illustrators Magazine: Previewing Issue #2

Guest author Peter Richardson continues this week's series describing how the newly launched illustrators, a quarterly magazine celebrating the greatest UK and European illustration of the past 150 years, came to be.

The first task was to come up with a design format and a logo or masthead which would encapsulate our spirit and intent.



We eventually refined what we felt was a memorable and eye-catching logo, whilst embodying the clean, authoritative, and inviting layouts that should be an integral part of the reading experience. We are committed to the principle that if the reader is distracted by too busy and self-important page designs, then they are not going to be in thrall to the artwork and accompanying text. This for all the team is an absolute priority.



Speaking of the team, we are really privileged to have an incredibly talented and motivated group of artists and writers, working as part of our editorial staff. A couple of them will already be familiar to followers of Today’s Inspiration. Our associate editor Bryn Havord was an award-winning art director in the 1960s and 1970s, who helped revolutionize the look of periodicals during those heady days. He started doing general studio work on Eagle comic and within a few years was art director and associate editor at Woman’s Mirror, commissioning the likes of Michael Johnson, Walter Wyles, and Renato Fratini, to create truly amazing double page spreads which were seen by millions of readers, and helped to define the look of the era.

(Below; a spread from issue two's feature on Renato Fratini. On the left page, the first commission that Bryn Havord gave Fratini when Bryn was working as art editor at Woman's Mirror.)

Aside from his terrific editorial input into each issue, Bryn has remained in contact with some of these artists, and has a wealth of insights and stories to tell about the way they worked. We have features by Bryn on Michael Johnson, Walter Wyles, Brian Sanders, and the cartoonist Peter Maddocks which will be appearing in future issues.


In the second issue of illustrators, we takes an in depth look at the work of David Wright, whose work graces the top of this post. In addition to being the creator of the largely forgotten but exquisite Carol Day strip, Wright was also a painter and illustrator of glamorous women who exuded style and hauteur in an era when such qualities were at a premium.



Our next feature is a look at the life and art of Cecil Doughty, whose historical illustrations graced many a children's periodical over a career spanning over half a century.



Other features include a look at the animal artistry of Raymond Sheppard...



... and David Roach takes a look at the outstanding work of Renato Fratini...



... as well as a piece by John Watkiss, describing how he goes about creating concept art for The Walking Dead.



You can order illustrators magazine at illustratorsquarterly.com