Comments on: Sunday Mailbag

By: Tom

Tom — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 21:29:09 +0000

Yes, there are many branches of professional art where a variety of styles is important. Character design for animation is clearly one… working in only one style would make you (at best) a one hit wonder. Steve Silver has told me many times being identified with a single look in character design is the kiss of death in the animation biz.

I am definitely coming from the editorial illustration angle on this.

By: Ask Mr. Artist Guy: Should An Illustrator Work In Multiple Styles? « Cedric’s Blog-O-Rama!

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:01:13 +0000

[...] on November 30, 2009 by cedricstudio Recently my friend and fellow illustrator Tom Richmond posted a very thoughtful article about this question on his blog. Tom specializes in caricature illustration and made a good case [...]

By: Cedric Hohnstadt

Cedric Hohnstadt — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:06:25 +0000

Great article Tom! Gave me a lot to think about.

I agree that both approaches have their pros and cons. I myself work in multiple styles and it seems I am always busy, but one of the cons is that when I promote myself it is harder for me to stand out from the crowd. I think you are partly right when you say being a “Jack of all trades” limits how high you can go in your career. I think it depends on what type of illustration you do. If you work primarily in editorial (magazines, books, etc.) I think your point is more true. If you work in advertising or animation, maybe not so much. In those industries flexibility of style is more of an asset.

By: Nelson Dewey

Nelson Dewey — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 08:49:49 +0000

I think your (cool) ‘no black lines’ style is quite similar to ’self-tracing’ in animation art: ‘…in drawn animation, refers to ink lines that are coloured the same as the areas they enclose. The effect is thus that there are no visible trace lines…’
I’ve seen this used to describe the style you use, where the outlines are representative of the color(s) they’re enclosing, rather than exactly matching.
Makes a nice stage between the ‘black line’ and the ‘fully painted’ styles.

By: Vin Altamore

Vin Altamore — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:55:24 +0000

I absolutely agree with you Tom…market one style and explore other styles for yourself…it’s definitely less confusing for Art Directors.

I have seen Illustrators re-invent themselves (ie: Brad Holland) once they feel their work has become stagnant…but sometimes it can work as a detriment if the new style is not well received.

The Society Of Illustrators in N.Y. is offering a lecture given by Josh Gosfield and Eddie Guy who have actually changed styles!

Split Personality Illustrator Syndrome with Josh Gosfield/Gigi and Eddie Guy
http://societyillustrators.org/upcoming/gosfield_guy.cms