# Favorite Illustrators **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 4, 2001, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-illustrators/79698 "2001-09-04T17:19:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-illustrators/79698/1 "2001-09-04T17:19:26Z")
This thread, inspired by the [Judging a book by its cover](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=85227) thread, is for all us low-brows who don’t know art, but know what we like. As I mentioned in the other thread, Michael Whelan is my favorite cover artist. Love his stuff. I’m also very fond of [Brian Froud](http://www.faeries.net/). Many know him as the artistic visionary behind _The Dark Crystal_, and he’s also done the popular _Fairies_ and _Good Fairies, Bad Fairies_ books. I first encountered him, though, in one of my favorite children’s books, _Ultraviolet Catastrophe_. The “ultraviolet catastrophe” is a paradox in thermodynamics that was solved by the invention of quantum theory, but this book is just a story about a girl (I’m not a little girl; I’m a tree pirate) who visits her Great Uncle Magnus and has great adventures with him. Sadly, like so many cool kid’s books, it’s totally out of print, but possible to find if you search the used-book circuit for about three years. So I suppose you guys probably will never get to see it. Another favorite illustrator of mine is Gahan Wilson. If you haven’t read _A Night in the Lonesome October_ by Roger Zelazny, then for heaven’s sake, go find a copy, before Halloween, if you can. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Skijumper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3e96dc/32.png) [@Skijumper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skijumper)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-illustrators/79698/2 "2001-09-04T17:47:25Z")
I’m a fan of pen and ink illustrators. One of my faves is Quentin Blake who illustrates many Roald Dahl covers. Tim Burton’s illustrations for The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy is quite cool too. I haven’t seen anything else of his in print. As for comic book covers - I’m a Dave McKean and Bill Sienkiewicz fan. ---
**Author:** ![Torgo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@Torgo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Torgo)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-illustrators/79698/3 "2001-09-04T18:43:45Z")
Remember “Dynamite” magazine? Back in the late 70s in school you would get a Scholastic Book Order form from which to order various children’s books, plus…DYNAMITE MAGAZINE!! Anyhoo there was this illustrator named Jared Lee who did the “Bummers” section (“Don’t you hate it when a bug flys up your nose!”). His drawings were hilarious and were pretty much the biggest reason for reading Dynamite. Feeling nostalgic? Follow this: [http://members.tripod.com/jsikes/dynamite/images/bummers.jpg](http://members.tripod.com/jsikes/dynamite/images/bummers.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-illustrators/79698/4 "2001-09-04T18:57:08Z")
Michael Hague. He’s gotten rather cheesy and repetitive of late, but oh, are his illustrations beautiful! My favorites are those in East of the Sun and West of the Moon, The Velveteen Rabbit\*, and Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales. Wonderful stuff. ---
**Author:** ![rackensack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@rackensack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rackensack)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-illustrators/79698/5 "2001-09-04T19:12:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Skijumper \* > \*\*As for comic book covers - I’m a . . . Bill Sienkiewicz fan. \*\* I love Sienkiewicz. Back in the day, I had color copies made of the first four _Stray Toasters_ covers, which I mounted on foam core, attached to a piece of mat board, and hung in my office at the ad agency I worked for. Started a few conversations. [Dave Stevens](http://www.davestevens.com) too. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-illustrators/79698/6 "2001-09-04T19:13:48Z")
My new fav is [Brett Helquist](http://www.lemonysnicket.com/artist.html), who does the Lemony Snicket books. His work is clearly Gorey-influenced, but it’s not merely a rip-off. ---
**Author:** ![Danimal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bb73d2/32.png) [@Danimal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danimal)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-illustrators/79698/7 "2001-09-04T20:41:42Z")
My favorite illustrator, for all the wonderful work he’s done on Tolkien’s world, is [Ted Nasmith](http://www2.tolkienonline.com/gallery/gallery_item.cfm?ID=361). Almost as good is [John Howe](http://www2.tolkienonline.com/gallery/gallery_item.cfm?ID=201), who is now working on the movie of _The Lord of the Rings_. Other favorite illustrators of mine are [Larry Elmore](http://www.larryelmore.com/Galleries/Color/Page_06/citymyst.htm) and [Luis Royo.](http://members.nbci.com/stratar/images/pic11a.jpg) And never forget two of the golden oldies, [Howard Pyle](http://artmagick.com/ALLpaintings/pyle/pyle2.jpg) and [Maxfield Parrish](http://www.primenet.com/~byoder/mpday.jpg). > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Podkayne \* > \*\*As I mentioned in the other thread, Michael Whelan is my favorite cover artist. Love his stuff. > \*\* One of my particular favorite Whelan paintings is [The Golden Dream](http://www.glassonion.com/gallery/archive/atoh/golden.jpg). I like it especially because it brilliantly avoids the curse and plague of cover art: imbalance. Far too many cover paintings push all the good stuff onto the right side of the picture, so it will be on the front cover, and leave the left side dull and drab. This one has been carefully constructed with a stunning image on the left and a stunning image on the right, so both front and back cover are attractive and it still works as a single painting. (Royo could use to learn from Whelan; I love Royo’s magazine illustrations, but many of his covers are awful because of this imbalance). ---
