(Cover to first issue of Doomed from IDW Publishing)

My previous Friday Favorites have tended towards a more bright color palette. Today I offer the more dark and earthy work of Ashley Wood. Mr. Wood was born in Australia and today splits time residing between his native land and the United States.

(Alternate cover for Doomed #2 from IDW Publishing)

Despite doing illustration for a number of clients from Microsoft to Sony to Warner Bros., Ashley Woods has made the biggest name for himself in the comics industry here in the United States, particularly with the various books he has worked on from IDW Publishing. Ashley Woods’ unique works began gracing the covers of the comics Spawn and Sam and Twitch from Image Comics and then moved on to other horror driven works like 30 Days of Night for IDW. Not content to work solely on the creations of others Ashley yearned to do his own work, the most notable being his creation Popbot.

Popbot is an interesting, non-traditional, adult comic work. In Popbot Ashley has been free to use his impressionistic style to it fullest. What has resulted is a work that is interesting to look at but takes some imagination and persistence to read.

Ashley describes Popbot as featuring “an eclectic cast of characters starring a talking rock star cat, his robot bodyguard, sexy women, robot-ninja assassins, and more…”. I can attest that it indeed does. It is no great revelation that I love robots, and few warm blooded males don’t like sexy women, but after 3 or 4 issues I personally decided I had to wait until at least all 13 issues were out before I delved any deeper. Ashley Wood has mentioned in interviews that all will make sense once all issues are completed but he also levels some complaints at American comic readers who he feels need to be spoon-fed stories. There may be some truth to that and I respect his opinion. Regardless of the sometimes cryptic nature of his stories, the art in Popbot and other works is terrific.

The kitty in Popbot is based on Ashley Wood’s own cat, Eddy. I really like his take on robots, they have a real fluid movement to them despite being depictions of machines.

The work of Ashley Wood is that of traditional painting techniques occasionally coupled with digital photography and graphics software. I enjoy Ashley’s work for a number of reasons. The subject matter appeals to me on many levels and I absolutely love the darker tones Ashley uses in the bulk of his work. Ashley Wood has a very unique take on the human form. Women, men…even robots and cats, tend to be shapely, elongated, kinetic representations of the real thing. The fact that there is a realism in the midst of his very unrealistic proportioned characters makes his work fascinating.

Ashley Wood has recently joined the blogging community. I enjoy it when artist’s have their own blogs as they often post works in progress, etc. Ashley Wood’s blog is no exception. When an artist paints as well as Ashley does I enjoy seeing their process and especially like finding out what their initial pencil sketches look like.

Ashley Wood’s pencil sketches are great art in their own right. In addition to his painted works he has done more traditional work on comic interiors. Here is an example:

I love that image not only for the interesting colors, but Ashley Wood draws a mean old creepy house. Whatever the odd reason may be, I always appreciate a comic artist who can draw a good old eerie house or castle. Mike Mignola is one of my favorites who does this to perfection.

Recently Ashley Wood’s creation has had the honor of being turned into a collectible statue. I can think of nothing more cool as an artist of graphic novels to have your creation turned into a three dimensional format. They have done a marvelous job with the Popbot statue and I love the packaging as well.

Ashley Wood’s latest venture for IDW is the series Lore.

Lore is the “masterpiece of mythology gone wild, which presents the story of Jennifer Bradley. Thrust into a world where beasts of legend are made flesh, Bradley must unravel the story of her father’s mysterious death before humankind is wiped out forever.” Sounds interesting and I may have to check this one out.

The above image is so interesting because it reminds me of the art in Mirrormask. It is a fascinating piece that makes me very curious about the images inside the box and what it all means.

Despite the fact that the above is a fantastical image of robots on the battlefield that image has a really cold, powerful feel to it. Really makes me think of the current middle east situation.

How could I not include an image of my childhood idols Han and Chewie?

Like all the art I share I realize that it is not for everyone but I love taking the opportunity to share the many and varied things that I’ve stumbled across in my reading, internet searching, etc. that has caught my attention. The works of Ashley Wood fire my imagination with his use of subdued color, his movement, and subject matter which is right up my alley. I hope you enjoyed today’s Friday Favorites but am just as interested in hearing if you didn’t. The point is to stimulate conversation, share some art, and hopefully inspire creativity. Check out more of Ashley Wood’s work at his sites that I linked to in the post as well as at your local comic shop. His printed works are definitely for mature audiences, so don’t be buying them for the kiddies…for the kitties, well, that’s another thing altogether! Happy Weekend Everyone!

(illustration in upcoming Fables original graphic novel)

My awareness of the unique art of James Jean came with issue one of the DC: Vertigo Comics series Fables when it debuted about 4 years ago. Since that time James Jean’s painted works have graced every issue of Fables (47 at the time of this writing) as well as art for Batgirl, Green Arrow and others. His work for DC Comics has garnered two consecutive Eisner awards and a Harvey award.

