Extraordinary Birds
The American Museum of Natural History’s research library has an online exhibit of bird illustrations taken from the book Extraordinary Birds. (via @kellianderson)
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kottke.org posts about illustration
Every David Bowie Hairstyle From 1964 to 2014
Helen Green drew all the hairstyles worn by David Bowie from before he was a star in 1964 on up to the present day. Here’s they are in a glorious animated GIF:
Green also did a one-sheet of the B&W drawings. See also every Prince hairstyle from 1978 to 2013. (via @Coudal)
Cutaway illustrations of nuclear reactors
From the collection of The University of New Mexico, a big collection of cutaway diagrams of nuclear reactors.
Pixel Studio Ghibli
Richard Evans rendered some of the best-known Studio Ghibli characters in pixel art style.
Wonderful Animated Soccer Vignettes
Richard Swarbrick makes these great impressionist animations of sports events, mostly soccer but also cricket and basketball. Here’s one to get you started…the 5-0 drubbing FC Barcelona handed to Real Madrid during a 2010 Clasico:
It’s amazing how much Swarbrick’s illustrations communicate with so few strokes…Mourinho’s face is my favorite. Here’s the actual match for comparison purposes. And here’s Maradona’s sublime goal against England in the 1986 World Cup (original video):
You can find many other examples of Swarbrick’s work on his web site and on his YouTube channel. (via @dunstan)
A menagerie of mechanical animals
From Diego Mazzeo, illustrations of a bunch of different mechanical animals, including a whale, horses, elephants, flamingos, giraffes, a griffin, and a dragon.
Drawing all the buildings in NYC
James Gulliver Hancock is on a mission to draw all the buildings in New York City.
Hancock’s blog has spawned a book and prints are available as well. (via brain pickings)
Missed connections, illustrated
I really like Sophie Blackall’s illustrations of missed connections ads from Craiglist and other sites. The style reminds me a bit of Maira Kalman.
If this were on Tumblr, she’d already have a book deal.
Update: About that book thing:
Ms. Blackall’s whimsical drawings have also caught the attention of publishers: She says she’s currently negotiating a deal to create a book of her illustrations, which would likely land on shelves sometime in the next year to 18 months.
On her overlap
There’s a dynamic quality to this Moleskine sketch by Stephanie Brown that you don’t often see with such spare illustration. The rest of her stuff is worth a look as well…Flickr too. Somewhat NSFW. (via sex in art)
Green bean
The spouting bean concept illustrated by Jillian Tamaki for the “Green Chicago” issue of Hemispheres, the inflight magazine for United Airlines, is a little bit of genius.
Oh, Tocqueville, you’re the man
Maira Kalman tells a wonderfully illustrated story about democracy (and Salisbury steak).
Quirky maps and charts for NYC wayfinding
Christoph Niemann shares a series of his New York City cheatsheets, including tips for getting on and off the subway at the proper points, muffin poking (you know, for checking freshness), and a door opening maneuver called “The Northside Eagle”.
Whenever I rode the subway with my two older boys, I tried to hold on to their hands at all times. In the process, I developed a special move. I think anyone who saw it must have been impressed.
I would hold the boys’ hands as we briskly made our way out of the station, then, just as we reached the turnstiles, I would let go. We would pass through the turnstiles simultaneously, and so smoothly that the boys’ hands would still be up in the air when we got to the other side, where I would grab their little fingers again in one fluid motion. (Requires practice.)
These are great fun.
How to make a New Yorker cover
Illustrator Bob Staake explains the process behind his cover on this week’s politically themed New Yorker, including rejected alternatives and a video progression of the finished design. Staake still uses a copy of Photoshop 3.0 on MacOS 7 to do his illustrations. That was a great version of Photoshop…I remember not wanting to switch myself. (via df)
Update: Staake uses OS X with MacOS 9 running in the background:
Let me clear up today’s rumor: I do NOT work in OS 7. I use OSX and run classic (9.0) in the background. Photoshop 3.0? Yes, STILL use that.
Mad Men wallpaper
These Mad Men illustrations done by Nobody’s Sweetheart are fantastic.
Oh, Joan! And wallpaper-sized to boot! The full-sized Sally Draper’s Cocktail Cheat Sheet is awesome. (via merlin)
Recreating kids drawings
Yeondoo Jung does real-life recreations of children’s drawings. (via quips)
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