**Author:** ![Creaky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@Creaky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Creaky)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-illustrators/79698/8 "2001-09-04T22:27:43Z")
Berni Wrightson. Norman Rockwell. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-illustrators/79698/9 "2001-09-04T22:36:39Z")
Maxfield Parrish, Michael Whelan and Arthur Rackham are some of my favorite cover-artists. Fenris ---
**Author:** ![ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-illustrators/79698/10 "2001-09-04T23:02:57Z")
Maurice Sendak Rules! ---
**Author:** ![Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-illustrators/79698/11 "2001-09-05T03:01:07Z")
Illustrators = Yoshitaka Amano, Slug Signorino Animators = Don Bluth, Lowtax -Ashley ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-illustrators/79698/12 "2001-09-05T03:10:15Z")
I always liked Phil Foglio’s work, but I’m not sure what cover art he’s done. ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-illustrators/79698/13 "2001-09-05T13:03:08Z")
**Ender** , have you been following _Girl Genius_? There’s a card game based on it called “The Works.” Same mechanics as the XXXenophile card game, but non-collectible, and no naughty bits (so’s you don’t have to ask the game store guy to get it out from behind the counter. 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-illustrators/79698/14 "2001-09-05T13:15:55Z")
No, I used to play Magic: The Gathering. That was my introduction into the world of fantasy art. Some of them were quite good. At one point my friend and I were so familiar with the way the artist’s drew, we could practically name all the artists in the pack without looking at the by-line. I attended a Science Fiction Society meeting a few weeks ago and the guest speaker was a local representative to fantasy artists. Some of the works she showed were quite good. Unfortunately, I’m blanking on just about every name, including hers. I’ll try to find out. ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-illustrators/79698/15 "2001-09-05T14:08:23Z")
There’s a _XXXenophile_ card game?! [hijack]Given the current economics of the comics industry, it blows my mind that Foglio is able to produce _Girl Genius_ in color.[/hijack] I was going to name Maxfield Parrish, Maurice Sendak, Howard Pyle and Michael Whelan. You’ve all beaten me to those, so I’ll add: Glenn Fabry: His Vertigo comic book covers, especially for _Hellblazer_, are absolutely beautiful. Edward Gorey, for reasons which should be obvious to all. Whatsisname Tenniel, who illustrated Alice in Wonderland for Lewis Carroll. ---
**Author:** ![Pucette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/278dde/32.png) [@Pucette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pucette)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-illustrators/79698/16 "2001-09-05T15:09:45Z")
Alan Lee is by far my favorite Tolkien illustrator. Michael Whelan is another favorite. I am now googling my brains out to find this one illustrator I really like, but I can’t remember what books I’ve seen him on, and I’m having little luck ☹ He/she makes book covers like I’ve never seen… ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-illustrators/79698/17 "2001-09-05T15:48:21Z")
Although it’s not really my style, I think that Ralph Steadman’s illustrations for HST’s _Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas_ are pretty appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![Danimal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bb73d2/32.png) [@Danimal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danimal)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-illustrators/79698/18 "2001-09-05T16:35:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Pucette \* > \*\*Alan Lee is by far my favorite Tolkien illustrator. > \*\* What would be your favorite Alan Lee picture? He’s so popular; I’ve always wondered what people see in him. ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-illustrators/79698/19 "2001-09-05T16:53:51Z")
I like Alan Lee generally, but I don’t like his hobbits. He draws them well enough from the waist up, but then he gives them spindly little toothpick legs and I don’t think that’s right. ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-illustrators/79698/20 "2001-09-05T18:04:25Z")
Add Brent Anderson to my (very small) list. He does the interior art for Kurt Busiek’s Astro City comic books. They’re beautiful. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-illustrators/79698.md?page=2)