G N I T A N I M U L IL S R O T A R T S U ILL
y e l r o m k c Ni
ll
Daniel Kra ffler
axel sche
G N I T A N I M U L IL S R O T A R T S U ILL
l
l daniel kra
er axel sheffl ey
Nick Morl
G N I T A N I M U L IL S R O T A R T S U ILL
er
ffl Axel Sche
ll
Daniel Kra ey
Nick Morl
contents page 4
Daniel Krall by Leslie Dean Brown
page 8
Nick morley by debi beaumont
page 12
axel scheffler by spencer green
DANIEL KRALL by leslie dean brown Daniel Krall grew up on a small farm in Annville, Pennsylvania. In 1994 he moved to Baltimore, Maryland where he attended the Maryland Institute College of Art. In 1998 he graduated with a BFA in Illustration. He now holds a teaching position at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Daniel Krall maintains an active presence on various social media platforms including facebook, tumblr and twitter. He also showcases his best work on his website www.danielkrall.com. There is not much information in the way of text on his website, it’s mostly visuals and pictures. He divides his time between freelance illustration, drawing comics, painting, and teaching illustration. His preferred medium is watercolour, gouache, acrylic and
digital. He uses a limited colour palette. He separates his online portfolio into concept, narrative and editorial artworks. The majority of his work is contained within the editorial section. Daniel’s artworks are frequently multi-layered scenes rather than metaphorical. There’s usually a foreground, mid-ground and background or skyline so they are quite detailed in their execution (Figure 4, 5, 6). They’re usually portrait not landscape format. In terms of the subject of his artworks, he mostly depicts trendy people but sometimes also some strange beasts including knights and dragons (Figure 1, 2). The people that he draws are usually having fun doing something such as playing music, drinking, dancing, or going somewhere (Figure 3, 6).
Daniel Krall United States danielkrall.com MICA
Figure 1: Collapsible Mythology
Figure 3: Arcade 1982
Figure 2: Instant Ramen Showdown
Figure 4: Litigation Anxiety
page 5
DANIEL KRALL The mood is usually positive and uplifting rather than dark or depressing (Figure 6, 7, 8). The content of the artworks are not at all political, controversial or intentionally provocative. His style is fairly consistent although there are some variations such as the comics (which include written words and multiple scenes in one page). He’s clearly inspired by comics and has even illustrated a few for Dark Horse. Daniel Krall has worked for some very well-known clients including: DC Comics, Disney, Lexus, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Oxford University Press, Random House and Wired. His Tumblr blog “SECRET(ly) AGENT(leman)” is where he uploads his most current work and some of his creative process
– sketching out the roughs with pencil and paper first for instance. He has some t-shirts and art prints for sale on two or three websites but it seems he primarily supplements his income with teaching illustration, not by selling merchandise or other products. What I admire most about Daniel Krall is that he is very prolific. He generates an incredible amount of work. I’m not sure what motivates him to do that. He genuinely seems to love drawing even if he is not getting paid. I envy him for that, because it’s currently not easy for me to stay focused on my own illustration work for very long periods.
Figure 5: Madman and the Atomics
Figure 7: Pimms Cup Figure 8: Summer Annoyances
Figure 6: South-East Asia
page 7
Nick Morley by debi beaumont Nick Morley is an illustrator specialising in linocut. I came across him during a project where I was looking to try new techniques and found his beautiful creations inspiring and original. He is the author of the book “Linocut for artists and designers” (Crowood Press, 2016) pictured in Figure 1. Morley’s book contains a wealth of advise on creating linocut illustrations. He covers the importance of the lino and tools used, appropriate papers on which to print and good quality inks. Creating illustrations with linocut can produce a wide range of effects which are dependant on variables such the lino used and how much is cut away, the paper you print on and the pressure applied in the printing process. Figure 2 shows a simple cut with a U-gouge tool. The cut is just one continuous line and produces this striking picture of astronauts floating in the blackness of space. A light pressure was applied
during the printing process and this results in a speckled blackness which gives the impression of millions of stars in the background. A much more intricate cut is shown in Figure 3. In this piece different tools have been used to cut different widths and depths out of the lino. Some areas are dark with large sections of lino uncut while other areas are delicately carved out to create the texture and shape of the bear. The contrast of dark blocks against more delicate cuts gives the bear his three dimensional qualities. Morley has used his linocut techniques to brand himself by using linocut text in his website www.linocutboy.com and his logo, Figure 4. Carrying this theme through all his work and his pseudonym make his brand strong and obvious and this is something that an illustrator like myself can learn from.
