Sunday, February 20, 2011

Chris Gall: Cocktail Book


Chris Gall is an illustrator and author. When he was in 7th grade, he won an award that inspired him to write stories to go along with his artwork. His artwork has been seen in almost every publication in America, including Time, Newsweek, People, Fortune, The New York Times, and the Washington Post. He collaborated with a NYC mixologist to create an illustrated book of modern mixology; this is an illustration from that book. He was restricted to using this certain color pallet in all the illustrations, but he used it to his advantage. He visually balanced the colors out very well to create a cohesive piece. The woman’s hot pink shoe adds that slight pop of color that isn’t seen anywhere else. His line work is crisp and clean and creates visual depth. The composition, overall, was laid out nicely. I was immediately drawn to the giant octopus whose tentacles led me down to the buildings, which led me down to the couple sitting in the forefront. His addition of humor in this mixology book was a great idea and I don’t think these illustrations would’ve worked out as nicely if they weren’t done this way.

3 comments:

  1. A very dynamic illustration. It gives me the sense of intensity, along with a comedic affect (because the couple there who seems to be oblivious of the monster behind them). The color works well, making my eye travel around the image, while I notice the cool blue in the monster. Pretty cool

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  2. I love the oblivious couple, that's great. It reminds me of a scene from The Powerpuff Girls, and I guess if monsters attacked frequently enough, perhaps people would stop paying attention. The piece is very neatly layered; the monster, buildings, bushes, and couple all seem to serve as their own layer in the piece. It seems very organized for a scene of upcoming disaster.

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  3. Chris Gall's color in this piece is so eye catching. That yellow just pops against the less saturated blue and makes this piece scream for attention. I like the layered look of this piece, the foreground, middle ground, and background are each distinct, but work together well.

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