|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 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
|2
|3
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Index
SPOTLIGHT | 20 Rosemarie
THE BEST ILLUSTRATED CHILDREN’S BOOKS OF 2017 | 24 This year marks the 65th anniversary of the Best Illustrated Children’s Books Award...
BE HAPPY NOW! | 28 I am Jenny Meilihove, a freelance illustrator. Making drawings, paintings and children books . I studied at Bezalel Academy of Arts & Design, Jerusalem, in the department of Visual Communications and majored in Illustration.
AROUND THE WORLD | 36
DRAW A HOUSE EVERYDAY | 38 Exclusive Interview with Tonya Tkach
CREATIVE SPACE | 42 BRIGHTNESS GALLERY | 48 #iamanillustrator
In This Issue of
Brigh |4
I AM SELF-TAUGHT Pablo Auladell is an award-winning Spanish illustrator and cartoonist. His first publication, El camino del titiritero, came out in 2001 and earned him a Saló del Cómic de Barcelona Best Newcomer Award in 2002. He has since consistently worked on an average of four books each year. Having a particularly productive year In 2008, he released 9 titles. Totaling 60 books in just 14 years. Auladell’s books have been published by many of Spain’s top publishers including Anaya, Actes Sud and Libros del Zorro Rojo. He is also a regular collaborator with writer Pablo Albo. The pair have worked on Mar de sábanas (2003), which he won a Ciudad de Alicante Award for Best International Illustrated Children’s Book, El espantapájaros (2005), Inés azul (2009), Diógenes (2010) and Alas y olas (2011).
htness 10
Pablo Auladell
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 :I llustration by
Special Thanks To
to
Pablo A uladell
Mr.Keyvan Ghafele Bashi
a s k q u e s t i o n s a b o u t y o u r s u b s c r i p t i o n , p l e a s e e m a i l u s at: info@brightnessmag.com
|
w w w. b r i g h t n e s s m a g . c o m
© All Rights Are Reserved.
|5
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Brightness Gallery
ADVERTISE
YOUR
BUSINESS
HERE SEND US AN EMAIL:
INFO@BRIGHTNESSMAG.COM FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
@BRIGHTNESSMAG
|6
“BEFORE YOU CAN HAVE A SHARE OF MARKET, YOU MUST HAVE A SHARE OF MIND.” LEO BURNETT
|7
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Letter From The Editor
nowruz
no war! Sadegh Amiri Art Director Brightness Magazine Founder
|8
More than 187 million people in 11 different countries celebrate the dawn of a new calendar year with the coming of spring. In many of these countries, New Year is called ‘Nowrooz’, which means the coming of a new day. Nowrooz was first celebrated in central Asia during the Achaemenid era, meaning around 550 B.C. This was a time when people celebrated the coming of spring when the earth is rejuvenated and a seasonal cycle begins. Today, many centuries later, people in Iran, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kirgizstan, and many other countries honor that tradition by officially celebrating Nowrooz. Nowrooz, like many other special occasions, has it’s traditions. Many days before spring is heralded people clean their homes, dust their possessions(because dust is seen as symbolic of the death and decay of winter), wear new clothes, listen to live music, pray, and light candles in memory of the deceased. In Iran as well as some other countries there is a tradition of setting a table filled with objects starting with the letter ‘siin’ in Farsi. Each object on the said table is symbolic of something. This tradition is quite similar to the Christmas tree in it’s significance. The meaning behind each item on the festive table of Nowrooz is explained below: Samanu (a paste made entirely of germinated wheat): Is symbolic of the flowering of plants. The treat is made of newly germinated wheat. Apple: also symbolizes the blossoming of plants as well as conveying an image of health. Silverberry: symbolizes love and rebirth Grass: symbolizes joy, greenery, and the connection between man and nature. Sumac, vinegar, and garlic: these items represent health and happiness Coin: sits on the ‘haft sin’ table to represent an economically bountiful life Egg: this item symbolizes the beginning of a life cycle and the miracle of begetting. Eggs also invoke an image of the womb and the significance of heritage. Mirror: has to be placed at the end of the table to stand for light and bright days Water: placed on the table to signify blessings and a clean life During these days many people in the Middle East are preparing themselves for Nowrooz celebrations and the coming of spring even though the hearts of people living there is filled to the brim with pain. Were it that oil would have never been discovered in this land so that this much blood was not shed over it. If only people knew that no religion on earth promotes war and bloodshed. It is only the politicians that use religion to turn a profit through the sale of arms. If only all wars would end with the coming of spring and the only audible sound in people’s houses would be the heartfelt laugh of children. If only all weapons fired red flowers and after every war, cities would be filled with red flowers. If only the only tears that were shed were the tears of joy of children after receiving gifts from their parents. If only no mother had to lie to their kids saying that their father has gone on a long trip. Yes, war is merciless. It is aiming at the heart and soul of children. If everyone would say no to war in unison, no politician would be able to break the heart of a mother, make a father cry, and bury the toy of a child in order to achieve his/her self-serving goals. O Lord, my wish for this New Year is for all wars to end and for peace and smiles to bloom like the flowers on the trees.
