First Look Book Review: Vader's Little Princess

Here at IR towers it has been a hectic week but we have something of a real treat right now for you with a first look and review of the wonderful Vader's Little Princess by Jeffrey Brown.The delectable people at Abrams and Chronicle sent us over a copy to show you guys as I'm sure everyone here knows and appreciates Jeffrey's work.

So lets get to it then, Vader's Little Princess is "the irresistibly funny follow up to the breakout bestseller Darth Vader and Son" so reads the press release, but hey if my job was to re-hash press releases I'd work in games...

This book is the sequel to one of the most elegantly executed viral breakouts that illustration has seen in the last few years. The extremely talented Jeffrey Brown has redefined what success for an illustrator looks like,  we can all take note, talent sells and you just have to be out there and keep on it. Cracking the mainstream gives you the freedom to do what he wants, which in anyone's book is a good thing. His charming work for Vader and Son was picked up the world over for both it's gentle truthful humour and brilliant subversion of one of the most recognisable pop culture villains of our generation, so in reviewing the sequel I'm mindful of the fact he has really tried to build on the formula with Vader's Little Princess and not just release a cash cow.

The book itself is lovely, crafted with care and slickly presented, Jeffrey Brown's illustration is top end. His work is both charmingly concise allowing the humour and humanity of his characters to shine through but also detailed in a Raymond Briggs sort of way that gives the viewer a real visual feast and classic children's book feel. He really is great at capturing character and expression which is a rare skill to master with simple line work and pared down characters. It's a really clever thing to get so much emotion into Vader, considering the full face helmet, this is the real key to the appeal of the series.

I feel like there is more character development here than the films as we have a beautiful selection of classic first world problems that is painfully familiar. This ease of understanding and universality strikes a chord with the arcade kids now grown up, his style, the icing on the cake.

Deliciously funny and bang on my demographic, what's not to love.

Vader's Little Princess is by Jeffrey Brown
Published by Chronicle Books
Available 4th May (National Star Wars Day!)

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Artist 136: Max Lockwood

Feature time again, so me' hearties it's time for high adventure on the high inky seas with the swashbuckling young rogue that is Max Lockwood. Max has a great current style that captures the best of vintage and classic and moves it forwards with a great theme and coherence in his work. It is always great to see someone with genuine mechanical skill and a commitment to the traditional technique and Max has this in abundance. Max has a good cogent sense of where he is headed and his complex and often intricate stylings give his work a great depth. Max's work has that really nice sense of completeness that is generated through the marriage of good solid composition and polish. This is further added to be a great palette that gels well with his style and gives that authentic vintage flavour that is hard to conjure and even harder to get right. So wishing him the best of luck in all he does in the future, it's Max Lockwood.

Who are you:
I’m Max Lockwood a (fledgling) freelance illustrator, born in 1988 living in UK, Reading. I graduated in 2011.

What do you do:
I am currently working as a freelance illustrator. I’m a bit old-fashioned when it comes to illustration; I am inspired by old elements, nature and animals, especially objects which have plenty of textures and lines, incorporating contemporary mediums. In my spare time I like to create personal pieces and the last few weeks I have been drawn into creating intricate seamless wallpaper’s which I’m hoping to develop further for a chosen client.

How did you start:
I have always been a keen artist from as far back as I can remember and have always enjoyed following different creative processes through my education whether it be in Fine Art, Graphic Design, Print and so forth. I discovered Illustration in 2007 when visiting John Vernon Lords exhibition in Brighton and have been captivated ever since. I decided full-time work wasn’t for me and made the leap to pursue a career and went on to study Illustration at Southampton Solent University where I obtained a BA (Hons) in Illustration. I learnt a lot about myself, the industry and honing in on one specific style that I feel comfortable using. At this current moment in time I’m working on a few personal projects, hoping to create an online store to sell limited edition prints and tees and ultimately seeking exciting commissions that will push my work further.

A Personal statement about you or your work:
I love drawing and am mainly inspired by the old, nature, sea and animals. I try to keep my art quite traditional and line work is very important within my work. Once I've finished drawing and inking out a piece I scan it and combine it with different elements in Photoshop. I feel I have a long way ahead of me, of learning and developing my skills, but right now I am happy with the direction my work is taking.

