Cartoons

We all share memories

I remember the first time I watched Alice in Wonderland, illustrated by Jessie Wilcox Smith (which I did not know at the time of course). Later I watched the Wizard of Oz with Judy Garland in the lead. And I remember me thinking why Alice came as a cartoon and the Wizard as a motion picture. Now, many years later I am starting to get a clue. Of course we are talking cash for a great part, but now we see that illustrations have the ability to, not only explain better, but can also give much more depth to the story. A limitation Hollywood has been struggling with for decades. Until Pixar came along obviously.

An Illustrator is an artist who specializes in providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the media. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicated concepts or objects that are difficult to describe textually, which is the reason illustrations are often found in children's books. And here we also find the sheer strength of illustrations for young children. They simply pull you right into the story. And happened to me while watching Alice, I could understand what was going on because of the grafic clarification.

These days illustrators have broaden their horizons and can be found in any form of media. Although computerized programs enhance the quality of their designs, we must not forget that the design came out of nowhere. Now, there are thousands and thousands of good illustrators in the world, but let me boil it down for you a bit. And to get the message out more clearly and with more enthustiasm without going overboard here, we have selected some Musthaves that not only look good on your shelf! A Life in Illustration tells us what it is really like to lead your life as an illustrator. Characters like Ken Barber, Christoph Niemann and Kustaa Saksi tell their stories and show what and how they do their thing. A motivation is all you need in the world, and you might find it in here!

Another work is Visual Storytelling. Not so much the illustrator is discussed here but how you can tell a story, sell a product or just expand the creative scope of existing visual storytelling techniques. And please do not forget Lorenzo Petrantoni to get a shot of inspiration and ambition.

And maybe , if you are good enough, your work might end up on Ekstur someday.

Good luck!