HAPPY NOWRUZ AND PERSIAN NEW YEAR ( Nowruz has been celebrated for more than 2500 years ) |9
Digital Journal of Illustration |
| 10
Pablo Auladell
Exclusive Interview
| 11
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Pablo Auladell
Hello Pablo, can you start by telling a bit about you and your background .When did you start to dedicate to the world of illustration? I started working as a professional in 2001, when my first graphic novel El camino del titiritero was published. What can you tell me about your publications or books? What are the latest? In my books I have been searching a graphic language made of esentiality, elegance, silence and poetic mistery. Using some of the old, classic values for talking about and expressing the world and the time I live in. I have made almost my entire work for books because my two passions are Literature and drawing. Illustrating and drawing/writing graphic novels I can use both. My latest works are La fete abandonnee, Le Paradise perdu, Dorothy and Pameos y meopas (a collection of Julio Cortazar’s poems. Is it very different from what is done in your country from other countries? What are your influences international illustrators? No, it is not different. The difference perhaps consists on the astonishingly incapability and incompetence of most Spanish publishers for selling our work abroad. Your work is so unique and definitely speaks .Can you tell me about your journey to finding this point in your work, was there a moment when it all clicked into place? Do you think you are still searching? The searching I was talking about at the begining of this interview had its ‘click moment’ over 2011, when I understood, while taking a walk in a little garden in my city, that everything I needed for my artwork was there, so near. In that garden there was time, silence, death, mediterranean light and a sort of ancient, forgotten wisdom. I was workibg then in a book called Spanish Popular Tales and I had begun it as we the illustrators used to do: using the celtic and northeuropean fairy mithology. But after my walk in the garden, I decided to look at Spanish tradition, models and iconography. So rich and in my opinion too ignored by Spanish illustrators. I think it can be easily detected in the books I did after 2011 ( Alas y olas, La feria abandonada, …). It is of course a never ending searching. I feel that I have got that values I was talking before in a very few images. The learning of silence, esentiality, … can take a life time.
| 12
Exclusive Interview
| 13
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Pablo Auladell
r .How do you veloped as an illustrato de ve ha u yo at th y wa e background and th We’ve talked about your select the projects? work with? How do you to nt a book is wa u yo ers sh bli pu refully because drawing select the ca e or m t lec se I w no that that ng in so many books, n. So you must be sure After many years worki tio tra en nc co d an y erg mands lots of time, en a colosal task which de lly good project. effort will be put on a rea s with anything that still stick ere th Is ? ing dy stu ile t wh e best lesson you learn s developed? What do you feel was th tors as your practice ha tu of e vic ad of lot a t e thrown ou ing but for being a you or do you feel you’v ns, not only for illustrat so les ain m e th t rn lea I self-taught. Ferrer, Mattotti, I never studied Art. I am derico del Barrio, Isidro Fe , va Ca z de án rn He , Ricard Castells good professional, from argo… Javier Serrano, Pablo Am drawings? what they ren take away from your wadays. I do not know What do you hope child no em th m fro far ite qu ifically for from children. I feel r everyone, but not spec I do not expect nothing fo or s ult ad r fo ng rki ars ago I have been wo prefer. Since some ye . od illustrator for children children. I am not a go ed for the future? What do you have plann I am working on now. ictly limited to the book str are ns pla re tu fu My r? you need as an illustrato ink th u yo reader and to do ills sk of rt What so t have are to be a good us m s ok bo re tu era Lit good illustrator of I think the main skills a ticism. with implacable, hard cri rk wo n ow ur yo at g konw lookin
| 14
Exclusive Interview
| 15
Digital Journal of Illustration |
| 16
Pablo Auladell
Exclusive Interview
| 17
Digital Journal of Illustration |
| 18
Pablo Auladell
| 19
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Spotlight
“I was born in Santiago de Chile, but I currently live in Madrid, Spain. Like many illustrators, drawing has always been a part of my life, since I was very small. In my work I am always looking for new elements that allow me to express concepts that I can’t express verbally. Illustration often leaves interpretation open to the viewer. After studying Fine Arts, I didn’t know how to focus my studies in a professional way, so I did a Masters degree in Graphic Design. I worked for many years in the world of advertising, but after a while, I decided to become independent and dedicate myself almost exclusively to illustration. It has not been an easy road, it is a profession that is often ignored and effort and perseverance are not always valued. My work as an illustrator requires perseverance, patience and trying to carry a routine that makes my work flow in a professional manner. I am inspired in my work by everything that surrounds me, the world and its interior, taking the context of everyday elements, changing their color, their shape and taking them to different places. I look for ideas and concepts on a daily basis and I try to keep alive the spirit that leads me to constantly reinvent myself. I have published two books through Sieteleguas Ediciones, inspired by the native peoples of Chile. I am currently working on several children’s books and illustrating for different clients around the world.”
