I have frequented Frank Stockton’s blog for the last year or so. He has quickly become one of my favorite illustrators. At the very least, he is a very good draftsperson. He has a strong sense of narrative composition, and uses color very effectively in his illustrations. Stockton’s primarily worked in magazine illustration, but has recently branched into comic book illustration.
This particular illustration was done for Backpacker magazine. The saturated skin tones stand off the pale hues of the background well. The contrast between the shadow of the hat brim, skin tone and dark colored shirt direct the viewer’s eye to the face. Even the background looks to be designed to frame the foreground figure.
Stockton seems to be influenced by Japanese printmakers in both design and use of flat color. This can be specifically seen in the cloud patterns and use of atmospheric perspective to give the viewer a feeling of vastness behind the main figure.
For more info on Frank Stockton, his website is http://www.frankstockton.com. A link to his blog can be found there as well as his portfolio. He posts semi-frequently and usually posts process shots of finished works and other illustration related thoughts.
Good post! I like your analysis of the picture's composition and design in paragraph 2. I'd like to see more of this kind of analysis from everyone. Ask yourself: why did the illustrator choose to frame then image a certain way? Does the image tell a story? Is there a concept underlying the image? How did the artist choose what to put IN the picture, and what to leave OUT?
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