict. Which may be why the lesson just goes down like the truth. If you were to accidentally rake “The Gold Leaf” into an autumn pile, you could be forgiven. The book, written by Kirsten Hall (“The Jacket”) and illustrated by Matthew Forsythe (“Do Not Open This Book”), takes almost all its hues
| 24
from nature. It is awash in wonderfully earthy yellows, greens and browns. The only surprise in this palette is gold itself. Hall’s grandfather was an expert gilder who applied gold leaf to buildings across New York City, and the technique is used in the book’s pages, lending a metallic glint to this tale of what happens when something covetable and shiny — a leaf made of actual gold — sprouts unexpectedly in the forest. The animals don’t handle it well. First a warbler, then a chipmunk, then a mouse, then a deer take the gold leaf because they can. A fox grabs it because “if everyone else wanted it, well then, he did too.” As the leaf passes from claw to nibbling mouth, it crumbles, until “tattered and torn, it lay in pieces at the animals’ feet.” The shredded leaf disperses in
“ the wind, and the animals pass the rest of the year back at their usual forest pursuits (not a bad fate, given the subdued beauty of Forsythe’s richly textured murk). Then spring brings a new gold leaf — and the wisdom to leave some of nature’s mysteries alone. “Little Fox in the Forest,” the authorial debut of the children’s book illustrator Stephanie Graegin (“The Lost Gift”), is a wordless but action-packed adventure that uses comics-style panels to advance its narrative. It would be an intriguing title for a young reader to try on her own, although the threat at the heart of its story — a lost lovey — may evoke a primeval fear for kids and parents alike. Our heroine brings a beloved toy fox to class for show and tell.
A Walk in the Forest
Thanks to Graegin’s nifty panels, in which an array of old photographs serves as a flashback, we can see this has been a tender companion from when she was a babe. But at the playground after school, a real fox sneaks out of the forest to snatch his stuffed doppelgänger. Despondent, the girl sprints after it, followed by a concerned pal. In the woods, the duo find a secret world: tiny doors in trees, a soda fountain just for animals —and the culprit, a young fox enjoying story time with his new toy. Our protagonist makes a surprising decision about what to do next, one that will give young readers something to ponder. After all, what the forest offers children is independence, and a sense of what it might be like to grow up. Of course, that’s something reading can offer too.
| 25
Digital Journal of Illustration |
The Creative Space
More than 350 original illustrations in four hours, more than 20 illustrators working in real time and more than 400 people enjoying the activity, whose entire collection was donated to a food bank. That was the very last activity related to Illustration which took place at “erranT coworking space”, a coworking placed in the city center of Granada (Spain), in which Illustration is given a preferential position. At “Creadores a sueldo”, as the activity was named, visitors enjoyed the local illustrators work, who created original works through different illustration techniques in record time. Public is free to enjoy at this coworking space, an exposition showing an illustrator´s work every month. Since it opened its doors at the end of 2013, it has acted as a spokenperson for illustration, not only with the illustrations, but also with talks, conferences and illustrated book presentations. In the same way illustrations workshops has taken place, assisted by professionals as Roger Olmos and Guridi. Once a year illustrators come together to draw in real time at the different storefronts, so that citizens from Granada can enjoy the live acts. Behind all these activities, the management team of this coworking space in which the responsible of “Un Periodista en el Bolsillo” is found, a blog dedicated to the world of illustration that after five years of work it has become in a reference space in order to get to know the work of illustrators through interviews with them. More than 650 interviews with illustrators all over the world have been published in this trajectory. Within this “pocket” we find a large number of stories about what is actually behind of what we find in the illustrated books and about how illustrators work.