| 20
Ro s e m a r i e
I l l u st r a t o r www.rosemariecc.com
| 21
Digital Journal of Illustration |
| 22
The Creative Space Spotlight
| 23
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Article
{
This year marks the 65th anniversary of the Best Illustrated Children’s Books Award — and the first year of the Times’ partnership with the New York Public Library on the honor. We’re unveiling a new name: The New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Books Award. The Times and NYPL share a mission: to recognize the best in children’s literature and bring great books to young readers. As always, the winners were selected by a panel of three judges, who based their decision purely on artistic merit. The 2017 judges are Steven Guarnaccia, an associate professor of illustration at Parsons The New School for Design and the author and illustrator of numerous books; Marjorie Priceman, the author and illustrator of many children’s books and the winner of two Caldecott Honors and two New York Times Best Illustrated Books Awards; and Louise Lareau, the head librarian of the New York Public Library Children’s Center.
Muddy: The Story of Blues Legend Muddy Waters By Michael Mahin. Illustrated by Evan Turk. Born McKinley Morganfield, the great bluesman Muddy Waters went from a poor Mississippi Delta childhood to the center of the Chicago music scene. Shifting his color palette for each setting of Muddy’s life, Turk captures the legendary musician’s proud originality with his own dazzling virtuosity on the page, incorporating materials including old newspaper clippings, printer’s ink and paint.
On a Magical Do-Nothing Day Written and illustrated by Beatrice Alemagna. On a rainy weekend in the countryside — with no electronic devices allowed — a young girl feels irritated until she steps outside and into the deep satisfactions of time spent in nature. Alemagna’s dense and textured illustrations feature exuberant pops of color, capturing the natural world’s immensity and creating a multilayered mood that allows for both introspection and wild flights of joy.
The many animals in Frida Kahlo’s life — among them a fawn, a cat and two spider monkeys — were an important part of her art, and this book traces her relationships with her menagerie over the course of her life. With their folk-art sensibility, Parra’s elegant acrylic paintings evoke Kahlo’s style, her palette and her Mexican environment, but he creates a mood of harmony with the natural world and a lively, cheerful abundance all his own.
Frida Kahlo and Her Animalitos Written by Monica Brown. Illustrated by John Parra.
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Article
Plume Written and illustrated by Isabelle Simler A cat named Plume stalks this compendium of birds, each page a careful study of one species and the details of its feathers. Elegant and playful, Simler’s meticulous digital renderings of birds and their plumage invite close inspection, offering as well a chance to figure out where the cat is lurking within the clever composition of each page.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg: The Case of R.B.G. vs. Inequality Written by Jonah Winter. Illustrated by Stacy Innerst. The life of the Supreme Court justice is a story of a girl who overcame the overt and covert sexism of her time to follow her drive to fight for equality. Innerst uses paint, ink and collaged elements like notebook paper to create a playful yet magisterial documentary effect, bringing subtle emotion to carefully composed scenes that resonate with the humane, controlled power of R.B.G. herself.
The Way Home in the Night
A River
Written and illustrated by Akiko Miyakoshi.
Written and illustrated by Marc Martin.
