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The Illustration Idea Book: Inspiration from 50 Masters
This book serves as an introduction to the key elements of good illustration.
The Illustration Idea Book presents 50 of the most inspiring approaches used by masters of the field from across the world. Themes covered include creating characters, symbol and metaphor, illustrated lettering, inventing worlds, and caricature.
The result is an instantly accessible, inspiring, and easy to understand guide to illustration using professional techniques.
The Illustration Idea Book presents 50 of the most inspiring approaches used by masters of the field from across the world. Themes covered include creating characters, symbol and metaphor, illustrated lettering, inventing worlds, and caricature.
The result is an instantly accessible, inspiring, and easy to understand guide to illustration using professional techniques.
- GenresArtDesignNonfiction
128 pages, Paperback
Published November 13, 2018
5 people are currently reading
96 people want to read
About the author
Steven Heller
325 books206 followersSteven Heller writes a monthly column on graphic design books for The New York Times Book Review and is co-chair of MFA Design at the School of Visual Arts. He has written more than 100 books on graphic design, illustration and political art, including Paul Rand, Merz to Emigre and Beyond: Avant Garde Magazine Design of the Twentieth Century, Design Literacy: Understanding Graphic Design Second Edition, Handwritten: Expressive Lettering in the Digital Age, Graphic Design History, Citizen Designer, Seymour Chwast: The Left Handed Designer, The Push Pin Graphic: Twenty Five Years of Design and Illustration, Stylepedia: A Guide to Graphic Design Mannerisms, Quirks, and Conceits, The Anatomy of Design: Uncovering the Influences and Inspirations in Modern Graphic Design. He edits VOICE: The AIGA Online Journal of Graphic Design, and writes for Baseline, Design Observer, Eye, Grafik, I.D., Metropolis, Print, and Step. Steven is the recipient of the Art Directors Club Special Educators Award, the AIGA Medal for Lifetime Achievement, and the School of Visual Arts' Masters Series Award.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 14, 2019
For illustrators wanting to strengthen their craft, this book encourages conceptual thinking too.
Heller & Anderson (a prolific art director duo) have been writing design books together almost as often as Heller & Fili (a Mr. & Mrs. with a shared passion for graphic ephemera). Where Steven & Louise share their love of curated, historical typography or logos from various countries, Steven & Gail educate readers with inspirational graphic ideas best expressed through outstanding visual references.
Whether on the subject of graphic design, typography or logos (coming in Fall 2019), their latest book looks at 50 masters in “The Illustration Idea Book.” A light, enjoyable read, containing innovative visuals from celebrated classic illustrators like Eric Carle, Anita Kunz, Brad Holland, Barry Blitt or Milton Glaser, to contemporary trailblazers like Noma Bar, Gary Taxali, Joost Swarte, Shonagh Rae and Christoph Niemann. While it’s clear that illustration is the intended focus of this book, I found the concept rationale and thought-process articulated with each visual story to be the main hero.
For artists seeking an inspiring flip-through, this book will amuse and spark creative thinking, or perhaps even elicit jealousy for their clever interpretations. For illustrators wanting to hone and strengthen their craft, this book encourages them to exercise their brains as much as their technical skills whether in analog or digital mediums. Collected into themes of typography, character, unique worlds, character, cliche, metaphor and visual data, the underlying message is to ensure that drawings aren’t done for the sake of it. The opportunity to start a dialogue, to change points of view, to send a powerful message or to clarify meaning can be far richer than the surface level of first impressions.
Concept can never replace style, but the two working cohesively, with synergy and depth can create magic like no other. While the book delivers on its promise of 50 brilliant examples with bursts of inspiration throughout, it does lose steam towards the end. It's the kind of book you may only need to read once, as illustration is a much broader subject matter. If this book is an appetizer for a dinner, a hearty main course requires something robust like a Society of Illustrators annual as a followup to build upon the momentum started.
Heller & Anderson (a prolific art director duo) have been writing design books together almost as often as Heller & Fili (a Mr. & Mrs. with a shared passion for graphic ephemera). Where Steven & Louise share their love of curated, historical typography or logos from various countries, Steven & Gail educate readers with inspirational graphic ideas best expressed through outstanding visual references.
