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Hi everyone! As you can see, due to the holidays and last-minute resolution-finishing, we’ve taken the month of December off here at Fuel Your Illustration. (Even when we’re not “here” – you know you can still find us on Facebook and Twitter, right?) But I didn’t want to leave you all with nothing till 2013, so today I’m showcasing a few of the awesome posts we’ve had this past year. We’re looking forward to another awesome year ahead of us.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year, friends!

Dale Peart Takes Turner Classic Movies Back to Basics with New Poster Series

“Minimalism is a hard thing to accomplish for most artist. Sure, we all strive to get that perfect balance between “just enough” and “visual bliss,” but few can help themselves from that “one last tweak” (which quickly turns into one more and then another, and another…). Today’s featured artist, Dale Peart, seems to have worked out a way to nail it…”

I Spot an Awesome Blog: Creature Spot!

“I would like to introduce you all to my absolute new favorite blog: Creature Spot. It’s basically a blog for a bunch of different concept artists to come together and share their sketches and creations and I am in LOVE with it. Amazing work and extremely inspiring to someone who once dreamed of joining Weta Workshop as a concept artist (I have no given up on that dream – someday it will happen!)…”

Can Monsters Really Be Cute and Cuddly?

“They can if Bristol-based illustrator Jessica Bradley has anything to say about it. In fact, she’s made a career of drawing some of literature’s most fearsome beasts in all of their soft and squishy glory including an assortment of werewolves, fish men, zombies and – yes – even the Elder God himself, Cthulhu…”

Wookie the Chew: The House at Chew Corner & Other Tales About Chrisolo Robin

“Winnie the Pooh (or, shall we say, Winnie ther Pooh) was a constant in my childhood and in many of my friends’ as well. Everyone knows the stories, everyone knows the song (you’re singing it in your head right now, I just know it), and everyone knows all about the little bear all stuffed with fluff and his friends of the Hundred Acre Wood…”

Ralph McQuarrie Concept Art Reveals A Different Kind of Star Wars Universe

“In the wake of his passing earlier this month, many art lovers and Star Wars fans alike have spent time reflecting on the work of concept artist Ralph McQuarrie. McQuarrie, who died at the age of 82, was best known as one of the guiding hands behind some of the sci-fi genre’s greatest franchises including the original Star Wars trilogy, E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Battlestar Galactica…”

Giving Classic Disney Movies An Edge With Recreated Epic Movie Posters

“Found this through Geek Tyrant and I just had to share. It’s no secret that I have an intense love for classic Disney movies. Our hallway is actually lined with framed Disney posters and classic Disney stuffed animals line the canopy of our bed. There’s just something special about those old films. The characters, the stories, and of course the artwork…”

A Real Life ‘Toy Story’ – Interview with Concept Artist and Toy Designer Mike Mucci

“When I was little I made the same pledge that many kids do, it involved not wanting to grow up and never giving a love of toys. While I don’t get to enjoy them as often as I did back then, there’s still something about breaking out my box of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle action figures that makes being an adult a little more fun…”

The World of Hayao Miyazaki + Beautiful Fanart [Part 1]

“This is a post long in the making. A post I have been in the process of writing for a long time. A post highlighting the work of the greatest animator of our time: Hayao Miyazaki and his wonderful Studio Ghibli. A man who has brought more tears to my eyes than any other movie creator. I can’t adequately explain how his movies make me feel, but anyone who has ever watched Spirited Away or Princess Mononoke or any of his epic masterpieces… well. You understand…”

Fueling Textiles & Illustrations! Interview with Alice Potter

“One of my favorite aspects of Twitter is just how many amazing illustrations I stumble upon there. It’s how I discovered the lovely and colorful work of Alice Rebecca Potter, a designer and illustrator from London, England. Her simple lines and bold shapes make for a unique style all her own. Alice says of her work, ‘Big colours, strong shapes, and unforgiving lines continuously creep into my work. Lately that includes people, maps, and architecture, but I like to draw the natural world just as much.’..”

A Celebration of Unicorns: A Showcase of The Last Unicorn Artwork

“One of my absolute favorite books of all time is The Last Unicorn by one of my absolute favorite authors of all time, Peter S. Beagle, and like many kids my age, I can quote the animated movie like no one’s business. Well today happens to be a very important day in the history of the story of The Last Unicorn – 30 years ago today, in 1982, the animated movie premiered at over 600 movie theaters across the country…”

See you next year!

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Happy Friday! It’s everyone’s favorite reason for Friday: Five Flickr Friday! Have something to contribute to Five Flickr Friday? Use our hashtag: #FlickrFuel. If you want us to check out the illustrations you’re submitting to the FYIllo Fuel group, tweet us and let us know. You might be included in the next showcase!

