After a bit of research and comparison I decided to choose the artist E H Shepard as my first artist.
Shepard was an illustrator who rose to prominence as an illustrator in the 1930s post-World War I, although he’d started working as an illustrator during his tenure as a Major in the first world war, sending work primarily to Punch Magazine. Once he returned from the front lines, he was invited to join the Punch Editorial Table. It was here that he eventually landed a job as the illustrator for Alan Milne’s “Winnie the Pooh”, and later Kenneth Grahame’s “Wind in the Willows”, the most popular examples of his work.
Wheatley, H., 2018. E.H. Shepard. [online] Harriet Wheatley Illustration. Available at: <https://harrietwheatleyillustration.wordpress.com/2018/05/06/e-h-shepard/> [Accessed 27 March 2021].
Shepard’s Illustration for Alan Milne’s “Winnie the Pooh” (left)1 | One of Shepard’s submissions to the Punch Magazine (right)2
The reason I chose Shepard’s work for this exercise, is because his is the style I relate to the most out of all 6 artists, especially the fact that he creates subtly stylized but organic forms and that his strokes are a prominent part of his work.
The second artist I chose for this exercise is Kim Jung Gi, a Korean illustrator and master draftsman. Kim’s drawings mainly involve him combining organic forms, be it human or any other living creature, with mechanical forms in impeccable detail, and a perspective and space of his choosing. He essentially has the ability to access a vast mental library containing templates for creatures, mechanical objects and spaces, and the ability to customize them at will.
Furthermore, he has developed this skill to the point where he no longer requires guidelines to draw his subjects, he uses only a brush-pen and lets his subconscious mind do the rest, an activity many refer to as automatic drawing and few can actually indulge in. What attracts me to Kim’s work isn’t just the fact that it is so dynamic and detailed, but also the fact that he has retained the organic and mechanical essence of his forms so well, despite the stylizing. Jung Gi derives a huge chunk of his library from his compulsory 2 years in the military.
Commercially, Kim Jung Gi hosts exhibitions around the world producing detailed pieces of art on extremely large canvases in front of a live audience. He also sells copies of his sketchbooks from each year, and has done commissions for companies like Blizzard Entertainment, Marvel, DC and several others.
The reason I chose to compare these two artists in particular, is because of the similar natures of their forms.
Shepard’s work is old-fashioned, given the fact that his context is more than 80 years before Jung Gi’s. In these particular illustrations, it is the clothes that serve as the main distinguishing factor between the two. Jung Gi’s anthropomorphized character features an overly detailed, futuristic, astronaut-like diving suit equipped with a number of complex gadgets, attempting to catch fish, while Shepard’s characters are wearing very typical western outfits from the early 1900s, standing in a field on the banks of a stream.
When it comes to material, Jung Gi primarily uses ink and water for both the outlining and the shading of his work with a brush-pen, which is what he has done in the illustration above. I personally believe this technique emerges from his roots as a Korean, since Korea is located in North Eastern part of Asia where using a brush with ink was a traditional practice. On the other hand, Shepard’s is a common process of using ink to outline, and watercolors to render, over a rough pencil sketch. Both artists use paper as their base.
Image references:
Vidani, P., 2012. lottie tea–the kettle’s always on. [online] lottie tea–the kettle’s always on. Available at: https://lottietea.tumblr.com/post/6393625573 [Accessed 27 March 2021].(1)
Punch.photoshelter.com. n.d. EH Shepard Cartoons from Punch Magazine | PUNCH Magazine Cartoon Archive. [online] Available at: https://punch.photoshelter.com/image/I0000SISNA1QJHKU [Accessed 27 March 2021].(2)
Kim Jung Gi / SuperAni. 2019. Art Paris Art Fair – Kim Jung Gi / SuperAni. [online] Available at: http://www.kimjunggi.net/art/ [Accessed 29 March 2021].(3)(5)
Dimitras, D., 2018. Interview With Kim Jung Gi — Visual Atelier 8. [online] Visual Atelier 8. Available at: https://www.visualatelier8.com/interviews/kim-jung-gi-visual-atelier-8 [Accessed 29 March 2021].(4)
Grahame, K., n.d. The Wind in the Willows. [online] Simonandschuster.ca. Available at: https://www.simonandschuster.ca/books/The-Wind-in-the-Willows/Kenneth-Grahame/9780689831409 [Accessed 29 March 2021].(6)
Learning Log 