February 1, 2010
Illustration
Meet illustrator Nigel Buchanan
What first drew me to Nigel Buchanan's illustrations was how adeptly he tells a story. They are, at once, striking, unusual, and technically interesting.
But he really got me wondering about the tools he uses to create his illustrations--it looks like he uses an old-fashioned mechanical airbrush but they also have a distinctive digital quality about them. So I asked.
He tells me he primarily uses Adobe Photoshop--at times creating images with as many as 100 layers. If the illustration includes elements such as typography or mechanical-looking items he might also incorporate Adobe Illustrator. "I used an (mechanical) airbrush years ago," Buchanan says, "and the computer technique I use now employs the same principles; paths as masks and a pressure sensitive stylus."
But here's the takeaway for young illustrators: his emphasis is on creating a clear concept and a beautiful drawing to work from. "It is too easy to rely on computer programs (and filters or trace tools) to make an illustration look acceptable. What many illustrators forget is that it's the strength of the image and the idea behind it that makes an illustration successful."
Well said.
An interview with the artist...
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Slick, the work -- but delicate, the sensibilities. I'm not the perfected artist to the layered notion of airbrushed splendor. But, to your comment, the real sense of transparency in the imagery is the idea of the story -- and that's surely what I'm looking for. What's the story, who's telling it, what does it look like? Finally, who cares?
What is the story? And -- how is it loved?
That story, beauty full in the telling, is where it's at. Story, told: http://www.girvin.com/blog/?cat=8
Posted by: Tim Girvin | February 4, 2010 12:03 AM