A recent comment from a reader on a post I did back in 2006 reminded me that I haven’t written for some time about the great science fiction, fantasy and horror illustrator Virgil Finlay.

Though he worked in a variety of media, both in color and in black and white, Finlay is noted primarily for his astonishing ink illustrations, which were combinations of the meticulous and difficult techniques of scratchboard, crosshatch and stipple (the application of a myriad of tiny dots to make a tone).

His proficiency in the medium was matched only by his outrageous imagination, and the combination made him one of the most popular and in-demand science fiction and fantasy illustrators of his time.

Though his career spanned a longer period, Finlay was most active in the 1940′s in 1950′s when his illustrations appeared in numerous “pulp” magazines (so named because for the cheap grade of paper on which they were printed), and many of his images have a deliciously lurid pulp sensibility.

Since I last wrote about him, some new sources for images of his work have become available on the web, though the links I pointed to in my original article are no longer valid (the internet giveth and the internet taketh away).

Also unfortunately, the collections of his work printed in the 1970′s (like The Book of Virgil Finlay) and 1990′s (Virgil Finlay’s Women of the Ages, Virgil Finlay’s Phantasms, Virgil Finlay’s Strange Science and Virgil Finlay’s Far Beyond) are long out of print and have not been reprinted or compiled into a larger compendium as they deserve. However, you can still find used copies of some of them for reasonable prices.

Finlay’s extraordinarily detailed work in particular shines in the high-resolution medium of print, especially in those collections, which were printed on much higher quality paper than the original magazines. There are, however, a few resources on the web with reasonably good images.

One of the best is Golden Age Comic Book Stories (a blog with a much wider reach than its title implies, and for which I’ll issue a Major Time Sink Warning). My link is to a search which lists numerous posts in which Finlay is mentioned. If you’re inclined, keep clicking through “Older Posts” at page bottom, though they can be more or less relevant, the listed posts go on for several pages, and most images are linked to much larger versions.

Another good, and probably quicker, glimpse at Finlay’s work is a post on Monster Brains. There are also several pages of images on Collector’s Showcase (note links to 5 pages at bottom).

Finlay often brought scratchboard, hatching, stipple and deep chiaroscuro to bear in a single image, with masterful control of each technique. Though he was obviously influenced by pen and ink greats like Joseph Clement Coll, Franklin Booth and Howard Pyle, among others, Finlay created a style the was uniquely his own.

For more on Virgil Finlay, see Jim Vedeboncoeur’s article on BPIB, the Wikipedia entry and my previous post.

Classic illustration enthusiasts were dismayed a while back to learn of the apparent demise of Bud Plant Illustrated books, a long-time collaboration between Jim Vadeboncoeur Jr. and Bud Plant that was a key source of out of print books about great classic illustrators and comics artists.

The good news turned out to be that Vadeboncoeur and Plant have simply taken their individual contributions into their own separate spaces, where they have been able to refocus their efforts.

Plant is selling a more focused selection of books at the new Bud’s Art Books site and Vadeboncoeur has retooled the venerable bpib.com web address as JVJ Publishing, featuring his absolutely beautiful magazines ImageS and Black & White ImageS, which I have raved about previously (and here).

In addition, Vadeboncoeur is continuing to maintain his terrific resource of classic illustrator biographies (image at left), which is one of the first places I look when researching a classic illustrator. The biographies are short, succinct and information and illustration dense.

Vadeboncoeur has been an important voice in the promotion of great classic illustration from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, from artists both well known and undeservedly obscure. One of the joys of ImageS magazine is the mixture of the familiar and unfamiliar; even devoted classic illustration aficionados will frequently be introduced to long lost gems by unfamiliar names.

Vadeboncoeur’s enthusiasm for great classic illustration and his obsessive attention to reproduction quality and image details make every issue of ImageS a treat.

Part of the good news about his recent makeover of the JVJ Publishing site is the inclusion of much larger preview images of the more recent issues, giving you a better taste of the issue’s contents (click on the covers for the pop-up previews). I have to stress, though, that they still don’t provide a realistic picture of the superb image quality of the issues themselves.

The first five issues of ImageS are sold out; issues 6 through 12 are still available. The first issue of ImageS Black & White is sold out; issues 2 through 5 are available.