A sleepy little bunny is carried home through the city by her parents, ending up safe in her own bed. With their cinematic feel and charmingly anthropomorphic animals, Miyakoshi’s pencil and charcoal drawings capture the ever-changing delights of nighttime city life while evoking almost physical feelings of comfort, support and family love.
| 26
A cat named Plume stalks this compendium of birds, each page a careful study of one species and the details of its feathers. Elegant and playful, Simler’s meticulous digital renderings of birds and their plumage invite close inspection, offering as well a chance to figure out where the cat is lurking within the clever composition of each page.
Feather Written and illustrated by Rémi Courgeon. A girl named Paulina takes up boxing so she can beat her older brothers at arm wrestling and free herself of the household chores they assign her when she loses. With its bold colors and vivacious lines, Courgeon’s stylish, poster-like art is full of small, exquisite details that reveal poignant aspects of Paulina’s story, creating a deep emotional connection with a heroine who’s a fighter in more than one sense.
Town Is By the Sea Written by Joanne Schwartz. Illustrated by Sydney Smith. A young boy watches his father leave for the mines each day, knowing that one day he too will leave the pleasures of his seaside home to toil in the darkness. In brown, gray and black leavened by soft yellows and blues, Smith’s ardent paintings capture the brilliance of the sun on the sea and the smudgy darkness of a mine with equal intensity, creating an exquisitely personal feeling of the movement of time and history.
King of the Sky Written by Nicola Davies. Illustrated by Laura Carlin. Starting life in a new country much colder and darker than his homeland, an Italian boy is forlorn until he meets an older man who keeps and races pigeons, helping him bridge his old and new worlds. With soft and smudgy yet deliberate mixed-media art that seems at once modern and timeless, Carlin’s warm, nostalgic images find a surprising visual connection between a northern mining region and a sunny southern land. | 27
Digital Journal of Illustration |
| 28
Jenny Meilihove
Exclusive Interview
BE HAPPY
NOW! Exclusive Interview With I am Jenny Meilihove, a freelance illustrator. Making drawings, paintings and children books .
Jenny Meilihove
I studied at Bezalel Academy of Arts & Design, Jerusalem, in the department of Visual Communications and majored in Illustration.
www.mytinydream.com
Currently, I am living in Israel . I sell my artworks on Etsy shop to people around the world, and also in boutique shops in Israel.
| 29
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Jenny Meilihove
Hi Jenny, Could you give us a bit of background
is right?
about your work and education, and how you
Sometimes it’s right on the first time, but
started working as an illustrator?
sometimes it takes long time.
I studied at Bezalel - Academy of arts and
When it’s right , you now it’s right. If you not
design in department of visual communication,
sure, than it’s not ready yet.
in my last year I studied mostly illustration and my final project was a children book that
What factors should illustrators keep in mind
I wrote and illustrated.
when finding ways to improve their work?
After the studies I continue making drawings,
Here are some important points that should
paintings and illustrations,
be on a good work :
and step by step had customers, some buying
interesting, exciting, smart, relevant, fun,
my artworks others asked me to make a
emotional, different, having your own style,
children books , or different commissioned
beautiful, interesting technique.
artworks like illustration for a newspaper , What materials do you enjoy working with the
games and different paper products.
most? What is a normal day at the office for you ? I
I love Acrylic and colored pencils on paper.
assume it might start with a coffee?
Also I love to make stuff of cardboard and
yep, first coffee with music .There no routine,
coloured papers - mixed media collage.
every day is different. Sometimes I work at home (that is my office)
What are you passionate about besides your
and sometimes I love to get out and make
work?
sketches at the coffeeshops or in the park...
Music! listening to music always!
I love that every day is different from the day before, I love to make different kind of works,
What social media platforms do you use, and do
it can be painting or collage, sometimes it’s
you feel social media is very important to your
a little animation, or just sketching and for a
practice?
new ideas for all the day.
I use Facebook and Instagram. Social media is very important, it’s good way
How would you describe your approach?
to be seen and to be found.
Do what you love, than your heart will be there
Also receiving instant response (like and
, and it will shine :)
comments) from people around the globe really arouses desire to make more new illustrations :)
How does it feel when you’re drawing? It’s happiness!
What do you have planned for the future? How many times do you tend to draw a character
I want to make my own children book, writing
until it’s right, and also how do you know that it
and illustrating .