Links:

Portfolio

Blog

Twitter

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Christmas Rally No.5

By Zoey Hardwick

Submission guidelines for Christmas Rally are here!

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Children's Book Rally with fantastic prize

This rally is now closed for submission.


We are extremely excited to announce our Children's Book Rally in collaboration with boutique children's book agency Frances McKay Illustration. We have a really special opportunity as our prize, courtesy of Frances McKay illustration and Mike Jolly of Templar publishing, a chance to show off your portfolio to a real industry vet! So please read on for our submission guidelines and details of the rally and the wonderful opportunity!


We will be accepting submissions as of today, the first posts in the rally will be posted in September, so plenty of time to get cracking.

Submission Guidelines 

• Only original stories or Classics please, so feel free to showcase your new concepts or old classics. As far as classics go, stick to the familiar for example Little Red Riding Hood
• Please submit two double page spreads, take care to note where the spine of the book would be and avoid crossing it important imagery or text, as this is a requirement of most publishers in the industry.
• Text if short can be included below the illustrations, no more that one or two sentences
• For longer text that you wish to be considered, please include a link to the story or synopsis on your site (please also state what these links are for when you submit them)
• When creating these submissions, you may want to add a 5mm bleed to outside edge of your original (spine not included) as if it gets picked by a publisher you'll need to add one! (it's not a requirement for us though)
• RGB 72dpi jpeg images please
• Please send us the links to your portfolio sites. (blog, facebook, flickr and etc)
• Send us a link to your twitter account if you have one, so I can promote you on twitter effectively.
• Please send your submission to illustrationrally[at]hotmail.co.uk with the title "Children's Book Rally".
• Only entries that are unpublished or not under contract by a publisher are eligible, if you are represented by an agent please include this so we can credit them.
• Note: Frances McKay Illustrators and Illustration Rally may enter but will not be eligible to win.
• Deadline is Monday 10th of October
• The winners will be announced the end of October 

Example Submission

By Donough O'Malley

Read the blog article about this book here, it's helpful!

Prizes!
The winner of the children's book rally will get to meet with Mike Jolly, an Art Director from Templar publishing who will look through your work and portfolio, giving you one on one advice about how to make it in the children's book industry.


In addition both the winner and the runner up will be featured on Frances Mckay's blog along with mentions for other noteworthy entrants. 


Frances McKay's blog is followed by the following publishers:

Hodder Children's Books
Random House Mondadori
Templar Books
Zoe Waring - Senior Designer at Scholastic Children's Books
Will Steele - Designer at Templar
Walker Picture Books
Heinemann Publishing
Penguin Books UK
Workmann Publishing
Andersen Press
Simon & Schuster UK
Usborne Publishing
Atom Books (imprint of Little Brown)
Scholastic UK
Nosy Crow Apps
Sortis Books

So if you don't want to miss this fantastic promotion opportunity to get noticed in the world of children's book illustration please enter, and best of luck!

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Open Submission: Pattern Rally, with Prizes!!

Pattern by Natsuki Otani

Ok you lovely creative types! I know you have all been itching for a new open submission brief to get your teeth into, so in collaboration with Paper Bicycle Creative we have put together a pattern rally with three themes and a sweet prize awarded to one lucky artist for each . There are three themes, three weeks and three chances to win a limited edition screen print and a water bottle of your choice.

Floral: 23rd to 29th May

Your very best floral pattern, one week deadline, 

Food: 30th to 5th June 

Something tasty and fun would fit the bill here, 

Pets: 6th to 12th June

Cute and furry or big and hairy, it's your choice of best friend 

As usual we have some guidelines to follow so that we can get your submission up and qualifying

Submission Guidelines 

• On theme and a pattern, though feel free to interpret the brief as you like.
• Low res, 72 dpi jpeg file please so that we can get them up easily at web quality.
• Don't forget to send us the links to your portfolio sites, (blog, facebook, flickr and etc) if you are sending us your product, send us a link to the pages you are selling your products.
• Send us a link to your twitter account if you have one, so I can promote you on twitter effectively.
• Deadline for each themes is each week's Sunday.
• Please send your work to illustrationrally[at]hotmail.co.uk with the title "Pattern Rally Submission"

Patterns win prizes so get cracking for a chance to win!