Sacha Frampton

Max Gregor

Morpheus Design

Eugenia Loli

Paulo Villegas

Enjoy!

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Princess Lotus by Marumiyan

Everything in creation has its appointed painter or poet and remains in bondage like the princess in the fairy tale ’til its appropriate liberator comes to set it free. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Have a few words of wisdom for fellow illustrators? Comment and let us know your favorite quotes!

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Forest Road by Vityar83

The artist’s world is limitless. It can be found anywhere, far from where he lives or a few feet away. It is always on his doorstep. ~Paul Strand.

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Have a few words of wisdom for fellow illustrators? Comment and let us know your favorite quotes!

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Sometimes the only visuals needed to really make an impact are as simple as a few sticks and circles. Stick figures in comics aren’t something new, but it takes a true artiste to make them relatable and emotion-filled. And that’s what the following cartoonists have in common. They are masters of the sticks and circles. If you’d like me to show off more webcomics, either comment below or tweet me with our hashtag #WebcomicWednesday!

Toothpaste for Dinner

• Toothpaste For Dinner, Drew Dee
• “Each comic features small, simple drawings, paired with short captions or dialogue. The style of humor on Toothpaste for Dinner encompasses surrealism, irony, social commentary, cynicism, and schadenfreude, among other sub-types of humor. Each cartoon is entirely self-contained.”
• Updates: Every single day!

Cyanide & Happiness

• Cyanide & Happiness, Kris Wilson, (Rob DenBleyker, Matt Melvin, Dave McElfatrick)
• “Cyanide & Happiness is funnier than you. Really, it is.” < -- That's pretty much the best description ever so I'll just leave it.
• Updates: Every single day!

xkcd

• xkcd, Randall Munroe
• “A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.” This is actually my favorite webcomic of all time and I’ll probably give it even more love down the road, but I was shocked to see I hadn’t included it. Read this!
• Updates: Monday, Wednesday, Friday

Enjoy!

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Happy Friday! It’s everyone’s favorite reason for Friday: Five Flickr Friday! Have something to contribute to Five Flickr Friday? Use our hashtag: #FlickrFuel. If you want us to check out the illustrations you’re submitting to the FYIllo Fuel group, tweet us and let us know. You might be included in the next showcase!

Rory Phillips

Sacha Frampton

Ian David Marsden

Luciano Scala

Howard Gonzales

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Going back to my usual webcomic haunts for today’s WW – fantasy epics! From modern fantasy to traditional faery fantasy and everything in between, that’s what you’re likely to find me reading. So here are a few more of my favorites. If you’d like me to show off more webcomics, either comment below or tweet me with our hashtag #WebcomicWednesday!

Spindrift

• Spindrift, Elsa Kroese and Charlotte English
• Spindrift is a “comic featuring a modern fantasy story about intrigue, warfare, family, love and betrayal. The story follows the conflict between the close-minded, conservative Alar race and their mortal enemies, the power-hungry Ildrei. And one young woman who gets caught in between… As half-Alar, half-Ildrei, Morwenna’s existence offends both races. She and her companions must find a way to navigate the conflict – and attempt to bring peace between the two sides.”
• Updates: Thursday

Terra

• Terra, Holly Laing and Drew Dailey
• “300 years in the future, an interplanetary war continues to wage between the dominating superpowers in the galaxy, Earth and Asura. Throughout the years, corruption has begun to overtake the warring species, wealth and personal gain taking precedence over the lives of the innocent. However, through all this suffering, there is still hope. Victims of the war have begun to fight back, forming pockets of resistance across the galaxy. These individuals are determined to eliminate corruption within the warring factions, and bring forward a new united galaxy.”
• Updates: Wednesday

Fey Winds

• Fey Winds, Nicole Chartrand
• “Fey Winds is a stark, brutal portrayal of the heartbreak caused by pet dander– no wait– Fey Winds is a silly fantasy webcomic that’s halfway between spoof and epic adventure.”
• Updates: Tuesdays

Happy Webcomic Wednesday!

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One of my absolute favorite books of all time is The Last Unicorn by one of my absolute favorite authors of all time, Peter S. Beagle, and like many kids my age, I can quote the animated movie like no one’s business. Well today happens to be a very important day in the history of the story of The Last Unicorn – 30 years ago today, in 1982, the animated movie premiered at over 600 movie theaters across the country.