Also where can the people find out about you, see your work, buy your stuff, or find out about upcoming workshops? my shop: behappynow.etsy.com instagram : https://www.instagram.com/jenny_meilihove/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tinyhappydream/ my website: mytinydream.com
| 30
Exclusive Interview
| 31
Digital Journal of Illustration |
| 32
Jenny Meilihove
Exclusive Interview
| 33
Digital Journal of Illustration |
| 34
Jenny Meilihove
Exclusive Interview
| 35
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Around The World
Anna Sokolova
www.annasokolova.eu
I’m currently working on illustrations to depict the special atmosphere of Berlin. They will be used for a CafÊ in a very vibrant international neighbourhood. The city of Berlin is so diverse and beautiful, it even feels like it has multiple personalities. The city is widely known for multiculturalism and exceptional art-scene with a particular rhythm. In my work, I used both traditional and digital techniques to add a piece of mystery and experimentation in this collective character of the city.
| 36
Evandro Marenda www.evandromarenda.com.br
“Each food has a spirit that we set free when we bite it carefully.” My name is Evandro Marenda, I am a Brazilian illustrator focusing mainly in children’s books. These are studies that I’ve been developing alongside the work I do for books, posters and packages. It is a project of illustration for children called “Flesh Child”, in which I explore themes such as the relationship with food, eating, instinct and body. I’m on Instagram as @evandromarenda and my website is evandromarenda.com.br
Carla Indipendente www.behance.net/carlaindipendente
illustrations that I made for a russian contemporary film festival for Apulia film commission. I made the cover of an experimental music record for the music label Backwards Rec. Meanwhile I’m preparing new illustrations for a personal exhibition and I’m setting up an illustrated book.
Judith Clay As a self-employed artist I basically make my own projects. Usually, the drawings and collages I create are individual pieces that I sell as originals or prints. Over the years, several of my works have been part in solo and group exhibits. Most of the time I freely choose the subject of my creations. Only when I’m invited to take part in an exhibit, the topic is usually given. For instance, I created three drawings for an Alice-in-Wonderland group exhibit that has been traveling through Europe since 2015. The drawing “When it Rains Outside” was inspired by childhood memories and is one of a three-part series that was short-listed for the Ilustrarte 2018 exhibit in Portugal. “Rainbow Mine” is number one of a four-piece rainbow series, and the collage, “The Magic Act”, was inspired by my love for Alice in Wonderland.
| 37
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Tonya Tkach
DRAW A HOUSE EVERYDAY EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH TONYA TKACH
| 38
Exclusive Interview
Tell me a bit about you and your background: where are you from/ where did you study? Hello! I was born and raised in Ukraine in a beautiful green city on a big river. In my childhood I painted a lot so my parents sent me to an art school and always encouraged all my creative impulses. After graduation from the high school I continued my education at the Academy of Architecture and after six years of studying there I got my architect diploma. But after a year of working in a large architectural workshop, where I studied drawings and documentation, I realized that this is not what I want to do all my life. It’s good that at the same time I studied graphic editors and a digital illustration as a hobby. I changed my job and became an illustrator in a startup project working on developing computer games and mobile apps. And when the desire and the opportunity to travel came I changed office job for a remote job and became a freelancer. Today I’m more interested in analog techniques in illustration and I continue my trainings, also work a lot with watercolor. Have you always wanted to be an illustrator? When did you start working ‘professionally’? In my childhood I dreamed of becoming a teacher but it’s difficult to tell when precisely I decided to become an illustrator. I always liked to paint but the understanding that there’s a possibility to do it for living was not immediate. I got my first “fee” when I was 19 y.o. for a drawing of a New Year’s card for my friends’ company, after that there was a huge break in drawings for money. I started to do illustration professionally about 5 years ago (digital illustration). But I have been working with watercolor for two years already. How do you define your illustrations? I have worked and am working in very different styles and directions. In the digital illustration, this is both vector and raster works - from creating backgrounds to objects and characters, from photorealism to cartoon stylization. Today, I am more or less wellknown for my watercolor illustrations. It’s hard for me to stylistically define my works. It’s always kind, fantasy stories with lots of tiny cute details. Have you published outside your country? I can not tell precisely. As a commercial illustrator I work with graphic resources, such as freepik, shutterstok, creativemarket and many of my works