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Ganbare Nippon: No. 37

By Maria Papadimitriou

blog

twitter

All the links to the Japan tsunami charities

• Our Japan Tsunami Appeal on JustGiving
• Our Ganbare Nippon charity shop on etsy
• British Red Cross
• American Red Cross
• International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
• 日本赤十字社
• Yahoo基金
• Charity band designed by Lady GaGa

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Ganbare Nippon: No. 7

By Pedro Moura

twitter

The sun will rise again!

By Karla Pérez Manrique

blog

twitter

By Leho De Sosa

blog

twitter

flickr

facebook

saladomedia

By Adrian Zhang Zhiwei

By Yutaka Kuroki

blog

twitter

By Wai Hong























All the links to the Japan tsunami charities 
Our Japan Tsunami Appeal on JustGiving

British Red Cross
American Red Cross
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
日本赤十字社
Yahoo基金
Charity band designed by Lady GaGa

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Here comes Halloween!

Illustration by Natsuki Otani

Hello everyone, this is the first ever news post on this blog!

Before announcing the news, I'd like to thank you all for the support you've given to our blog, we couldn't keep this blog going without you readers, followers and amazing artists. I'm so so proud of how this blog turned out and the wonderful community around Illustration Rally. I really hope that we can keep making you happy with our posts and give the opportunity to share fresh artwork from artists all over the world.

Well, enough of that, here is our news!:)

Halloween event

This will start from the 1st to the 31st October, you can send us any Halloween related artwork eg. Illustration, Photography, Graphic Design, Animation and I will post artwork I get with the links to your website/blog daily! You can share your Halloween related products even, so this is the perfect opportunity to promote your stuff.

There is no restriction for the submissions as long as it's Halloween related, it can be new work or something you've made already, and anyone can join this, pro, amateur, students or your kids!:D

This is to enjoy and share the joy and the terror of Halloween and give artists an opportunity to share their fantastic work with everyone.

Please send your work to illustrationrally [at] hotmail.co.uk with the link to your portfolio site, we are really looking forward to seeing your art!

Thaaaaanks and get cracking,

Illustration Rally x

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Artist 16: David Booth

From the magical mind of David Booth, fantastic and intriguing imagery bursts forth to captivate and enlighten the viewer. Based in the far south on a little island, he brings all his experience and skill to bear while keeping himself sane!

Who Are You:

I'm a 25 year old freelance Illustrator / Designer, currently based on the Isle of Wight.

What do you do:

During the week I'm a mind mannered marketing assistant, and at weekends I keep myself sane by drawing. It’s hard staying sane on this island, so I draw a lot of stuff.

I like to try all sorts of things; I make artists’ books, zines and prints. I draw with ink and pencil in a sketchbook or with pixels on a screen. I like to maintain a balance between traditional and digital, because each medium has its inherent strengths and weaknesses and it’s important to use them for their correct application.

My favourite subject is the human mind. It’s probably the most complex entity in the known universe and it does a lot of weird things I’ll never fully comprehend, but it also provides an infinite amount of inspiration. If you’re ever stuck for ideas, just have a think about that thing you use for thinking.

How did you start:

I guess it was nearly a quarter-century ago that I first picked up a crayon. I vaguely remember a stack of colouring books with meticulously coloured pages. I’ve always been a bit obsessed with neatness; I never strayed beyond that thin black line. These days I try to escape that comfort zone whenever possible.

I progressed to coloured pencils as soon as I was old enough to use one without stabbing myself in the eye, then on to felt tips as I left the colouring books behind. Why colour somebody else’s boring picture when you can draw whatever the heck you like? I drew a lot of dogs and telephones, inexplicably.

From then on the world was my canvas, an A level in fine art taught me how to paint and a degree in Illustration taught me how to research and develop my ideas properly. I taught myself Photoshop, and I’ve been happily doodling ever since!

A Personal statement about you or your work:

To use the most disgusting analogy imaginable, my brain is like a toilet cistern; it needs filling up before it’ll flush. To fill it, I research until I know a lot about my chosen subject, the hissing stops, the water settles and then with any luck I flush out a few pretty pictures.