www.errant.es
www.unperiodistaenelbolsillo.com
| 26
e Creativ Space THE
| 27
Digital Journal of Illustration |
| 28
Daniela Tieni
Exclusive Interview
It changes eve r y t h in g ! Daniela T ieni Daniela Tieni is a freelance painter and illustrator who works from beautiful Rome, Italy. Her works have been assigned to various publishers and magazines such as Grazia.it, Rouergue & L’atelier du poisson soluble. AWARDS Selected: - Bologna Children›s Book Fair 2017 - 3X3 International Illustration Awards No.13 - Ilustrarte 2016 - Ilustrarte 2014 - Bologna Children›s Book Fair 2012 - Ilustrarte 2012 - Cj Picture Book 2011 - Ilustrarte 2009
| 29
Digital Journal of Illustration |
| 30
Daniela Tieni
Exclusive Interview
• When did you start to dedicate to the world of illustration? I started to dedicate myself to the illustration after my studies in Scenography at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome. This work could be more congenial to use my expressiveness. I understood that I could draw telling something, and returning something with my painting or drawing through a story. • How do you define your illustrations? This is hard to say! I certainly do not have a realistic or too abstract style. • What can you tell me about your publications or books? What are the latest? The last books I’ve worked on: «À quoi rêve Marco?» Éditions du Rouergue (France); “Ça change tout!” L’atelier du Poisson Soluble (France) and «Il catalogo dei giorni» published by the Italian publishing house Kite Edizioni. • With what technique are you more comfortable? Acrylic, pencils and digital. • Have you published outside your country? Yes, I do. • How is children’s publishing industry in your country? In Italy, where I live, the children’s book market is quite active and lively but they are the small publishing houses to publish the most experimental and brave work. • Is it very different from what is done in your country from other countries? What are your influences, international illustrators? No…I always work in the same way. There are many illustrators I love! I mention a couple: Maira Kalman and Kitty Crowther. • Who are some of the other artists you take inspiration from? Really many others! Louise Bourgeois, William Kentridge, Felix Vallotton... • What is your best piece of advice for young artists who are getting started as creators of children`s books? Work hard, always be focused on what you do. Study and improve.
www.danielatieni.blogspot.de
| 31
Digital Journal of Illustration |
| 32
Daniela Tieni
Exclusive Interview
| 33
Digital Journal of Illustration |
| 34
Daniela Tieni
Exclusive Interview
| 35
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Around The World
Natalia Zaratiegui
www.nataliazaratiegui.com
One of my latest and bigger projects is the animated scenery I did for ‘Haendel and Friends’, a baroque music concert for families produced by Barcelona’s Auditorium. This project was recently awarded with the Junceda Illustration Award in the animation category. I worked for a few months with a great team formed by professional musicians, educators, animators and an art director. It was so exciting to see it shown on the stage.
| 36
Concha Pasamar www.conchapasamar.com
Concha Pasamar is an illustrator based in Spain. She graduated in Spanish and History and currently teaches Linguistics, so books have always been a main part in her life. She loves traditional techniques such as graphite pencil, ink or watercolor, which she sometimes combines with digital treatment and color processing. After illustrating Arrecife y la fábrica de melodías (bookolia 2016) by Patricia García Sánchez, her next picture book will be coming out very soon in Meraki Tanttak, a collective publication on emotional education. She is currently engaged in several projects: a new album artwork, a short stories book, etc. She is also working on a picturebook as a sole author to be published in 2018.
Glenda Subrelin Next July I will inaugurate my solo Exhibition at the Cultural Center in Kormend (H), curated by Enzo di Grazia of the Cultural Association “la roggia” in Pordenone (IT). An enchanting place will host this Exhibition, entitled “of Water and of Skin”, which is part of a series of cultural exchanges with Europe, already active for some years. The exhibition will include a collection of works ranging from illustration to contemporary artwork, ideally combine all of my artistic path and the ambiences of expression. The title comes from a series of watercourse photographs, from which a series of works of art, made of resin, have been developed. The term “skin” is evocative of human “feel”, experiences flowing like a shiver, along the body. The surface of the water becomes an allegory of the skin, which symbolically divides the inside and out, separating two worlds and at the same time becomes the connection point between the interiority of every individual and the external reality. The relationship with the “natural dimension” is the guiding thread, the bond that connects all my artistic expressions, and is present in a considerable way even in the illustration. In this section I will exhibit the images of the book “Story of a Dream” and other works of recent years.
Sonja Danowski
www.sonjadanowski.com
(Little night cat) has won the Troisdorf picture prize of the children 2017! The Troisdorf Picture Book Award is the only German prize to specifically award the illustrations of picture books. It thus recognises outstanding achievements in the area of artistic picture book illustation. An independent jury selects the winner from all entries, and in this way offers a diversified view of the current picture book scene in the German language markets. It is awarded every two years.
