Revenge of the Lost Dragons

Christophe Durual

Wow, how time flies! (probably not the first time I say this)

I had collected these images thinking of posting them last winter,

but here I am, and the Year of the Dragon is already reaching its end...

Jeff Nishinaka

Wayne Anderson

Hsueh Shao-Tang, 1971

Joseph Domjan

Gek Tessaro

Elsa Klever

Ele Willoughby

Margaritas - Ante Porci

 Thierry Dedieu

Mike Wertz

Young Su Lee

Brian Wildsmith

Javier Zabala

Lisa Evans

I take this opportunity to thank all the readers who have followed, commented 

and e-mailed; I am very grateful for your compliments, encouragement and suggestions!

And a special thanks goes to all the artists, publishers, authors and illustrators 

who have generously and graciously contributed to this blog in so many different ways. 

I have to ask all of you who have contacted me recently, and have been waiting for a reply, 

to kindly be patient. The last three months have seen an unusually abundant outpouring

 of freelance graphic design work on top of my regular 18 weekly hours of teaching.

I sometimes I wonder if my head is going to explode, but I am also quite happy

because, let's face it, I enjoy being busy. And I promise I'll find the time 

to keep the Animalarium as full of life and surprises as ever!

Natural Visions

Camouflage

Animals, nature and ecology are recurring themes in the works of Toronto based artist Terry Fan. 

After studying at Ontario College of Art & Design University, Fan has been involved in a number

 of creative pursuits including screenwriting and graphic novels. His illustrations skillfully blend 

traditional and digital techniques to explore a variety of themes and inspirations 

ranging from steampunk to Eastern art. 

The Golden Crab

Crazy Like a Fox

Autumn Chameleons

Cloud Watching

The Last Whale

Nature Channel

Everybody gets Cold

Flight

Night Raven

Edge of the World

Fan has worked for a variety of clients including Urban Outfitters, Amazon, 

Cadbury, Protest The Hero, Cartoon Bar Fight, Citizen Science Quarterly, LIFT, 

Design Milk, Art Pickings, Art House Shop, Gawker Artists, and The Land of Nod. 

A selection of his work can be purchased at Society6 and threadless.com. 

Screen Play

These eye-popping silkscreen prints were created by The Little Friends of Printmaking,

a husband and wife design duo based in Milwaukee. Melissa and J W Buchanan have been active

 poster artists since 2003, and have been featured in many publications and won the 2006 Young Guns Award.

Their humorous and super colorful visual language, steeped in popular culture such as cartoons and comics,

may looks deceptively simple, but their approach to silkscreening is both complex and refined. 

If you dig them too, you may buy their prints here, and check out an interesting and funny

 2009 interview on Grain Edit, where you'll find out about their background, working methods,

 like and dislikes, the origin of their name, and more.

Hungarian Spring

Maybe to compensate this strangely grey spring season, after David Weidman 

I am still in the mood for sharing some joyful, sunshine filled imagery.

János Kass was born in Szeged, Hungary, in 1927. After finishing his artistic studies,

he became one of Hungary's foremost graphic artists and book illustrators.

He also worked as a printmaker, painter, sculptor, teacher, and postage stamp designer. 

János illustrated and designed around 400 books, mostly classic novels and children's stories.

He was remarkably versatile, and his artistic output ranged from fine etchings and intense b&w prints

 to bold and colourful silk-screens and delightfully playful children's illustrations.

His art combined the influence of traditional Hungarian folk culture with that of modern 

art movements. János' work gained international recognition, and was awarded the prize 

for best illustrated book at the 1973 Leipzig book fair and the 1999 Frankfurt fair. 

He won the Kossuth prize, Hungary's highest artistic award, and his drawings, etchings

 and silk-screen prints were widely exhibited at home and around the world. 

János was the storyboard artist for Dilemma, the earliest fully digital animated film. 

This 1981 British short directed by Hungarian born animator John Halas won international awards

 and was nominated for the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival. 

János also worked as background artist for the "So Beautiful and So Dangerous" 

segment of the 1981 animated feature Heavy Metal. 

Magyar Andersen stamp series, 1979

János Kass died in 2010 at the age of 82. HIs artworks can be viewed at the Hungarian National Gallery 

and in a permanent exhibition located in his birthplace Szeged.

To my knowledge, none of János' beautiful children's books have been published in Italy. 

 I found the images for this post in a variety of websites, from Japanese vintage bookshops

and Hungarian art galleries to the lovely blogs Two Hand Design and Kristina Klarin.

I will try to post some original scans of his work in the near future; in the meanwhile 

you can check out the work of another outstanding Hungarian illustrator, Károly Reich.