“That wasn’t a lot, even back then (’big’ releases showed on two or three times as many screens) and the promotional budget was next to nonexistent — only $150,000 nationwide for press kits and newspaper advertising. (Television ads? Billboards? Forget it. Way too expensive.) Despite these limitations, however, something miraculous happened. When the box office reports came in for the weekend, The Last Unicorn was the #6 film in America.” (The Raven, Peter Beagle’s eNewsletter, 11.19.12)

If you aren’t familiar with the book or the movie, here’s a quick summary. It was written in 1968 by Peter S. Beagle, and is about a unicorn, the very last of her kind, and her journey to find out what happened to all the others. It features a wonderful collection of characters that help (or hinder) the unicorn on the way. There are wizards, illusions, princes, dragons, and of course, magic. The perfect mixture for a perfect fantasy epic. The movie is a beautiful adaptation of the book – as it should be since Peter also wrote the screenplay. A list of amazing actors appears in the movie – Christopher Lee, Angela Lansbury, Jeff Bridges, and Mia Farrow, just to name a few.

So in celebration of 30 years of The Last Unicorn movie, I’m doing a showcase of some of my favorite fanart illustrations. Because I think there are few things that really show how much and how many people love something than fans making their own art for it. So without further ado.

The Last Unicorn Fanart

Have your own TLU fanart that you want to share? Comment with a link! We’d love to see it!

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Universe by Elia Fernández

The artist is the opposite of the politically minded individual, the opposite of the reformer, the opposite of the idealist. The artist does not tinker with the universe, he recreates it out of his own experience and understanding of life. ~Henry Miller

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Have a few words of wisdom for fellow illustrators? Comment and let us know your favorite quotes!

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Happy Friday! It’s everyone’s favorite reason for Friday: Five Flickr Friday! Have something to contribute to Five Flickr Friday? Use our hashtag: #FlickrFuel. If you want us to check out the illustrations you’re submitting to the FYIllo Fuel group, tweet us and let us know. You might be included in the next showcase!

David Cran

Max Gregor

Joe Bowman

Ignazio Fulghesu

Rafael Cerveglieri

Enjoy!

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Spicing up my normal epic fantasy webcomic shares with some webcomics about fish. Okay, so maybe they aren’t all about FISH, but I thought it was an interesting theme. From having fish characters to fish-like characters to a character named after fish parts, we’ve got it all. If you’d like me to show off more webcomics, either comment below and share your favorites. Or tweet me with our hashtag #WebcomicWednesday and let the world know!

Comics!

Mohagen

• Mohagen., Kennon James and John Kipling
• “Mohagen is a fancy, orange goldfish and belongs to a twelve year old boy named Jeremy. Trapped in his two gallon universe, Mohagen gazes out through his bowled window and watches the adolescent boy play video/board games, watch movies and television, and suffer through middle school. Mohagen’s only company in the bowl is Grady, a plastic fishbowl decoration, with his sardonic wit. Not unlike Jeremy, Mohagen is an avid football fan, loves food of all shapes and sizes, and considers himself quite the ladies man, uh, ladies fish.”
• Updates: Monday & Friday

Odd-Fish

• Odd-Fish, Phillip Blackman
• “Odd-fish features aquatic creatures, the eponymous ‘Odd-Fish’ and their unlikely, bizarre and hopefully funny adventures. It is mostly pun and pop-culture based because that’s what NobbyNobody enjoys.”
• Updates: Sundays (currently on hiatus)

Fishbones

• Fishbones, Jisuk Cho and Yuki S.
• “Fishbones starts in the year 1999 in the fictional, east coast city of Southport. The story is about growing up, friendship, and sometimes the mob. There is no age restriction to read this comic but, since it deals primarily with criminals, it contains a lot of swearing and violence.”
• Updates: Friday

Enjoy!

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One of my favorite aspects of Twitter is just how many amazing illustrations I stumble upon there. It’s how I discovered the lovely and colorful work of Alice Rebecca Potter, a designer and illustrator from London, England. Her simple lines and bold shapes make for a unique style all her own. Alice says of her work, “Big colours, strong shapes, and unforgiving lines continuously creep into my work. Lately that includes people, maps, and architecture, but I like to draw the natural world just as much.”

Alice was sweet enough to take some time and answer a few questions about her style and process. Thanks for the great interview, Alice!

Hi Alice! For those who aren’t familiar with your work, describe your style of illustration in one word.

Colourful!

You went to school for Textile Design. What came first? Textile Design or Illustration?

Textiles came first, I suppose, because my mum was a textile designer in the 70s, so I was very aware of it. To be honest I didn’t really know much at all about illustration until a tutor suggested in my second year that maybe I should have done an illustration degree.

You’ve had a chance to work on some fun projects. What was your favorite?

Yes, 2012 has definitely been kind to me. If I had to pick a favourite then it would be the recent Ted Baker project. I liked the freedom of the project, and also getting the chance to meet some of the other illustrators involved on a mass print signing day.

Tell us a little about your process. Where do you get your ideas and how do translate them into a beautiful finished product?

When I am working on a project I tend to a little bit of collage or sketch in a sketchbook, which I then translate onto either Illustrator or Photoshop. I tend to build shapes and layers up, and then I play around a lot with colour until I am happy. Lastly, I consider texture and whether it is needed or not.