| 37
LO OK Deeper
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Viola Niccolai
Exclusive Interview with
| 38
Viola Niccolai
Exclusive Interview
| 39
Digital Journal of Illustration |
| 40
Viola Niccolai
V
Exclusive Interview
iola Niccolai
• Tell us about you and when did you decide to be an illustrator? I’m from Italy and I’m 30 years old. Since I was a child, I’ve always been fascinated by drawings and when I was 18 I decided to attend the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, where I studied painting. Then, I moved to Bologna, where I studied illustration for other two years. This is where I decided to be an illustrator. • Where does an idea come from and how does it transform from an idea into a book? Ideas come from things around me, sometimes it’s something very close to me, sometimes it is something completely new , which means a very challenging and beautiful experience. Transforming ideas into a book is such a long process, and the most important thing to me is to preserve the freshness of the drawing during every steps of this process, from sketches to final illustrations. They have to work as single pictures, but they also have to tell a story and so, to be a part of a series of pictures. • How do you decide what to include and what not to include in the book? Time can help to decide clearly what to include or not in a book. It will help to see things in a different way, finding out if there are some mistakes in a picture, or if everything is fine (colors, light, shape, composition, atmosphere, message). • What are some of the techniques or processes that you used in creating the artwork for the book? I’m very interested in experimenting always new techniques in my work, which means to get different inputs, trying to discover how I can reach the point with different media: every story should be illustrated using the most suitable technique and this means you have to find it. Or at least, that you try to find it! • Can you tell me a bit about your technique and the materials you use? At the moment I use acrylics on paper or on wood, felt pens, pencils, ink. • How do you find thinking about the book as a whole – the text, illustration, design – in comparison with illustrating someone else’s text? For now I’ve only worked on illustrating someone else’s text. Thinking about the book as a whole maybe could be very demanding for me at the moment, as l still feel much more comfortable with the part of the illustration rather than the text. And equally I feel the same about the design. • Who are some of the artists who have influenced your work? Henry Darger, Ben Shahn, David Hockney, Gerhard Richter, Mario Giacomelli, Luigi Ghirri, Jockum Nordstrom, Mamma Anderson, Maira Kalman, Dominique Goblet, Joanna Concejo, Mari Kanstad Johnsen, Lee Kyutae and many others. • What is your best piece of advice for young artists who are getting started as creators of children? Try to study things always in a new, different way, trying to understand how they work. Try to look at things deeply, to see them in a different light, finding the imaginary everywhere around you.
www.violaniccolai.wordpress.com | 41
Digital Journal of Illustration |
| 42
Viola Niccolai
Exclusive Interview
| 43
Digital Journal of Illustration |
| 44
Viola Niccolai
Exclusive Interview
| 45
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Brightness Gallery
Brightness
Gallery
This section is devoted to the works of some of the best illustrators from all around the world. As with any real gallery , ours too aims to introduce and present those creative and elegant artworks which are created by both of professional and enthusiastic young artists. However, as opposed to the real galleries, this one will not be restricted by physical barriers or geogeraphical borders, which implies that artists could easily connect to a wider range of audience worldwide.
| 46
#iamanillustrator In order to be able to better tackle the aforementioned challenges and to raise awareness of the artful masterpieces created by illustrators, we have decided to create the company “I am an illustrator.” Our fellow illustrators can also be ambassadors that help the world become better acquainted with the wonderful art of illustration by sharing their artworks in categories such as: advertising, sports, fashion, children, teenagers, the elderly … with the hashtag “Iamanillustrator”.
Sadegh Amiri & Hasmik
| 47
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Brightness Gallery
Andrea D›Aquino
| 48
Andrea D›Aquino
| 49
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Brightness Gallery
Glenda Subrelin
| 50
Atena Shams
| 51
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Brightness Gallery
Concha MartĂnez Pasamar
| 52
Homa Rostami
| 53
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Brightness Gallery
Federica Iaccio
| 54
Federica Iaccio
| 55
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Brightness Gallery
Vivian Pantoja
Submit Your Illustration to: info@brightnessmag.com | 56
Vivian Pantoja
| 57
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Short News
Short Short News News ILUSTRARTE 2018 Children’s books illustrators from all over the world are invited to take part in the Ilustrarte 2018 Competition sending 3 original illustrations, unpublished or published after the 1st of January 2015. The 3 illustrations must be based on the same theme. Technique and medium are at the discretion of the artist. The file format can be jpeg or tiff and should not exceed 20MB. The Jury will be composed of illustrators, designers, art directors and editors Portuguese as well as international. The shortlisted illustrators will be informed and invited to send the original illustrations or quality printouts in the case of digital works. For more information visit the link: www.ilustrarte.net | 58
World Illustration Awards 2017 announces category winners for professional and new talent prizes The Association of Illustrators has announced the category winners for the 2017 World Illustration Awards, across categories including advertising, books, children’s books, design, editorial, research, self-initiated and site specific work. The illustrated works were selected from over 2,300 entries from 64 countries, by a judging panel including The New York Timesdesigner Alexandra Zsigmond and editor-in-chief of Womankind magazine Zan Boag.