It’s good to have a methodology that balances research and creativity. It’s great to make sexy illustrations, but it’s even better if you learn something of your subject along the way. Better still, if you help others to understand your subject.

The word illustrator is of Latin origin, and means “one who enlightens”. If I could offer one piece of advice to any budding illustrator, it would be to keep this in mind. If you want to enlighten people, you must first enlighten yourself, and then you must scribble enthusiastically to get your point across!

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Artist 15: Kate Copeland

Kate Copeland is an illustrator/animator who has a magic wand to control black and white to give us magical moments. The beautiful pencil shadows she creates won't stop facinating you even for a second. Music is a massive influence for her and her animation is the perfect platform to experience her illustration and music together, you can check her vimeo account here and enjoy her interview!

Who are you: I'm Kate an illustrator and designer, currently living in London. I recently graduated with first class honors in Illustration from The Arts University College at Bournemouth.

What do you do: I'm currently working as a freelance illustrator and I also curate Beyond The Sea, an arts and music platform. I don't like to limit myself to one practice, as I have a passion for animation and graphic design too.

How did you start: I've been drawing throughout my whole life, but my real passion for illustration and design started at foundation. During my time at university I promoted my work as much as possible and that really started the ball rolling.

A Personal statement about you or your work: I'm interested in manipulating traditional drawing techniques with innovative processes. My recent animation work was based on scientific experiments and action script coding to manipulate the movement and sequence of my pencil drawings. I think you can see my interest in graphic design in my drawings, I'm always aware of the finished product, my lines are very neat and clean.

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Artist 12: Iamanoctopus

Welcome to the wonderful world of Iamanoctopus, and he is! Where to start on this multi-talented illustrator/artist and co-ordinater of beautiful Ballad Of magazine. Delicate and brutal, it's as much art as manifesto, absolutely adorable. Everyone will love Iamanoctopus as much as me! :)

Who are you:
Iamanoctopus – sea ink champion extraordinaire, fineliner heavyweight, master ink distributor, tentacle clad brush stroke maestro (and the list goes on.) - do you know, I think that one day I will actually believe I am an octopus. Hello, I’m Erd Yakingun.

What do you do:
I illustrate, I draw crude images, I draw funny images, I make things with my hand, I co-ordinate putting Ballad Of magazine together, I enjoy creating in many forms. In a nut shell, I create things!

How did you start:
Well, it was such a long road to get here that I don’t know where to start. I’ve had so many shunts off the race course, only to drag myself back on it throughout my lifespan that it’s difficult to pinpoint when I started. I could go as far as saying when I was a small octopus and used to draw all over my granddads day-per-page work diaries. However, having completed my degree literally a couple of months ago, I think this is where I start. There’s a long way to go yet!

A Personal statement about you or your work:
Often, my work aims to be critical, sometimes satirical, but I don’t think it quite portrays that a 100% just yet. It’s more a whimsical stab at things that happen to be passing through my thought process that day. If it’s not ‘stabbing’ at anything, it just aims to provoke a passing thought or smile.

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Artist 11: Lana Hughes

Lana Hughes' portraits are so attractive, she captures the essence of people's character and their characteristics. She combines typography and illustration to make bold eye catching images. The quality and fun shows in everything she does.

Who are you:
Hi there, I am Lana Hughes, I am an Illustrator and typographer, and an all round fan of cats, beards, tea and toast!

What do you do:
I like to draw many things, the work I do typically consists of portraiture, animals and pattern, although I enjoy drawing just about anything really! Much of my work begins with hand drawing, scanning and then editing using Adobe Illustrator. I am very interested in the mixture of hand drawn and digital in Illustration.

How did you start:
The drawing began as a child..which later progressed into a hobby...which later led to a rather sizeable collection of paper and thousands of pens and pencils, then I knew I had to keep going as I was having so much fun! I then went to University gaining a BA (Hons) in Graphic Communication, Image Rich studies meaning I then got to draw all the time! I am now a freelance Illustrator whilst I eat all this toast and tea I speak of.

A Personal statement about you or your work:
I enjoy people watching, deep sea documentaries and patterns in nature, in which I take inspiration from to use in my Illustrations.

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