(Images above: Lejaren A. Hiller, J.C. Leyendecker, Julius Diez, Frank Godwin, Henri-Jules-Ferdinand Bellery-Desfontaines)

It’s customary for many comic book artists and illustrators to publish “sketchbooks”, collections of sketches and drawings of varying degrees of finish, which are frequently more of interest to their dedicated “must have anything” fans than to the more general readership.

And then there’s Mark Schultz.

Flesk Publications, a small artbook publisher who has a record of publishing beautiful volumes of work by terrific illustrators and comics artists, has been publishing collections of his drawings for some time.

It’s worthwhile noting that these collections have been titled “Various Drawings” rather than “sketchbooks”, and very appropriately so; not only are Schultz’s sketches and preliminaries more highly developed than many artists’ finished drawings, his finished drawings are exquisitely finessed.

These volumes include both — Schultz’s beautifully finished brush and ink drawings, and preliminary drawings, usually in pencil, that were done in preparation for the final.

The subject matter follows Schutz’s fondness for adventure fantasy, pulp novels, science fiction and, of course, dinosaurs.

For the uninitiated, Schultz is the creator of the wonderful comics series Xenozoic Tales, a version of which was known for a time as “Cadillacs and Dinosaurs”. I reviewed Flesk’s beautiful collection of the strip last December. The book has since then sold out of its initial press run, but Flesk has just announced that it is again available in a second printing.

Fan’s of Schultz’s comic art, among which I certainly count myself, have long waited for him to return to the series, which is still unfinished. Until he does, there is great delight to be taken in these collections, and they would also be of interest to anyone who enjoys superbly realized action adventure illustration.

I was delighted to receive a review copy of the latest collection, Mark Schultz: Various Drawings Volume 5, which continues to maintain the high level of terrific drawings showcased in the rest of the series.

Some of the drawings are commissions, many referencing existing adventure fantasy characters and stories, including Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, for which the image above, third down and the detail crop below it are of one of several preliminary drawings. The finished brush and ink drawing is presented in the book as a stunning double page fold-out.

All of these collections are an absolute treat. Mark Schultz: Various Drawings #1 and #2 are sold out, volumes #3, 4 and of course this new volume #5, are still available and can be ordered through the Flesk Publications store, along with the Mark Schultz: Blue Book (a collection of his preliminary drawings in non-photo blue pencil), a Xenozoic Tales print and the new printing of the Xenozoic collection.

In addition to the preview images available on the publisher’s pages for the individual titles (which have fortunately been getting a bit larger in more recent presentations), there is a general gallery of Schultz’s work on the Flesk site. Schultz, as far as I can determine, does not have a dedicated website or blog of his own.

As I mentioned in my previous posts on him, I consider Al Williamson one of the greats of 20th Century comics art, and an important bridge between the traditions of the newspaper adventure strips of the first half of the century and the “Silver Age” comic books of the second.

Williamson carried forward the excellence in draftsmanship, composition and superb ink rendering that was prominent in the best newspaper adventure comics and blended it with the dynamism of superhero comics. His fluid, heroic figures look like actual human beings in action as opposed to the cartoonish musclebound exaggeration that often characterized much of the latter genre.

Flesk Publications, a small independent publisher who I admire both for their beautiful production values and for their dedication to bringing light to under-appreciated illustrators and comics artists, has published the second volume of their series of preliminary art, sketches, layouts and personal drawings from Williamson’s own collection, Al Williamson Archives: Volume 2.

This is as wonderfully realized as the first volume, which I reviewed here. In each volume, the publisher has freely wandered across the length of Williamson’s long and prolific career, with pieces from all phases of his work, various genres and a tasty variety of types of drawings and sketches, from mere doodles to almost finished drawings.

Most publishers would not have been able to resist the temptation to “clean up” drawings like this, forcing high contrast to eliminate yellowed paper and sketchy lines and make them look more like finished pieces.

Flesk has done just the opposite, carefully shooting the artwork to preserve as much as possible its actual appearance — yellowed paper, tape, white-out and fine sketch lines intact; even going so far as to lay sheets of translucent tracing paper, on which Wiliamson, like many comics artists, often worked out his compositions, with edges overlapping so we can see the sheets for what they are.

This is as close as we can get to opening Williamson’s flat files and holding the drawings in our own hands, and it’s a treasure trove of instruction for those interested in the working methods of a master comics artist, as well as anyone interested in pencil and ink action figure drawing.