Winners of the professional awards are: Advertising: Claudine O’Sullivan for the Apple Pencil campaign Books: Nina Chakrabarti’s Hello Nature: Draw Colour, Make and Grow for Laurence King Children’s Books: Lizzy Stewart, There’s a Tiger in the Garden for Quarto Design: Aart-Jan Venema for Green Man Festival Editorial: Tony Rodriguez’s Bill Murray illustration for the Washington Post Research: Tobatron’s portrait of Barbara Lisicki for Graeae Theatre Company Self-initiated: Steven Choi’s Bus Station Site specific: Jonny Glover’s mural for Newham Centre for Mental Health Seven categories also have a New Talent winner, a platform for emerging artists.
These are: Advertising: Marco Palena, Librerie in Fiore for Blooming Bookshops festival Books: Inhye Moon, Seon-ah Children’s Books: Bethan Woollvin, Little Red for Two Hoots Design: Sam Ki: Yen Town – The Last Unpolluted Territory Editorial: Marguerite Carnec, Lieu de Vie Research: Chen Winner’s Econundrum animation for CNN Self-initiated: Rosalba Cafforio’s Alice in Wonderland Highlights of the list include Bethan Woollvin’s androgynous protagonist in her contemporary retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, and Tony Rodriguez’ portrait of Bill Murray, which was made digitally using Photoshop despite having the aesthetic of watercolour. All category winners will exhibit their works at Somerset House from 31 July – 28 August 2017, with the overall winner announced in August.
| 59
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Short News
New Version of Rebelle Now Available
New Version of Rebelle Now Available May 1, 2017 9:02 am48 Rebelle 2, the new version of the one-of-a-kind paint software that lets you create realistic watercolor, acrylic and dry media artwork, is now available. The new version integrates groundbreaking improvements, watercolor and acrylic brushes got an unprecedented realistic look and together with watercolor masking fluid give an exceptional traditional feel to the digital painting. Completely new brush engine allows users to create custom brushes - round, flat, bamboo, various wet splatters, sponges and many others. New stencils and selection tools together with wet paint diffusion open new creative results yet not possible to achieve in digital art.
| 60
IV Tragaluz International Illustration Award Organised by Tragaluz Editores (a book publisher located in Medellin, Colombia), the fourth edition of the Tragaluz International Illustration Award asks illustrators to choose a fragment of a book they have always dreamed to illustrate. The text can be of any genre, and can be by a dead or a living author from any nationality. The selected fragment must not exceed one page (one page from the chosen book) or a text with 2,000 characters including spaces, in Spanish or English. Based on the chosen fragment, whose source must be cited, the participant should make an illustration and send a digital copy to concurso@tragaluzeditores.com The attached illustration must be a high-quality JPG image file (100% – RGB). It can be either horizontal or vertical in direction, and must not exceed 5 megabytes and 150 dpi. Submitted illustrations have to be unpublished and have not been submitted to other competitions recently. The artists will keep ownership of their works. http://www.graphiccompetitions.com/jump.php?contest=iv-tragaluzinternational-illustration-award
| 61
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Become a volunteer
We Need You! Become a volunteer
We’re looking to recruit volunteers to join our team. ( Brightness ) is an international digital magazine discussing and exploring the field of illustration. We are making an effort to improve the standing of illustration as an independent profession in the world. As another major objective, we feature outstanding and creative contemporary illustration projects in various fields.
So, we are looking for volunteers to help us in these areas: - French/Spanish to English translation (assistant needed). - Publishing and collecting illustration news from around the globe (illustrator or illustration student needed) Obviously, you’ll be part of our team and we will publish your name as one of our own colleagues.
Email us at: info@Brightnessmag.com
| 62
Welcome Articles From Writers
Brightness welcome articles , researches and interviews from writers, activists, journalists and also from artists around the world, on topics that we deal with regularly or on topics that you think need a wider circulation in illustration subject. We are most likely to publish those articles which are well-written, concise, offer a unique progressive perspective and have appeal to national and international readers. Please keep submissions under 1000 words. Since we have a small editorial staff, we cannot spend much time editing submissions. Please send us final drafts of your work. We do not guarantee that we publish all the articles we receive. They will be published after a confirmation by twice of the managers. Please send all submissions as plain text within the body of an email - you can also attach the article, for the safer side. Please include your name, contact information. A short paragraph bio is a must. If you wish, you can also send a thumb size photo of the author. We’ll be glad to publish it along with the article. You can submit your articles to i n f o @ b r i g h t n e s s m a g . c o m One word of caution. When you are submitting articles use the word -submission- in the subject line. Finally, it is very important to respect copyright and write the names of artists who their arts are used by you in the caption.
| 63
Digital Journal of Illustration |
| 64