Nick Morley United Kingdom nickmorley.co.uk Sheffield Hallam University
Figure 1: Linocut for Artists and Designers, (2016), Marlborough, Crowood Press Figure 3: Bear on a Bike, date unknown, Screenprint, 59x82cm
Figure 2: Cosmonaughts, (2016), linocut, size unknown Figure 4: Linocut boy logo from www.linocutboy.com, (2017)
page 9
Nick Morley Morely states that one of the themes he likes to work with is masculinity and there are many examples of this. Often they are executed with humour rather than aggressive masculinity. They include his pink linocut cowboy, and his suave portrait of Sherlock Holmes, and many cuts of bearded men like the one shown in figure 5. The beard and hair are full of fine texture created with many small cuts into the lino, and I love the way the beard playfully escapes the edges of the illustration. Another technique Morley expertly uses is to repeat pattern throughout his picture. The tortoise shown in figure 6 has a huge amount of detail in his skin and texture in his shell. Morley creates this with a careful pattern and dark uncut areas creating shadow. He then pulls this pattern through to the child’s coat and hair to tie the piece together
harmoniously. Another example of repeated pattern is shown in the portrait of Gandhi in figure 7. Gandhi’s signature circular glasses create the basis for a circular pattern throughout his face and clothing. Morley has created illustrations for book and magazine covers and my favourite is this cover for Charles Barr’s Vertigo in figure 8. The illustration has been creatied with many blocks and layering different colours to build up this impressive towering effect. I have found a great deal of inspiration from Nick Morely’s bold illustrations and hope to create a strong brand image for myself just as he has done.
Figure 5: Out of the Box, date unknown, linocut and screenprint, 17x17 cm Figure 7: Gandhi, (2010), linocut for a book cover
Figure 6: Tortoise Boy, date unknown, linocut, 30x30cm Figure 8: Vertigo book cover design, (2012), double block print, Macmillian
page 11
Axel Scheffler by Spencer Green Axel Scheffler is a German born artist, who moved to England thirty years ago to study illustration. Although he had illustrated over a hundred books, Axel is most famous for his collaboration with Julia Donaldson, in particular the Gruffalo. He was commissioned in 2009, to provide new illustrations for a new edition of Old Possum’s Practical Cats. In 2012, he was commissioned by the Royal Mail to design the Christmas stamps. Scheffler repeatedly sketches scenes in pencil, refining them and making some more detailed than others. Through this practise he often spots anatomical mistakes and takes care to correct them with his next version. When he is happy with the composition Scheffler traces the image onto watercolour paper using a lightbox. Outlines are
drawn using a dip pen and black ink. Colour is applied with liquid watercolour, before coloured pencils are used to complete the image. This is very much my preferred style of creating illustrations, although I tend to bring in a digital element too. “(The) Secret of his success, in these and all his books, is the way he invests his cartoon figures – humans, animals and even monsters – with just the right amount of charm. Not so much as to make them sentimental, not so little as to make them forbidding.” The Telegraph. April 2011. Scheffler says that characters who are standing on two legs are able to do more. Characters are developed through a trial and error process in conjunction with the author, the publisher and the story itself.
Axel Scheffler U.K./Germany AxelScheffler.com Bath Accademy of Arts
Figure 1: Scary Gruffalo sketches. (1999).
Figure 2: The Gruffalo new book cover. (2015).
Figure 3: Gruffalo character development. (1999).