can be found all over the world. I personally saw them during travels - in showcases, in restaurant menus, on signboards, on toys and fabrics. Sometimes I work with foreign producers. But I can’t name any major wellknown projects or publications. Is it very different from what is done in your country from other countries? What are your influences international illustrators? Today it is much easier to follow the world trends in the illustration due to the Internet, availability of books, magazines, films and affordability of travels. If you watch something, listen to something, read something and work in a certain field, somehow you will get into world trends. Differences are leveled out. On the other hand, each country has its own graphic school and traditions that influence the formation of style and technique. I really like to look at what illustrators are creating all over the world, for now I admire the
| 39
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Tonya Tkach
works of Korean and Chinese illustrators. I even try to secretly change the style and work more with characters, a line, instead of working with a lot of details. Tell us about your home projects? Why do you choose this subject? That’s an interesting question. Recently I was told that I paint houses because I’m looking for a house for my own. I travel a lot with my husband (he is also an illustrator), and we haven’t provided ourselves with a house yet, ‘cause we can’t decide where exactly we want to spend our lives. The project “draw a house every day” appeared spontaneously, I just needed some kind of push in January, to warm up my mind year and come up with new stories in the new. I can not explain my sympathy for the houses all over the map, this is a child’s hobby that has grown into an idea. I don’t do drawings only, but also mold from clay, construct in miniature. I even designed houses back in the old days. Do you enjoy working with a handmade aesthetic, or do you do a lot of computer work as well? What is the process you have for creating your illustrations? I really like to work with my hands, whether it’s watercolor illustration, embroidery or clay modeling. There is some primitive magic in all of this, often I take it as a meditation. Everyone in my family does something. My mother sews beautiful things, my father is a carpenter and works with wood. I’m always interested | 40
in doing something with my hands and always trying new things. But I also spend a lot of time at the computer - I draw, I edit photos or works drawn by hand. The process of working on an illustration depends on the style and technique. I’ll tell you how I work on watercolor drawings. If this is an order work, for example, work on a postcard for printing, I draw a couple of sketches based on the customer’s story. Sometimes the idea comes at once, otherwise you have to collect a huge folder with references at Pinterest. After the sketch has been approved, I develop a more detailed drawing on a simple sheet of paper. Then I transfer the drawing to the watercolor sheet. The most interesting thing is working with paint. Usually these are three stages - color filling, value contrast and drawing of details. If the customer likes the picture at this stage, I scan edit it in accordance with the requirements, create a postcard layout, which in the end will be sent to the customer. A lot of your work deals with spirituality and connections to flowers, can you tell us a little more about that? Since my childhood I was very adhered to the nature as well as to the houses. I literally could spend hours in the grandmother’s garden watching plants and insects. I always returned home with bouquets for the herbarium and full pockets of snails from a walk, and was often laughed at by my relatives because of that. My grandma always planted many beautiful flowers just for me and she wasn’t afraid to let me go for a long walk in the meadow. Today we bring pebbles, cones, seeds, twigs from any trip – my husband is not very happy with all that though,
Exclusive Interview
| 41
Digital Journal of Illustration |
| 42
Tonya Tkach
Exclusive Interview
because the baggage he should carry becomes heavier. But for me all this is a tiny beautiful world with its own fantastic stories. The world that bring you back into the childhood. How does it feel when you’re drawing? Since I do drawing for leaving, sometimes it can be a routine. But if I draw my own project or a very interesting and kindred one, I’m literally on a cloud nine! This feeling can be compared only to love, there is no time, no surroundings, no worries and problems to exist anymore. There is only lightness, happiness and the desire to never stop. What social media platforms do you use, and do you feel social media is very important to your practice? Now I actively use Instagram and Pinterest. Of course, today social media is an inevitable part of any illustrator’s work. You can look for inspiration there, talk about yourself and your work, find customers and interesting projects, get acquainted and communicate with professionals worldwide. How do you connect with your clients? And what is your opinion about online website shops? My customers find me through my Instagram account and email where we continue our communication. I often transfer the ownership of my personal