(cover to issue 12 of Fables)

Quick side note: Fables is the Eisner award winning series created and written by Bill Willingham. It features the many and varied characters from our childhood fairy tales. They have been driven from their homelands by a force known as The Adversary and now live among us, the mundanes, disguised as real people with real jobs, etc. They work to remain undetected while they plot to take back their world. The story is so deep and complex that it is impossible to describe briefly. Suffice it to say that it deserves the many awards it has received and is one of the best comic series produced today.

(cover to Fables number 18…my absolute favorite Fables cover. Very springlike and it just glows. The detail on her hair is stunning)

(cover to Fables 33)

Born in 1979 in Taiwan and raised in New Jersey, James Jean is a fairly young artist who exploded onto the art scene fresh out of the School of Visual Arts in NYC. Soon after graduating in 2001 he landed the Fables job for DC Comics and in a brief time has become quite prolific. In addition to his comic work he has done illustration work for Time Magazine, The New York Times, Rollingstone, Spin, ESPN, Entertainment Weekly, Atlantic Records, Target, Playboy, Knopf, among others.

(Cover to the second Fables trade paperback. James Jean does original artwork for the covers of each Fables trade and it is hard not to buy them in addition to the individual issues just because these collage images are so fantastic.)

(Cover to the Fables trade paperback number 7

James Jean credits the internet for his quick success in finding work. He put together a website with samples of his work and when he dropped off his card a DC Comics they accessed his site, were amazed by his work, and quickly hired him.

(cover to issue 52 of Batgirl)

James Jean’s work starts with his stunning pencils. If you go to his site you can see many of his pictures in their first pencil form and he has such a soft, detailed touch that shows through in the final work. From the pencil stage through painting with acrylics, oils, and Photoshop Jean’s pieces become radiant visions of art.

(Cover for the book, Among the Dolls, by William Sleator)

I find Jean’s work very fresh and exhilarating. I look forward each month to see what he has done for Fables and I recognize his work on other comic books and always pick those up to stare at the gorgeous covers. I hope an art book is in his future because he has so much work out there already.

(Illustration for Men’s Health magazine entitled Fashion)

(Illustration for Men’s Health magazine entitled Jealousy)

James Jean’s art has a radiant quality. His paintings appear almost incandescent, giving the illusion that they are lit from behind. His coloring is always very unique. It is rare that his color palette approaches anything realistic. Instead the colors convey a mood. They are soft and glowing and yet are very powerful and draw the viewer into them. James Jean is an artist whose work I stare at in awe.

(Illustration done for a client who asked him to render an image of pink)

James Jean grew up inspired by comics and at a young age wanted to work in the comics field. His work is just one part of a group of artists and writers who continue to elevate comics above their decades old stereotype. In the near future Jean will have an 8 page story in an original Fables graphic novel. The picture at the top of this post is the first page of his story. I really look forward to seeing more than just a single image, to see how he paces a story and how his artwork translates into panel form.

(Cover to Green Arrow number 46. I love the muted colors and how well they work together)

I hope the future continues to hold much more of James Jean’s work. Like Dave McKean on Sandman I hope James Jean continues to be the cover artist for Fables as long as the book continues as he has lent a unique look and feel to this book from the very beginning. I would also love to see some children’s illustrated books from Jean. They would be fantastic.

(Cover to Green Arrow number 52 featuring one of my favorite DC Comics characters, Zatanna. Another one in which there aren’t many and varied colors and it works wonderfully)

Go to James Jean’s website and check out all of his work. There is a wider variety than I have touched on here, from the innocent to the slightly macabre and his art is well worth perusing and enjoying.

(Illustration for Best Life magazine for an article about one man’s obsession with Star Wars. Click on picture for a larger version)

And just like that another Friday Favorite is born. James Jean’s website has been in my favorites folder for a long time and it is a privilege to share him with you. Have a great, creative weekend everyone.

(Cover to The Duke’s Ballad)

Update: I have changed the post so that if you can click on any of the paintings (all copyright Daniel Dos Santos) and they will open up to larger versions for you to greater appreciate their awesome detail.

You can’t judge a book by its cover. Up until recently I always took that to have the one meaning…just because a book has a bad or uninteresting cover doesn’t mean that there isn’t a wonderful story in there. Sort of the ugly duckling syndrome. However the opposite is also true. Sometimes the cover of a book is so amazing that it outshines the book that it is advertising. Thankfully my experience has been that by and large when I am drawn to a book because of its cover I find that the entrancing image is simply wrapping for an incredible gift of story. Many of the artists who occupy my Favorites file have gotten there because I have discovered them through their book cover illustrations. It is getting to the point that I can often recognize certain artists’ work before I pick up the book for confirmation, which is really gratifying. And there are some artists whom I gravitate towards every time I am in the bookstore, even if I don’t end up buying the book. Daniel Dos Santos is one of those artists.

