Halloween Magic

Society of Illustrators 46th Annual of American Illustration, 2005, p327
Book Illustration, Illustrator: Greg Couch

Tonight is the night when pumpkins stare. And all cats are black and a flying leaf looks more like a bat.

The illustrator's goal was to depict "Halloween as a magical night...filled with danger and delight...and there is always a full moon."
I like the eerieness the illustrator creates with the dark colors, shadowy figures, and the faces that seem to be peering out from everywhere. The moon, the bat, the Jack-O-Lanterns, the houses, and even the tree appear to have faces looking at the children. The trees around the houses hint at reaching hands and hair. The floating leaves create eyes and a nose on the enormous, glowing moon while an exaggerated-sized bat creates a gaping grin. The size of the bat hints at how large the children would perceive the bat to be.
This image brings back memories of a racing heart as a child when I would trick-or-treat with my friend and the wind would make things rustle and the light from street lamps would cast long shadows and the doors to strangers' houses appeared menancing. A time before parents stayed with their children and you only went to homes of people you knew. It was a time of full-sized candy bars, apples, and Mrs. Warren's large homemade popcorn balls. Ahh....the memories.

Portland International Film Festival

Society of Illustrators 52nd Annual of American Illustration, 2010, p192
Illustrator: The Heads of State

The first two things I noticed about this design were I couldn't read what the filament was spelling and the color choices seemed odd. Light bulbs are warm objects and this design has a cool undertone with its choice of colors. So I ask myself why isn't this bulb yellow and what does it spell? This forced me to look further to read the small print and see the threads of the bulb are created from a film strip. Aha! (The light bulb goes on in my head!) And, now, I think "clever."
I like how the illustrator grabs your attention with the filament and pulls you down to the print for details. The way in which the film strip leads off the paper and how the type follows it adds extra visual interest by creating a little tension.

Snow Cat

Society of Illustrators 49th Annual of American Illustration, 2007, p279
Illustrator: Richard Goldberg

The assignment was a secular "winter holiday" greeting card. The image is from the illustrator's memory of his black cat Satan who would chase snowflakes in the lights at night. (I thought the cat's name ironic, especially since I consider every "holiday card" is actually a Christmas card in disguise.)
I like the playful, artsy nature of the card and how the snowflake the cat captured is the one perfect flake in the illustration. It appears the cat is admiring his find. The way the cat reaches for it, the direction of the cat's eyes, and the undefined white dots in the background lead the viewer's focus to the one distinct snowflake. That one flake is the clue to this being winter, and the playfulness of the cat reminds us that winter can be fun.
And what about the C shapes in the design—the shape of the cat's body and the resulting negative shape? Is this the illustrator's underlying effort to imply C is for Christmas? Hmm...
Actually, my very favorite part of the illustration is the artist's initials. I love his letters, especially the "g". It reminds me of an upside-down exclamation mark and feels like the last period on the last page of a long book — There!

Frantic

Society of Illustrators 49th Annual of American Illustration, 2007, p155
Illustrator: Thomas Fuchs

This is a portrait of Nathan Lane used for a theater poster to promote his play Butley, in which the main character is slowly falling apart. I think the illustrator brilliantly conveys this idea. The artwork represents so many aspects of mental instability —literally falling apart, being torn in different directions, losing one's identity, not knowing where to turn, and seeing the world in black and white. The literal representation of black and white creates an onimous, dark atmosphere and adds dramatic flare. My favorite aspect of the image is the disharmonious rhythm resulting from the fragmentation, which causes my focus to bounce back and forth between the subjects's eyes.