works to companies producing postcards, calendars, dishes, such clients also find me through Instagram. But I rarely agree to take orders, since I work for freepik, shutterstok, creativemarket, it allows me to regulate the amount of work, theme and terms by myself. I tried to work with printshops, but it didn’t bring me major financial benefits as well as it took a lot of time. Recently, I’ve been thinking about creating a personal website and a store, but hasn’t come to a single decision yet. Have you worked with them? What is your suggestion for other illustrators? Since I haven’t a good result in working with online stores, I can’t advise anything on this topic. Most likely, to have success in this industry one should monitor trends in it, and spend a lot of time promoting it. What factors should illustrators keep in mind when finding ways to improve their work? That’s a very good question! I think the main thing is to stop worrying too much and draw regularly, every day. Analyze your past works in order to find and work on the weak points, and develop the strong points in them. And in order to not get lost in ways of improving and searching you should study the works of masters of the past as well as the works of your colleagues. What are you doing now? Now I’m planning on doing a new personal project, I’m working on prints for sweatshirts for the client (with my favorite flower patterns). MY RESOURSES: www.instagram.com/tonia_tkach www.creativemarket.com/ToniaTkach www.shutterstock.com/ru/g/art_tkach
| 43
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Tonya Tkach
In January 2013, Mohamed Danawi, a university professor of illustration and a former chair of its illustration department, decided to embark on a new project, to establish a global agency, representing illustrators worldwide, not knowing it will be a massive undertaking and one that became what it is now, one of the top and most sough after agency in the illustration field. He contacted 20 illustrators that in his opinion had the combination of great talent, marketable style, a drive to succeed and visual charisma and invited them to join his project. The 20 illustrators accepted to join Illozoo and he signed contracts with them, selected their very best work and designed the website showcasing their portfolios and carefully curated the content. He then used social networking and his client base to promote the agency. Illozoo was reviewed and announced on several design and illustration websites. Within a few weeks his email was flooded with hundreds of requests from illustrators, fine artists, animators and designers from all over the world asking to join the agency and to be represented. The quality of work showcased on Illozoo’s website was the principle attraction, his reputation as a professor for 15 years and a judge in several national and international competition also helped. Danawi began making his selection and only inviting artists that showed incredible skills and a unique and marketable style. He wanted to keep the quality of work at the highest standard making sure each artist represented, is unequalled and offer contemporary, upbeat, edgy, imaginative and breathtaking body of work. Illozoo is currently representing 170 artists from more than 65 countries. Some are editorial illustrators, others are fashion illustrators, children’s book illustrators, designers, graphic novelists, animators, CGI artists, full-service visual solutions studios, story boards artist, apparels designers, film makers, props designers, set designers, with styles ranging from realism to painterly, collage, montage, digital, graphic, humorous and 3-D. The purpose of Illozoo is to represent and promote these excellent artists, illustrators and designers, the established, the veterans and the promising new talents alike, globally, to art directors in the world of advertising, design, animation, game design, fashion, merchandising, books and magazine publishing, packaging design, film, corporate, music industry, sport industry, theatre and art galleries around the world. The agency’s headquarters are in Savannah, USA and satellite offices with agency representatives in London, Toronto, New York, Los Angeles, Milan and Beirut. Danawi states: ” During the past 5 years, the agency secured thousands of jobs and
| 44
Exclusive Interview
e Creativ Space THE
| 45
Digital Journal of Illustration |
The Creative Space
created artwork ranging from illustrations, motion graphics, animation, design, murals, apps, web content, etc. for every major advertising agency, publishing house, publication and corporations all over the world. All that with simple direct contacts with potential art directors and art buyers, and without buying into the overrated and over priced annuals. I also made sure my artists are very carefully handpicked and impeccably curated. We reached out to our clients, art directors, art producers and art buyers, and we built our relationship with them brick by brick and artwork by artwork. I’m okay with where we are right now, but I do know we have a lot of work to do ahead of us, because I want to make sure, that each and every artist at the agency is showing their incredible potentials and that we are doing a good job marketing and promoting their talent securing back to back projects to