This is the latest in a series of new personal, self-assigned projects based on subjects that I’ve always wanted to Illustrate.  The Old Man and the Sea is by far my favorite book, ever since it was given to me years ago by artist Jeff Dikio. I remember it being very difficult for him to part with the book, and after falling in love with it I realized why and felt honored to receive a gift that keeps giving.

As I mentioned, I’ve always wanted to Illustrate a cover for the book, so decided to take a crack at exploring some of the emotional themes that resonate with me when I read it.

]]> http://thomasjamesillustration.com/2010/07/31/new-work-the-old-man-and-the-sea/feed/ 2 Thomas James The Old Man and the Sea http://thomasjamesillustration.com/2010/07/27/portrait-study-sawyer-from-lost/ http://thomasjamesillustration.com/2010/07/27/portrait-study-sawyer-from-lost/#comments Wed, 28 Jul 2010 04:17:44 +0000 Thomas James http://thomasjamesillustration.com/?p=653 ]]>

While I’m aware that the television show LOST is so over and done with, I was looking for a character with an expressive personality for a quick portrait study. Although I couldn’t stand Sawyer at first, he quickly grew on me for his Han Solo-esque qualities and his biting one-liners, not to mention his Clint Eastwood roughness. So, I thought I’d try to capture what it was about his character that I love so much.  Hope you enjoy this little experiment.

Incredibly inspired by last week’s ICON6 Illustration Conference, I’ve been pumping out some new work, including this latest ink and digital Illustration.  This piece is part of a new series of self-assigned projects in an effort to hone my editorial voice.

Just completed a new Illustration for articles on Escape from Illustration Island and Print magazine’s blog post on the question of whether or not Illustrators should consider animating their work.  At last week’s ICON6 Illustration conference, this was quite the heated topic after it was raised in the opening keynote address, The Future of Publishing.

In collaboration with the board at ICON6, I’ll be publishing a series of video posts throughout the week at Escape from Illustration Island here.

Today I whipped up this tribute Illustration of comic book legend Harvey Pekar, who died today at age 70.

You can also see this piece in my related post at Escape from Illustration Island.

Pencil sketch on paper with baby on lap, digital color.

I recently completed a new Illustration for Escape from Illustration Island, my website for freelance Illustrators.  This piece is based on a new article called Art Directors – Are They Human? The post addresses the misconceptions Illustrators have about Art Directors, and how this mindset affects their businesses.

After a few Illustrations for the Resource Guide for Illustrators that leaned more towards realism, it was a refreshing break to create something more experimental and conceptual again.  This is also a return to creating original work for EFII, to complement the work of others in the community that I’ve been featuring on the site.

I just couldn’t wait to share this new Illustration that I just completed for the cover of Escape From Illustration Island‘s Resource Guide for Illustrators, a free 12-page booklet that I’ll be handing out at this year’s ICON6 Illustration conference.

You may recognize the familiar face of the Escapee from EFII’s header and logo images. He’s been redesigned to better represent the strength of the Illustration community, and the ways that EFII has grown as a resource for Illustrators.

Also, I have to admit that this piece is very much inspired by LOST, as is the theme music for the Escape From Illustration Island Podcast.

Since the start of EFII, I have avoided using any “island-themed” imagery because I wanted to let the metaphor of “Illustration Island” speak for itself, but now that EFII’s purpose has been more firmly established, I felt more comfortable having a little fun with the visual cues of the island, while exploring a little of the mysterious back-story of the Escapee.

Stay tuned for more details on EFII’s involvement in this years ICON6 Illustration Conference, as well as the Resource Guide for Illustrators.

I recently had the honor of answering some really insightful questions for an interview by Jonathan Woodward of the Illustration blog, Zero2Illo.  We discussed  the new direction of my Illustration work, as well as Escape From Illustration Island, my website and audio podcast devoted to sharing resources and inspiration with my fellow artists.

Thanks to Jonathan for asking such great questions.  You can read the interview here.

© Thomas James Illustration 2010

Introducing my latest Illustration, “Bearpunch”, which is a further exploration of concept as a major driving force.  To me, there is a lot communicated in this image beyond just the surface interest.  I wonder what you see in this piece.

Pencil and Digital
© Thomas James Illustration