I love the colors you use in your artwork. What is your favorite color or color scheme?

Thank you! I love colour too, and it has taken a long time for me to learn how to use it. I love using similar groups of colours in my work, for example, red on pink, and blues and greens. I think you will see a lot of these shades in my work.

And finally, what fuels your illustration?

Eating well, and being healthy and full of energy. It’s the only way I get anything done!

Find more of Alice Potter and her work here:

• Website
• Blog
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Etsy

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Happy Friday! It’s everyone’s favorite reason for Friday: Five Flickr Friday! Have something to contribute to Five Flickr Friday? Use our hashtag: #FlickrFuel. If you want us to check out the illustrations you’re submitting to the FYIllo Fuel group, tweet us and let us know. You might be included in the next showcase!

Rebecca Ruth

Howard Gonzales

Sharon Farrow

Rafael Cerveglieri

Rommy Slijderink

Enjoy!

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Today’s Webcomic Wednesday is filled with hijinks, gamers, and lots of epic fantasy adventure. Really, all of today’s webcomics fit the bill for fantasy geekery – which, let’s be honest, is MOST of the webcomics I share. So, if you’d like me to show off more webcomics, either comment below and share your favorites. Or tweet me with our hashtag #WebcomicWednesday and let the world know!

For now. Fantasy Geeks unite!

Hijinks Ensue

• Hijinks Ensue, Joel Watson
• The site says the comic is about “Geeking for the sake of geekery. If you are into sci-fi, technology, geek TV, geek movies or geek life in general you should find something to laugh at here.” And I couldn’t agree more. One of my favorites.
• Updates: Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays (Varies)

Looking For Group

• Looking For Group, Ryan Sohmer & Lar DeSouza
• “The Comic follows the adventures of Cale’Anon and Richard, as well as their companions.” It’s a short description, but it works. If you’re a WoW gamer, you’ll especially love this webcomic, although references to all sorts of Fantasy geekery show up.
• Updates: Mondays and Thursdays

Vattu

• Vattu, Evan Dahm
• “Vattu is a story following a member of a nomadic tribe caught in the midst of a massive clash of cultures.” This absolutely GORGEOUS comic features beautiful illustrations and a striking story. Like all of Evan Dahm’s comics, the world sucks you in. Awesome webcomic.
• Updates: Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays

Enjoy!

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Happy November, you fantastic fuel friends! I’m starting off the month with Part 2 of our Miyazaki Fanart showcase! I have so many gorgeous pieces of artwork to show you – it’s always hard to choose, but I hope you’ll agree that these are some of the greatest. Hayao Miyazaki is a master at his craft, but these illustrations could give him a run for his money (okay, well maybe not). Don’t forget to read Part 1 if you missed it – it features the first five movies and an introduction who the man who directed these beautiful films is.

Princess Mononoke

Princess Mononoke is one of my absolute favorites of Miyazaki’s. “The story concentrates on involvement of the outsider Ashitaka in the struggle between the supernatural guardians of a forest and the humans of the Iron Town who consume its resources. There can be no clear victory, and the hope is that relationship between humans and nature can be cyclical.” – Wikipedia.

Spirited Away

Spirited Away is a film about “Chihiro Ogino, a sullen ten-year-old girl who, while moving to a new neighborhood, enters an alternate reality inhabited by spirits and monsters.[3] After her parents are transformed into pigs by the witch Yubaba, Chihiro takes a job working in Yubaba’s bathhouse to find a way to free herself and her parents and escape to the human world.” – Wikipedia.

Howl’s Moving Castle

This fantastical movie is based on a book of the same name by Diana Wynne Jones. It “follows the story of young Sophie Hatter, a bookworm, the eldest of three daughters, a girl doomed to an uninteresting life as a hat maker. Sophie resigns herself to her boring fate, but fate has other plans for her. Cursed by the Witch of the Waste with the body of a 90-year-old woman, she finds her way to the moving castle inhabited by the wizard Howl, said by all to eat the souls of young girls.” – Nausicaa.Net.

Ponyo

Ponyo is a unique twist on an old classic. “A young boy, Sōsuke, befriends a strange looking goldfish whom he names Ponyo. Unbeknownst to Sōsuke, Ponyo is a magic fish who has decided that she wants to live with Sōsuke and the other humans. Unfortunately, Ponyo’s decision to give up her underwater life creates a crack in an ancient magic spell, and places the world in danger. Together, Sōsuke and Ponyo must set things right.” – Anime News Network.

Collaboration of Films

And now for something a little fun. Here are some great illustrations that consistent of several characters from different movies.

Look for more Miyazaki fun fanart in the future! And feel free to share your own in our Flickr Group.