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kottke.org posts about illustration

Lovely floorplan illustration by Scott Teplin.

Lovely floorplan illustration by Scott Teplin.


The DrawerGeeks are a collection of artists

The DrawerGeeks are a collection of artists and illustrators that all draw a fictional character every couple of weeks. The Harry Potter page is a good introduction to the work. (via snarkmarket)


Line Rider

Line Rider is not quite a game but not quite a toy or drawing tool either. But judging by the 6,000,000 views its gotten since it was posted a month ago, Line Rider certainly is compelling. I don’t even like playing it all that much, but I spent a solid hour a few weeks ago watching videos of other people’s tracks on YouTube; it’s just so fascinating to see how much can be done with simple lines and rules. Here’s one of the better tracks I’ve seen (c/o clusterflock). This little non-game has even shown up in Time magazine. Go, little Line Rider, go.

Update: A new version of Line Rider is to be released soon. New features will include an eraser, new types of lines, line snapping, etc.

If you’re looking to record your Line Rider creation and post it to YouTube, you can use CamStudio (Win), Super Screen Recorder (Win), oRipa Screen Recorder (Win), Screen Movie Recorder (Mac), iShowU (Mac), Snapz Pro (Mac), and ScreenRecord (Mac).

For information on how to play Line Rider more effectively, check out the Line Rider Forums.


Examples of *very* photorealistic illustrations made with

Examples of *very* photorealistic illustrations made with the gradient mesh tool in Adobe Illustrator. Here’s a quick gradient mesh tutorial.


Pixel cities

Here’s part of a fun pixel illustration of Communication City by eboy:

Communication City

Click through to see the whole image. eboy did the illustration for a Fortune magazine article on the resurgence of internet companies. The company also does amazingly intricate futuristic posters of cities. Oh, and this T-Mobile HotSpot map of London…I could go on and on.


Chris Ware overrated? That’s what this illustration fan thinks.

Chris Ware overrated? That’s what this illustration fan thinks.


Profile of designer/illustrator/photographer Michael Elins

Profile of designer/illustrator/photographer Michael Elins and how he uses Macs to get his work done. “It’s hard for someone like me to talk about technology, because the Mac has gotten to the point where it’s a nonissue. It’s so good and so fluid, so fast and so freaking reliable that it becomes something I really take for granted.”


How Danny Gregory makes those nifty watercolors

How Danny Gregory makes those nifty watercolors that illustrate The Morning News. “Roz, the color theory teacher, warned against it, but I laid down a blue underpainting!”