Drawn

35mm from Pascal Monaco on Vimeo.

Sarah Biermann, Torsten Strer, Felix Meyer, and Pascal Monaco crammed thirty-five of their favourite movies into this slick 2-minute piece of motion graphics. The animation makes this a refreshing change of pace from the countless “minimalist movie poster” designs littering the Internet these days.

Can you name all thirty-five movies?

I’m at ICON in LA, and if you’re in the area you really ought to try and get in to one of the events.

At the book table, I was really excited to find this textbook for drawing by Michael Fleishman. As someone who has taught drawing in the past and may do so again in the future, I have to say there are very few textbooks I would recommend. Instructional books have never been terribly exciting – you best learn to draw by drawing, in my opinion, and the old classics like The Natural Way to Draw and Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain are still good. But kinda boring.

Fleishman’s book is for illustrators, for a start. Secondly, it isn’t one person’s magic-bullet how-to book. It’s more a compendium of advice from dozens of contemporary illustrators, using their words. Third, there are billions of images in all styles – from the high realism of the cover image (by David Bowers) to the best crudest sketch to the most wacked out stuff. Fourth, although it features work and words from some of the current hottest illustrators, it isn’t limited to them. There’s input here from every kind of illustrator, many of them instructors. While the general flavor is “American” looking, it includes artists from all over the world. Finally, this is the ultimate how-to book for people who hate reading, typeset with lots of headings with text broken up in swallowable amounts, that you can open it at random, scan, and get something out of.

Although it offers the most to those who know the least, I also found it interesting to read what people I know are saying about their own work. Perhaps the most fabulous aspect of the book is that it imparts not just great tips and approaches to drawing, but it communicates a way of life. It has things to say about Fulfillment. For people like us who live and breathe the making of images, and want to learn more or initiate someone else into this life, this is the illustrator’s guide to the galaxy.

UPDATE

There was a request for me to post some shots of the page layouts, so with Michael Fleishman’s input I selected the following:

As you can see, there’s a great balance of images and text, and a variety of images. I especially like the headphone girls there by Yuko Shimizu. And each chapter ends with a summary and ideas for exercises.

“TACK’S CARTOON TIPS have been pepared for the purpose of aiding those desirous of entering the field of Comic art. I have used these “Tips” in my personal instruction classes with marked success”

From a Flickr slideshow / scan of B. “Tack” Knight’s 1923 instructional book on cartooning.

Over on his Flickr account, Scott Pilgrim creator Bryan Lee O’Malley shares an interesting look at how the flow of panels his comics has improved from earlier volumes.

Take this page from Book 3:

And compare to one from Book 5:

I stumbled onto Ginette Lapalme’s Flickr account by way of Michael DeForge on Twitter. I love the playful experimental nature of these watercolour sketches.

Even more, I love these painted sticks:

Yes! Brian Taylor has released the last in his series of six letterpress prints, Bumtown Bruiser. The universe of Brian’s Candykiller universe is one born out of 1920′s Fleischer animation, EC horror comics, and everything in-between.

Here’s the full set of prints:

While his Guardian strip is on hiatus, Tom Gauld is doing a weekly comic over on Flickr. Fantastic news!

Watch in awe as David Kassan paints with an iPad.

What started off as a fun drawing challenge between artists Stacy Curtis and Guy Francis has now become a very popular creative blog where other illustrators are now encouraged to take part in the Dueling Banjo Pigs Project.  Artists like Ted Dawson, Dan Thompson, Rick Kirkman, Mike Lester, Mike Lynch, and Paula J. Becker have all contributed delightful piggy illustrations.

So get in on the piggy banjo act and send in your drawing, too! Sqeeeeeee!!

There’s too much news lately about disasters – it’s time to celebrate perseverance and the ability to be fruitful and multiply! These eight (yes: seven plus one!) letterpress prints feature art about gathering, joining together, and swarms! Also: teaming up – each of the prints in the newest set from the Cloudy Collection was designed by an amazing artist duo! Teeming Up! includes art by Aesthetic Apparatus, Always With Honor, Eight Hour Day, Ghostshrimp + Pendleton Ward, The Little Friends of Printmaking, Lab Partners, Sonnenzimmer, and Becky & Frank. .

Eight prints for $35? You’re welcome.