John Holder

I wish I'd done this. This is John Holder, an editorial illustrator on illustrationweb.com. I decided to look at his work because i plan on being an editorial illustrator and thought he could teach me a thing or two - i was right.

This has such intricate detail and texture. Holder's work has quite a traditional feel to it, the colours, when used, are quite gentle and easy on the eye. It contains humour, which i find difficult to capture, in that the pheasant must keep a match under his eyelids to keep them open as there are so many things that want to kill it. It has an interesting composition where the neck goes behind the bracken and doesn't go beyond, which makes it nicer to look at that an image that simply fills the page. There is a variety of ink strokes crating different textures, such as the long, solid lines of the beak, and the quick, uneven curves of the wattle. The feathers on the neck look almost like frog spawn, with the dark centres and circular shape. He isn't scareed to use a strong line like on the beak. He is confident enough of his drawing abilities to go straight ahead with making a mark instead of drawing it lightly in pencil twenty times to get the shape just right. There is a similar confidence with the bracken leaves, most of which are made from long continuous lines.

The image really does get the point across through the strain marks in the eye and the cartoon-like movement lines, it makes me slightly nervous and on edge looking at it. I find myself looking around the page for a lurking fox or a shotgun, as i'm sure he is. The extra dark shading under the eye making him look tired like he daren't go to sleep. There are also a few feathers floating around like he's so stressed out he's moulting.

I think this work will effect the way i draw because it's taught me that i don't always need colour to make an image interesting - its as much about the initial idea as it is about the final outcome. I do believe that if i'd done this picture i would have coloured a part of it, possibly the bracken, but it has shown me it doesn'y need to be full colour. I think it would look quite nice with some spot colour on it somewhere. It has made me think about creating different textures rather than sticking to my default biro scratching. It will make me think about my compositions too. Though this image has a simple, central composition there is a nice balance between positive and negative space.

My favourite aspect of this image is the humour in it. I haven't managed to get humour into my work so far and is something i plan on working on. It's a way of thinking about a subject, i just dont THINK funny. I tend to draw in response to the brief or article, rather than finding the funny side of it and lightening the mood. Everyone loves a giggle and i believe that looking at an illustration with humour in it is more enjoyable than a serious image. Maybe on the next brief i need to read it thoroughly then think about what issues it addresses and find a funny aspect of it or a saying that relates to it.