Illustrations Now! (Illustration Now) [Paperback]

Julius Wiedemann (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Illustration Now | Publication Date: June 1, 2006

Drawing power: the world's hottest illustrators A to Z From magazines and newspapers to ads, websites, album covers, and even mobile phone wallpaper, illustration is a crucial element in visual communication today. With unlimited creative possibilities, illustration is as unbound as imagination itself; whether it's a simple pencil drawing, an ornate airbrushed painting, or a computer-generated image, an illustration speaks the international language of ideas. This comprehensive guide showcases 150 of today's best commercial and editorial illustrators from over 50 countries; each entry highlights examples of recent work and includes the artist's contact information, favorite media, awards, clients, and work philosophy. Look no further for what works and who's who in the world of illustration: it's all here.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Illustration Now! may be aimed at people who commission illustrations, but it is also a treat for anyone who simply likes graphic art. Sink into your favourite armchair and let your mind wander across continents." - Illustration Magazine, London" --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Julius Wiedemann was born and raised in Brazil. After studying graphic design and marketing, he moved to Japan, where he worked in Tokyo as art editor for digital and design magazines. Since joining TASCHEN in Cologne, he has been building up TASCHEN's digital and media collection with titles such as Digital Beauties, 1000 Game Heroes, Animation Nowl, and TASCHEN's 1000 Favorite Websites.

Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Taschen (June 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3822840335
• ISBN-13: 978-3822840337
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 8 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,417,891 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Impossibly pretty, but not a strong selection, February 22, 2006

By 

Istvan (Budapest, Hungary) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Illustrations Now! (Illustration Now) (Paperback)

I just couldn't leave this in the shop. It's so beautifully produced that all my objections went for nothing. The Gary Baseman cover alone would have done it.
But if we were to go by the book's content, we would find that 80 percent of today's most remarkable in illustration consists of unimaginative, clipart-like vector graphics and over-airbrushed Photoshop clumsiness. Too much of this stuff fits the term 'visual demagogy'.
By the amount of shallow commerciality presented (which very often borders on dilettantish) the book gives an objective account on the general state of things, to be sure. But why be concerned with the artistically irrelevant, when there are so many great talents out there? Greg Clarke, Gary Taxali, Mark Ulriksen, Dan Page, Joe Morse, James Jean, Brad Holland, John Hendrix, Olaf Hajek, Douglas Fraser, Vanessa Dell, Brian Cronin, Daniel Chang and the already mentioned Gary Baseman are among them. Their painfully few pages save an otherwise unsubstantial book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wicked Cool, June 10, 2006

By 

Starry Eyes (Los Angeles CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Illustrations Now! (Illustration Now) (Paperback)

I love this book. I bought it as an impusle buy but I can't stop flipping through it. Lots of inspiring artwork. My only complaint is that the artist's blurbs were for the most part unsatisfying. They sounded like something the artists release en masse to their publicists. I would have liked to hear more about how they work and their techniques. But I guess they can't give away all their secrets. I like this book just for the sheer fact that there are not many books out there of up and coming pop artists. This is definately a good start and inspiring for a budding artist like myself.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Obviously Subjective, June 6, 2008

By 

C. J. Andersen (salt lake city, ut) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Illustrations Now! (Illustration Now) (Paperback)

I'm glad I didn't pay full price for this book.

I like that there is only a small 'blurb' from each artist on their header page; the publisher (and I LOVE taschen books) left the majority of space on each page for the artwork.
I didn't buy this book to read; I bought it to flip through and absorb the imagery.
A bonus is that more information on each artist is listed alphabetically in the back if you want it.

I love that there are a whopping 150 artists in this book, and about half are really quite good.
The book includes some of my favorites: Tomer Hanuka, James Jean, Simone Legno, Tara McPherson, and Yuko Shimizu. Finding those artists in this book was a very pleasant surprise (I had no idea who exactly was included in this book).
A lot of the book, however, is mostly crap.

I suppose this is why art is considered subjective.

I also can appreciate that the book covers a huge range of style and media and includes artists from around the world, but like I said before, I'm glad I didn't pay full price.