Whether on the subject of graphic design, typography or logos (coming in Fall 2019), their latest book looks at 50 masters in “The Illustration Idea Book.” A light, enjoyable read, containing innovative visuals from celebrated classic illustrators like Eric Carle, Anita Kunz, Brad Holland, Barry Blitt or Milton Glaser, to contemporary trailblazers like Noma Bar, Gary Taxali, Joost Swarte, Shonagh Rae and Christoph Niemann. While it’s clear that illustration is the intended focus of this book, I found the concept rationale and thought-process articulated with each visual story to be the main hero.
For artists seeking an inspiring flip-through, this book will amuse and spark creative thinking, or perhaps even elicit jealousy for their clever interpretations. For illustrators wanting to hone and strengthen their craft, this book encourages them to exercise their brains as much as their technical skills whether in analog or digital mediums. Collected into themes of typography, character, unique worlds, character, cliche, metaphor and visual data, the underlying message is to ensure that drawings aren’t done for the sake of it. The opportunity to start a dialogue, to change points of view, to send a powerful message or to clarify meaning can be far richer than the surface level of first impressions.
Concept can never replace style, but the two working cohesively, with synergy and depth can create magic like no other. While the book delivers on its promise of 50 brilliant examples with bursts of inspiration throughout, it does lose steam towards the end. It's the kind of book you may only need to read once, as illustration is a much broader subject matter. If this book is an appetizer for a dinner, a hearty main course requires something robust like a Society of Illustrators annual as a followup to build upon the momentum started.
January 30, 2019
Surprisingly useful.
As a professional editorial illustrator, I had low expectations for one more book with a lot of pictures, as they are too often published instead of the original content. However, this little toolkit was surprisingly useful and reminded me of everything I forgot since graduating from uni. This is a perfect book for a beginner or someone suffering from a creative block, as well as any design professional who looks for new angles on the familiar brief.
I would also like to compliment the authors on not just sending the list of 5 questions to all their interviewees and then copy-pasting their replies into the pages of the book, but actually taking time and effort to interpret specific artworks and analyze the creative path behind them, which is more than one normally gets from the infinite number of "how to" books on illustration.
As a professional editorial illustrator, I had low expectations for one more book with a lot of pictures, as they are too often published instead of the original content. However, this little toolkit was surprisingly useful and reminded me of everything I forgot since graduating from uni. This is a perfect book for a beginner or someone suffering from a creative block, as well as any design professional who looks for new angles on the familiar brief.
I would also like to compliment the authors on not just sending the list of 5 questions to all their interviewees and then copy-pasting their replies into the pages of the book, but actually taking time and effort to interpret specific artworks and analyze the creative path behind them, which is more than one normally gets from the infinite number of "how to" books on illustration.
December 26, 2023
A useful resource for artists, designers and illustrators alike. There was a decent variety of different illustrators and mediums, and I particularly liked that political satire was included. That said, it would have been better if there was more political caricatures than just Trump, although the examples that were chosen were extremely strong and the writers perhaps wanted to showcase only the best.
While this book might have been better if it were longer, with more examples outside of the US, the glossary added to its value and resourcefulness. The inclusion of the last chapter on visualising data was prudent, since it conveyed how important illustration is to everyday life.
While this book might have been better if it were longer, with more examples outside of the US, the glossary added to its value and resourcefulness. The inclusion of the last chapter on visualising data was prudent, since it conveyed how important illustration is to everyday life.
January 24, 2020
A nice little snapshot of contemporary illustration styles and techniques - good range of work from a bunch of artists I admire, with their own commentary and a connection to some of the larger uses and potentialities of illustration as a medium.
June 29, 2023
عالمنا به الكثير من البصريات والألوان التي تحيط بنا
ولكن يعتقد الكثير منا ان العالم البصري محصورة على المصممين والفنانين، بينما مثل هذه الكتب تعزز لدينا القدرة على تحليل الرسوم وفهم ما بين السطور
أنصح به وبشدة وخاصة لرواد الأعمال والمعلمين وصناع المحتوى
ولكن يعتقد الكثير منا ان العالم البصري محصورة على المصممين والفنانين، بينما مثل هذه الكتب تعزز لدينا القدرة على تحليل الرسوم وفهم ما بين السطور
أنصح به وبشدة وخاصة لرواد الأعمال والمعلمين وصناع المحتوى
September 16, 2023
Useful read, and a solid companion to Teaching Illustration ( ed. by Steven Heller and Mashall Arisman).
May 22, 2022
It was ok, wasn't what I thought it would be and I found it a bit basic and boring. There were some interesting bits but I regretted spending the money on it.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews