Vector artist Jo Holdaway has created the above piece, ‘Air Dry Cool’ for the wonderful people at Mozzo, a Southampton based coffee company who love to promote artists through their ‘Art on the Brand’ initiative. This original piece will be printed onto 25,000 bags of their 100% organic, fairtrade coffee, 1,000 coffee boxes and 20,000 postcards as well as loyalty cards and posters. It will also be available to download as a screensaver.

And this image is a proposed piece for Smart car. 99 top illustrators have created a double page spread in this promotional art book for ‘ The Little Car with the Big Heart ‘ . It certainly gets the thumbs up from us!

We sat down for a chat with one of Europe’s finest children’s illustrators (and the agencies latest addition) – the effervescent Miss Gordana Ivkovic.

1. How long have you been a professional illustrator and when did you first realise that that was you wanted to be?

A long long time ago, in a galaxy far far away… no, wait, that*s somebody else*s story, mine goes something like this:

I guess it all started with the obligatory drawing on the walls of my living room as a kid, but since my mother surprisingly didn*t mind it and actually encouraged it, I stopped very soon. It*s just not challenging enough to draw on the wall when you get the permission . So, I had to turn to drawing on a paper.
Now that I think of it, it seems that I*ve been always drawing and painting, but never thinking about it as a potential profession, actually never really thinking about it all. I just needed to draw from time to time, to tell in a drawing something that I didn*t know how to put into words. Almost every homework that I did, no matter if it was to write a story or to do a math assignment, it had to have a little drawing somewhere aside. It seems that it wasn*t me at the very beginning who realized illustration was something that I wanted to do, somebody else did it for me. Six years ago that certain somebody saw my old drawings, and found them interesting. It just happend that he needed an illustrator, so he asked me if i would try it… I said YES without thinking or rethinking. Since I graduated primarly from the University of Dental Medicine in Zagreb, Croatia, and afterwards continued to work in that field, it was a big surprise, to everyone knowing me, when I soon quit that way of life (suddenly and easily) and dedicated the rest of my life to that something that people call Art . I had no prior experience in illustrating whatsoever, and there I was in the middle of a big project all of a sudden. I stumbled a little upon a choice of the technique and a definition of my handwriting, but it grew and developed on its own very quickly, it is actually still defining and redefining itself without me making an active decision. So… I started six years ago, and haven*t stopped since.

2. Are you self-taught or did you go to college/university to study?
I began as self-taught, continued to self-teach for a while, but then I felt a need to see if I*ve been missing on something. So I entered the School of Fine Arts Agora in Zagreb, Croatia, and graduated in 2008. It helped me to reveal some of the techniques that I didn*t know about, or maybe it helped me to let myself be more free… it*s when I became more aware of the so-called rules that I started to break them more actively… After graduating, the self-teaching continued, hopefully it will never stop. It*s that joy of nonexpected and surprises, and even mistakes, that come along and make you even more eager to proceed.

3. What was your first commission and for whom?
It was a series of the school books for the primary school (from the 1st to 4th grade) for the croatian publisher Profil International from Zagreb.

4. Do you work traditionally, on the computer or a combination of both?
I*ve been working purely in a traditional way for a long time, in gouache and acrylics with an interruption of a good old ordinary pencil from time to time, or with gluing some small random object from my surroundings just to get a little 3D effect. I have a need for thicker layers of paint, that make the surface more alive and vibrant, producing a paralel and supporting story to the subject of an illustration. Not so long ago, I started to add a small digital touch here and there. Now, sometimes, I do my work completely in Photoshop and Illustrator. Actually, it seems that I*ve had some kind of a prejudice towards the digital illustration, thinking that it just wouldn*t be the same joy without getting dirty and messy with the paint and brush. But… a new playground was discovered, and now I*m looking forward to all those little tricks that digital world offers. Although, when I do digital, I still try to mess up it*s pureness of color and stroke, lately especially with the scans or photographs of some materials or textures that I find in my home, somebody else*s home, on the streets, even in the junk. Anywhere.

5. Do you prefer to work on your own or in the company of others?
The first commission was actually a collaboration with a couple of more illustrators, since the project was too demanding for just one of us (and the deadline very short). It went pretty well, but I think I would consider myself more as a loner than a companion. Although, for some time now, another kind of collaboration is happening to me, with a very good friend of mine, a croatian children*s book writer Ivana Franciskovic. We recognized each other as similar “make-uppers and imaginationers”. Sometimes it seems to me that she writes exactly the way i draw, and vice versa. The collaboration comes very natural to us, everything happens spontaneously, but followed with a serious (playful) work atmosphere. Two of her books that I illustrated have been published during the past year. The last one is called “A Few Mellow Lies”, a novel with a made up town and made up people, who are very similar to us. They watch the meaningless television shows just like us, play the silly video games just like us, eat a lot of pizza just like us, they also sometimes lie (mellow lies) just like us. But there is a little difference between us and them: they learn much faster that those little lies could make a super gigantic humongous mess, so they never repeat the same mistake twice, never repeat, never repeat, never repeat…. It*s a story about a girl called Keka and a bucket of lies around her. Ivana has a simple, a little upside down way of telling a story, with the funny and sudden turns, avoiding to be literal or advisory. We both tend to create stories that leave enough room for a reader and observer to add their own little truths, lies, conclusions to it. Currently, I*m illustrating her new story for a children*s book called “Mr. Goodfreak”, that*s planned to be published in the fall. It*s a kind of a follow-up to the novel. The story introduces us to a legend about mr. Goodfreak that the town made up, a legend about a freaky mr. Goodfreak who lives in the tree holes, eats leaves, talks to the animals, but a little boy Mirko reveals the town*s mistery by meeting mr. (not so freaky) Goodfreak. The books are planned to be translated in english in the nearest future.

6. You obviously love what you do. How long does it take to produce one of your busy scenes form concept sketch to final artwork?
It depends, of course, on a project. If the deadline is short, I press the pause button on everyday*s life and it*s all about drawing then. Sometimes (especially if I work digitally) it could take me literally couple of minutes to realize the itching idea, but other times if there is no strict deadline it could take me days for one illustration (combined with loooong walks, researching, observing…)

7. If you hadn’t been an illustrator, what other career might you have chosen?
I*ve tried the Other, but then I discoverd the This, and the This is where I*m planning to stay .
(except… maybe owning a small bakery somewhere in idontknow Paris maybe downtown, with the bell on a door that makes a funny sound when the door is being opened… where people come more for a chat than a bun with raisins.)

8. What would be the ‘perfect’ commission for you?
A children-ish story, a little bizzare, also warm and funny but not banal… and if it would be for a good cause, helping somebody somewhere… that would be a perfection!

9. Do you prefer clients to give you a detailed brief or a ‘blank’ sheet?
Both. I guess it depends on a project also, on a purpose of the project… I like to be given the complete freedom in creating my own ideas, of course. But making the client (or the author) happy with the results is a bonus.

10. What are your interests outside illustration?
My biggest and first love was literature, books, reading, words… it still is. Besides, I love the smell of a book , especially the old very old yellow ones. It seems the certain books have always inspired me more to paint than other painter*s paintings. For a while I*ve been trying to write myself, but it appeared that it just wasn*t the right media for me. It seems that drawing gives me more freedom to leave the thought undefined, more relative (plus to leave it more naive and even clumsy when drawing for children).
The second biggest inspiration are travellings, without travelling agencies, without a plan or a guide, but with the conversations to the random somebody*s grandpa on the way.
Then the nature itself (hey, you are talking to a serious not-knowing-a-lot part-time gardener over here!).
Horseback riding has been my passion for a long time.
I love the animals, the simpleness they remind me of. I have two dogs on my own, very doggy dogs and very much non-pedigree dogs… (or they are having me, I*m not sure).
And so on and so on…

11. Are there any other illustrators you admire and why?
Of course, there are some illustrators that I really admire, with a completely different illustrating approach to mine (and among themselves). Sometimes it*s just humor that attracts me, sometimes the technique, the idea, sometimes the subject, the emotion, the atmosphere or those little things left to be assumed…

12. The Desert Island Discs question! You’re stuck on a desert island. There’s a plentiful supply of food and water, but what other three items couldn’t you live without? (no husbands, boyfriends or pets included I’m afraid)
So, if you say I would have a regular supply of water and food (hope the gummy bears are included), and if it would be a sandy island (so I could draw in the sand)… my biggest couldn*t-live-without needs are satisfied. But can I please get stuck on a desert island after I finish illustrating mr. Goodfreak… .

'I say, anyone for a Gasper?'

German Glass producers Ritzenhoff have selected another of Nick Diggory’s designs to go into production. Nick has been designing glassware for Ritzenhoff for several years now and his illustrations adorn Beer glasses, Milk glasses, Coffee cups and even Piggy Banks, all over the world. The above design is for an Ashtray.

‘I realise smoking is a contentious issue, but my own view is very much ‘each to his own’. I wanted to get away from stereotypes and concentrate on the so called ‘golden’ days of smoking where gentlemen retired to the snug for a relaxing ‘Gasper’ and a cocktail. Very ‘Bertie Wooster’ don’t you think? ‘

The selection process for designs is very strict. A limited number of Illustrators and designers are ‘invited’ to submit just 3 designs. These then go before a selection committee who immediately disregard any that don’t meet the guidelines. The two illustrations above met all the criteria, but didn’t make the grade. A maximum of 6 colours is allowed including black and white. Just a handful of all those submissions actually see their way into production, which makes the fact that Nick has so many of his designs in production all the more remarkable.

Chin, chin old chap!

Heather Allen began her career as an illustrator in 2003, working mainly in watercolour and getting her first break with Meadowside Children’s Books. She also trained as a book designer, working for Harper Collins and a smaller design company dealing directly with Macmillan Education and Oxford University Press.

Working as a designer made her far more computer literate, and she soon started to use Adobe Photoshop to create ‘collage’ type artworks. Recently she designed and illustrated her third cover for Sarah May, ‘The Rise and Fall of the Wondergirls’ (HarperCollins Publishers).

“I like to scan in textures and manipulate them in Photoshop to create a handcrafted feel, so they don’t look ‘too perfect’.”

Continuing in the ‘collage’ theme, Heather has recently created some new children’s picture book artworks to add to her portfolio.

“I scan in my pen drawings and watercolour washes, building up the textures in Photoshop until I achieve the desired effect.”

The new artworks are already generating quite a bit of interest in the publishing world!

For some of us that have been around the clock a couple of times, it’s a familiar story. Recession means cutbacks, cutbacks mean less work, less work means less money. But it also means plenty of time on your hands to do all those things you’ve been meaning to do for ages, but were far too busy trying to earn a living to get them done.

So what does UK illustrator Steve Linnell do when he has some time on his hands? Learn a new 3D software package of course! For those of you contemplating reaching for the ‘Off’ button at this point (myself included) Steve’s sanity has never been in question and this is not your typical mind-numbingly dull 3D program. Called Z-Brush, it’s actually pretty easy to pick up the basics and quite good fun, especially if you like playing with clay but not getting your hands dirty.

Here are a few of Steve’s first models.

The ‘Smoking Alien’ and ‘Monkey’ have both been worked up in Photoshop afterwards. The rest are just the raw models. The good thing about this program is that there’s plenty of help out there, especially on the Pixologic website, so you can share any problems you might encounter with other like minded individuals. Unfortunately, I’m unable to vouch for their sanity but Steve has obviously got a grip on things.

Marc Lynch has just exhibited some new works in a group exhibition of illustrators at the Fraser Studios in Sydney.
The inaugural ‘IA A3 Show’ featured wonderful A3 sized giclee prints on water colour paper, presented by Illustrators Australia.

Marc took the opportunity to showcase some of his new contemporary character designs which have been created in a colourful, stylised 3-d realm.
His pieces included ‘Pet Cemetery’ & ‘The Uninvited’. Not surprisingly, the exhibition has been a great success.

1. The Secret Postcard project is modelled after the well-known Royal College of Art’s successful RCA Secret Postcard sale in London.
Postcard sized original artworks created by art students and young artists, as well as well-known artists, are displayed, anonymously,
and offered for sale at the fair. The artworks are sold on a first-come-first-served basis for 180 NIS (about $50) each. Only after the
artworks are paid for, can the buyers flip them over to discover whether they have purchased a work of art by a well-known artist or
the work of a potential future star.

http://www.freshpaint.co.il/EN/content_page_13.html

3. Corporate identity (logo, business card, stationary, signage, etc.)

for The London Art Therapy Centre.

The London Art Therapy Centre provides art therapy services to the

public and private sectors in a bespoke art therapy studio environment.

Gilad Soffer has been working his magic again and recently illustrated ‘Racheli’s Secret Friend’, a new picture book by David Grossman. Grossman is one of Israel’s most prominent writers and the book has already become a best-seller in that country.

The story follows a little girl, Racheli, and her imaginary friend that nobody else can see.

Gilad is widely recognised as one of Israel’s best childrens illustrators.

It’s not difficult to see why and his popularity is spreading fast.

Parenting Publications of America Awards
Gold: Interior Magazine Illustration

client: Child, Copeland Publications, Sydney.
title: Do Special Needs Children Require Special Schools?

Australian illustrator Gregory Baldwin was recently asked to create four illustrations for two articles on the complexities of finding the right school for a child with a disability. One article was from a viewpoint of a parent and the other from a principal.

After reading the article and producing a series of roughs for the client, the four images were chosen. The first picks up on the theme of finding the school with the right fit for a child with a disability. As the narrator and her son actually measure the school, Gregory inserted a Butterfly. A Butterfly is a metaphor for transformation. Here the transformation is in the possibilities that the right education can achieve for the child. Gregory feels it creates an emotional bond or link between the mother and child.

The next image was to illustrate the break out .

“Parents need to feel included too. Parents of kids with disabilities find they are not welcomed by all at their local school.”

A Butterfly here distracts the child from the worries of the mother, who feels she is not included in the school community.

The third image reflects the principal’s view of how the right school can turn around and improve the possibilities that a child with disabilities has. Here Gregory uses the Butterfly motif to show the transformation metaphor by giving the children butterfly wings.

The final image accompanies a break-out quote that encourages parents to look beyond their local school to find the right one that welcomes a child with particular special needs.

Like it or not, Vector Art is here to stay and it’s in demand!

We happen to love it and nobody does it better than Jo Holdaway.

This wonderful piece, like many of Jo’s artworks is available as either a canvas or a framed art print.

60 x 40 cms.

Contact the agency by email or phone for details.