A-HAA: The Magic of Drawing 2

This excellent entry in the ASIFA Hollywood Animation Archive blog goes into the how 'magical' doing a drawing can be to an unaware audience. He uses an example of a live painter, as well as this entertaining segment from Penn and Tiller, to make their case, whilst showcasing some stunningly simplistic illustrations from Olaf Gulbransson. It's worth a look.

Felix Lorioux

Felix Lorioux was a popular French illustrator during the early 20th Century. His work has been uploaded on the ASIFA- Hollywood Animation Archive http://www.animationarchive.org/ but some of my favourite pieces of work from him can be found on this post http://www.animationarchive.org/2007/12/illustration-felix-loriouxs-fables-de.html

What I foud about his work that I like about it is the simplicity of the shapes used for the composition. The above image mainly used curves and circles for its composition, but is also to add in a lot of detail as well around the basic shapes, for example the wishing line that hangs between the chimney and a pole is subtle enough detail to make the pumpkin house real homely.

The simple composition skills also applies to the design of the characters. That is why I found this illustration of a fox and a stork such an appealing picture to look at.

Overall, I find his work a real inspiration for my own illustrations, as they maybe simply composed on the page, but the use of subtle detail in them makes them appealing.