Continue reading Friday Favorites 6: Daniel Dos Santos →

Songs Under The Apple Tree ©Linda Bergkvist

Today’s Friday Favorite, coming to you a day early so you have more time to enjoy her work, is Linda Bergkvist. Linda is a digital artist of exceptional skill as can be seen in the work featured here and on her website. Her work is so stunning that I find it difficult to describe in words; her pictures truly speak for themselves. Digital art is still a relatively new medium that, at least initially, had critics crying foul, denigrating its artistic value. I simply reply, “Hogwash!” and allow the work of digital illustrators like Linda Bergkvist to show how foolish that belief is.

(Linda and Azrael) ©Linda Bergkvist

Linda Bergkvist was born in and still resides in Umeå, Sweden. When it came time to pursue a profession Linda was initially unsure of her artistic talent so she studied languages with the intent to become a teacher. After doing that for some time she was offered a job at a local computer company and left her language study to enter the graphics world.

The Melody of Your Demise ©Linda Bergkvist

Linda Bergkvist’s artwork has a definite fairy tale element to it. She describes her inspiration thus, “I love the visual element of fairytales. Things that are fantastic and unnatural and not quite real fascinate me to no end. I suppose I am in love with old, cruel tales and the wickedness that comes wrapped up in lovely forms. I suppose, in a way, I still enjoy the very same things that I have all of my life – a mixture of fantasy and horror with a little twinge of romantic idealisation.”

Shades ©Linda Bergkvist

The realism that skilled digital artists attain in their work is amazing. Even more astounding is the level of photo realism acheived in rendering people.

Porcelain ©Linda Bergkvist

Porcelain is a perfect example. It looks like a painting and yet it looks so real. One of the things I love about Linda’s work is that she uses darker tones and much of her more bright work involves autumnal colors like those shown in the first picture and the following.

Autumn Whisperlings ©Linda Bergkvist

Linda Bergkvist is currently working on a book among other projects and her work has been featured in several other digital art books from Ballistic Publishing. Ballistic is soon to release a poster book under their Ballistic Masters series on the work of Linda Bergkvist.

I want to encourage you to visit Linda Bergkvist’s site Furiae. It features much of her work with various explanations, inspirations, etc. on each piece. Linda Bergkvist is very generous with the use of her art for things like I have used here and she has very specific requests concerning this, one being that a person use no more than 5 works. I have chosen the 5 that impressed me the most upon first viewing her work though there are many other types of work in her portfolio. There are horror related pieces, more fantasy and fairy tale works, and a section on “quick” works that she has done. One of these ‘quick studies’ is a really beautiful self-portrait. I have to laugh at the idea of them being called ‘quick’ simply because they are so incredible. Her site also contains wallpapers and digital art tutorials. Another site to showcasing her work is here.

Linda Bergkvist is a great talent and I hope you enjoy checking out more of her wondrous, enthralling work.

(I apologize if the large images cause slow loading times. The work deserves to be shown big and I didn’t want to minimize it any more than I had to in order to fit in on the site.)

Today’s Friday Favorites features the comic and illustration work of Chris Bishop. If you have young children then you are probably intimately familiar with this guy:

Chris is Associate Creative Director at PBS KIDS Interactive and has designed their website among others. In addition to website design Chris Bishop does illustration work, paintings, and has an online comic strip.

Chris Bishop’s painting is really fun. Bold colors combined with subject matter that appeals to any nerds’ heart: Pretty Girls and Robots. Some great examples from this collection are:

I really like the retro feel of his painting and illustration work. The clean lines, simple designs, and use of bold colors make for some great pieces.

Chris Bishop’s webcomic is called Her! [Girl vs. Pig] It is funny and often, but not always, violent in a twisted, ill sort of way. The violence is something akin to Coyote and the Road Runner with a modern bent. The less violent strips are also hilarious, I found myself cracking up last night as I went back and read several of his strips. These are some that stuck out to me:

and

and

and

Chris has also had some of his work transfered into these really cool buttons:

that can be purchased at Super Buttons. Think I may have to indulge!

Chris Bishop is a fun and funny guy whose work, from his paintings to the adventures of young lady and a pig, makes me happy. I hope you check out Chris Bishop’s other stuff at his site.

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Using the last cartoon as a segue I leave you one more humorous thing to start your weekend off right. If you are thinking of seeing any potential Oscar winning movies this weekend you might want to reconsider and watch this classic instead:

Click Here!

Courtesy of Wayne and his site. Thanks Wayne! Men and women both I encourage you to read this post of Wayne’s, its quite the eye opener.

Happy Friday everyone!!! As Red Green would say, “Keep your stick on the ice”!