them” . Illozoo have since created visual solutions for clients such as Apple, Lufthansa Airlines, Amazon, Pepsi, Xbox, Indeed, VH1, Samsung, Waitrose London, Canadian Pacific Railway, the National Geographic Society and Direct TV. Illozoo was also involved through its artists on hundreds of books and apps with publishing giants such as Harper Collins, Penguin Random House, Hachette Group, Houghton Mifflin, Mondadori, Ink Global, The Creative Company, Oxford University Press, Scholastics, Capstone, The Ivy Press, The Quarto Group and Usborne Publishing. Illozoo also collaborates with the New Yorker, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, Il Corriere Della Sera, and many other publications, providing them with editorial visual contents, and with advertising agencies, such as Leo Burnett, Publicis, Grey, Havas, Pentagram, Holmes and Marchant, TBWA\CHIAT\DAY, BBDO, J. Walter Thompson and Ogilvy and Mather by creating storyboards, ads, packaging designs, billboards, murals, web marketing, posters and brand design. What makes Illozoo unique is that it started with a few exceptional alumni and now representing global visual communicator that expand on the idea of illustration to include animation, design, interactive media and fine art. The other important element is that as an educator and a professor of illustration for more than 20 years today, the agency becomes a teaching tool in Danawi’s classrooms, a window for his students to interact with his artists, to see what they are up to and witness the inner workings of promotions, working on various jobs with clients, seeing the process, logistics, business practices as well as creative process of each artist while working on an assignments and following their footsteps in the classroom. It opens up great possibilities for his students and links the academic setting with the professional arena. Illozoo galleries can be found at www.illozoo.com
| 46
1. Lufthansa Ad. David de Ramon. Ad agency: Neverest. 2. Mascot and character/brand design for Bumble Bee. Rubens Scarelli. Ad agency: Grey. 3. Poster ads for Amazon Prime. Steve McDonald. 4. Web graphics. For the Emirates Department of Economic Development. Alois Di Leo. 5. Sick Kids Hospital, Toronto. Visual development. Igor Morski. 6. Mural graphics for Indeed, Austin. David Sosella 7. Mural graphics for Indeed, Austin. Sean Loose 8. Ad design for Blue Man Group. Alberto Seveso 9. Ad for the Irish Thoroughbred. Bruno Wagner. Ad agency: Publicis 10. Billboard ad for Gandour. Various artists. Ad agency: Leo Burnett. 11. Poster design for the Original Theatre Company. Anton Semenov. 12. Poster for the Russian Ballet. Sean Loose. 13. Storyboard for Pepsi TV ad. Sam LeDoyen. 14. Fashion graphics/pattern design for Rami Kadi. Mat Miller. 15. Ad animation for Apple Pencil. Marija Tiurina 16. Print design and illustration for La Scala, Milan. Philip Giordano 17+18. Eleven pages magazine ad in Sport Illustrated for Direct TV. Marc Burkhardt. Ad agency: Grey. 19. Pepsi cans graphics. Various artists. Holmes and Marchant. 20. Funky Buddha Brewery graphics. Rubens Scarelli. 21. REP. magazine cover. David de Ramon 22. Illozoo artists working collaboratively on 100 mural graphics for Indeed headquarters, Austin. 23. Steve McDonald working on Indeed Canada mural graphics. 24. David Sosella and team working on various educational illustrations for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 25. Laura Proietti working on an editorial illustration for Il Corriere, Milan. 26. Davide Ortu working on a current book project for Usborne Publishing. 27. Pep Boatella working on a current book project for Comanegra, Barcelona. 28. Kelsey Garrity Riley working on an editorial illustration for the Boston Globe. 29. Helena Perez Garcia working on an editorial illustration for Il Corriere, Milan. 30. Women of O. Illozoo promotion. 31-32 catalogs cover. Illozoo promotional catalogs. 33-34 promo cards for the London Book Fair. 35-Mascot/character design for Amazon. David Sosella 36-Poster for Broadway musical Crazy for You. Ennji 37-Promo T-shirt graphics. Illozoo
more informations here:
www.illozoo.com | 47
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 geographical borders, which implies that artists could easily connect to a wider range of audience worldwide.
| 48
Sketchbooks has always had an important role in artists’s life. They show their lifestyle, ideas and beliefes . Sometimes they even more important than their paintings or final artwork. That’s why we ask artists to share their sketchbooks with us. (HASMIK)
| 49
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Brightness Gallery
ALEXA TORRES
| 50
ANA RODRÍGUEZ
| 51
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Brightness Gallery
ANA SALGUERO
| 52
JUDITH CLAY
| 53
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Brightness Gallery
ARINDA CRACIUN
ARINDA CRACIUN
| 54
YANICK MONTEIRO
| 55
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Brightness Gallery
DANI TORRENT
| 56
FERNANDO ARIAS
| 57
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Brightness Gallery
GISELA PIZZATTO
| 58
HANIEH GHASHGHAEI
| 59
Digital Journal of Illustration |
Brightness Gallery
CONCHA MARTĂ?NEZ PASAMARV
| 60
ELISA CAROLII
| 61
Digital Journal of Illustration |
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