Al Williamson Archives: Volume 2 is $20 U.S.D. and can be ordered directly from the Flesk Publications Store.

The interactive Reykjavík Center Map, which at first glance might appear to be a Google Earth style map with computer modeled buildings in isometric perspective, is in fact a hand-illustrated image, apparently in pen and ink and watercolor.

I can’t find specific credits for the art, but one of the team who worked on the map said it took over two years and 3,000 hours to create.

Beautifully done, with wonderful little touches of detail and local texture, the map can be zoomed in on to appreciate the drawings.

Oh yes, you can also use it to find your way around the center of Iceland’s capital, along with places to eat, sites to visit and stores to buy your Sugarcubes CDs.

[Via The Map Room by way of MetaFilter]

[Addendum: Snorri Þór Tryggvason was kind enough to write (see this post's comments) and let us know that he and a group of friends are the creators of the map. They are architects and go collectively by the name of "Borgarmynd" ("City-Image"). He points out that their names are scattered throughout the map (one more fun thing to look for).]

Joe Fenton started in sculpture, moved into concept art for the film industry and then transitioned into children’s book illustration. He also creates the large scale drawings shown above, which I assume are gallery pieces.

For these, Fenton works initially in a detailed graphite drawing, then works over that in ink and acrylic or gouache. The drawings are large in scale, as you can see from the photo of him working on the top drawing, “Solitude”, in its pencil stage.

“Solitude” is 8ft x 5ft (243 x 152cm), and took 10 months to complete.

Fenton’s intricate, highly realized drawings emphasize value contrasts and tonal shading to achieve a stunningly dimensional quality, and evidence his experience as a sculptor. These drawings are almost monochromatic, but his use of gradations and textural details give them a rich variety of surface quality.

His subjects and influences draw on Aisian mythology, Northern Renaissance art and contemporary pop culture, with a bit of M.C. Escher and Arthur Rackham thrown in for good measure; creating a wild visual stew of eclectic elements.

Fenton’s books include What’s Under the Bed? and Boo!. He is currently working on his third book.

Unfortunately, the gallery on his website is a bit awkward to navigate, requiring the selection of a third level in a drop-down menu to access each drawing. You may find it easier to initially browse his gallery on Behance Network. In addition, there is a brief interview with the artist on My Modern Metropolis, accompanied by illustrations.

Fenton offers giclee prints of some of his drawings.

Since I wrote about Mattias Adolfsson back in 2009, he has continued to fill his blog, Mattias Inks, with his marvelously whimsical illustrations, sketches, drawings and watercolors.

They range from finished illustrations, a number of which are for Wired, through complex Moleskein drawings to simple but charming doodles.

He has recently collected a variety of them into a book titled The first in line.

He has stuffed a lot of drawings and illustrations into the 160-page book, judging from the video flip-through on his site, which gives a good idea of the range and scope of the contents. There is also a picture of the cover here, and more info here.

If you order before June 1, Adolfsson will sign your copy and include a small doodle.

I first wrote about Elizabeth Traynor in a post in 2006, in which I expressed my admiration in particular for her scratchboard illustrations (and gave a brief description of the scratchboard process).

In addition to her scratchboard work (images above, 1 & 4), her online portfolio also showcases her work in pen and ink, often used with watercolor (images above, 2 & 5), as well as her straightforward watercolor pieces (3 & 6, with detail, 7).

Traynor says that her clients appreciate her ability to work in all three mediums and that much of her work recently is in the latter two.

She was kind enough to pass on to me three recent illustrations, that are not yet on her site, to share in this post (4, 5 & 6, above, plus detail at bottom).

I initially encountered Traynor from her previous association with the Delaware College of Art and Design, where she was at one time the head of the Illustration Department, and where I taught (and continue to teach) a class in Adobe Flash.

Since then Traynor has been based in Massachusetts, but she was born in Alabama, and still has family and friends there who live in an area that was in the path of the extremely destructive storms that recently ripped through the U.S. south.

In a letter which I have quoted below with her permission, she offers a way for those who would like to help to contribute to a local, all volunteer, non-profit group; assuring that your help will go directly to communities in need and not be compromised by the overhead and administrative costs inherent in established relief agencies.

Dear Friends and Family,

Sincerely,
Elizabeth