Figure 4: The Snail and The Whale artist mini book. (2002).
page 13
Axel Scheffler The choice of paper (weight and texture) may change several times before he settles to a final version. It is this development process that I find interesting. I often show my younger students at school the images I am working on or even develop characters directly with them. Occasionally Scheffler will make a miniature colour version of the book to see how all the images fit together with the text. This would be a great way to develop my own work, especially as I intend to write and produce books myself. Axel Scheffler has been interested in natural history since childhood and this has become a central theme to much of his artwork. I relate to this and I am far more inspired when drawing animals and plants. Of course, his images
are for children, so the content is appropriate. It is interesting to note that in his initial drawings for The Gruffalo Scheffler drew the animals with clothes on, but Julia Donaldson was adamant that this should not happen! Scheffler is a freelance illustrator and has never had an agent, saying that he works for people who are his friends, so that they won’t ever ‘rip him off too drastically!’ He always negotiates a 50:50 split between himself and the author. When asked whether he would write any more books himself he generally says ‘no’, never-the-less he has published several titles under his own name.
Figure 5: Charlie Cook’s Favourite Book. (2004).
Figure 6: Zog and the Flying Doctors Cover. (2016).
Figure 7: Man walking in the wind. Watercolour. (2017).
page 15
bibliography Daniel Krall Benaroya A. (2013) Illustration next. London: Thames & Hudson. INPRNT (2017) Art Prints by Daniel Krall – INPRNT. [Online] Available at - https://www. inprnt.com/gallery/dkrall/ [Accessed: 04/11/17] Krall D. (2017) Daniel Krall. [Online] Available at - www.danielkrall.com [Accessed: 04/11/17] Krall D. (2017) SECRET(ly) AGENT(leman). [Online] Available at - http://danielkrall. tumblr.com [Accessed: 05/11/17] Krall D. (2017) Daniel Krall | Facebook. [Online] Available at - https://www.facebook. com/daniel.krall1 [Accessed: 03/11/17] Krall D. (2017) Daniel Krall (@daniel_krall) | Twitter. [Online] Available at - https:// twitter.com/daniel_krall [Accessed: 03/11/17] Krall D. (2017) [Online] Daniel Krall | LinkedIn. Available at - https://www.linkedin.com/ in/daniel-krall-6b782928/ [Accessed: 04/11/17] Maryland Institute College of Art, Daniel Krall | MICA. [Online] Available at - https:// www.mica.edu/About_MICA/People/Faculty/Faculty_List_by_Last_Name/Daniel_Krall. html [Accessed: 04/11/17] Pearson, A. (2017) Mods T-shirt — Familytree. [Online] Available at - https://www. familytreedesign.net/shop/mods-t-shirt [Accessed: 04/11/17] Petruccelli D. (2013) The Lost Boys & From Dusk Till Dawn. [Online] Available at - https:// pizzapartyprinting.com/blogs/pizza-party-after-dark/10639293-the-lost-boys-from-dusktill-dawn [Accessed: 04/11/17]
Nick morley Caves J, (2015), Artist Interviews: Nick Morely Printmaker, sourced at https://www. jacksonsart.com/blog/2015/03/31/nick-morley-printmaker/ accessed on 5 November 2017 Morely N, (2016), Linocut for Artists and Designers, Marlborough, Crowood Press Morley N, (date unknown), Linocut Boy Website, sourced at http://linocutboy.com/ accessed on 5 November 2017 Morley N, (date unknown), Nick Morley website, sourced at http://www.nickmorley. co.uk/ accessed on 5 November 2017
axel scheffler http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3667483/The-world-of-Axel-Scheffler.html (Accessed 17.10.17) https://www.theguardian.com/books/gallery/2017/sep/07/axel-scheffler-opens-hissketchbooks-gruffalo-in-pictures (Accessed 17.10.17) https://axelscheffler.com (Accessed 17.10.17) http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/how-we-met-julia-donaldsonaxel-scheffler-8444842.html (Accessed 17.10.17)