If you are a true Lounger, you probably still have most (if not all) of your Christmas shopping left to do. But fear not, we’ve compiled our ultimate gift guide for artists and illustrators. Here are our twelve ideas to suit every budget and keep that creative spark, glowing this holiday.
1. STRIPPED (2013)
STRIPPED is the ultimate love-letter to comic strips. It brings together the worlds best cartoonists to talk about the art form they love, and what happens to it as newspapers die. Every single interview is so insightful, that I would strongly recommend choosing one of the Deluxe Edition, to watch the full interviews with top artist Jim Davis, Kate Beaton, Scott McCloud, Jeff Smith and many more.
$14.99 ~ Buy the gift
2. Leuchtturm1917 Master Sketchbooks
180 gsm strong, brilliant white paper made from high-quality cellulose for inspiration and design. Ideal for sketches in pencil, charcoal, chalk, pastel, felt tip and marker pen.
After my previous sketchbook fell apart on me at the beginning of the year, I decided to venture out of the brands I was familiar with. I picked up a couple Leuchtturm1917 sketchbooks from Cass Art. The quality of their products is incredible. The Leuchtturm1917 Master Sketchbook is a perfect gift for anyone who always has their face in a sketchbook. If they have not discovered Leuchtturm1917 for themselves yet, it will be a timeless treat. If you want that extra Christmas touch, try picking up the limited edition Gold and Silver versions.
£15.00 ~ Buy the gift
3. Hate Mail: The Definitive Collection
Categorically not one for children, Mr. Bingo’s Hate Mail: The Definitive Collection is the ultimate retrospective of the Hate Mail project, showcasing 156 of Mr. Bingo’s favourite works, picked from over 1000 postcards. I would recommend picking up a signed copy, with a dedicated abusive message to whoever you like.
£20.00 ~ Buy the gift
4. The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga
This one is for our Manga Monday fans. The Art of Osamu Tezuka is the first authorised biography celebrating his work and life and featuring over 300 images, it also includes an exclusive 45-minute DVD documentary covering Tezuka’s prolific career.
£20.00 ~ Buy the gift
5. David Downton: Portraits of the World’s Most Stylish Women
The first monograph on the internationally renowned fashion artist David Downton. With a Foreword by Christian Lacroix, and an Afterword by Dita Von Teese, this book showcases more than 150 of David’s drawings of celebrated women from the worlds of film, fashion and style.
£26.00 ~ Buy the gift
6. Alexander McQueen
This definitive publication on Alexander McQueen (1969 – 2010) invites you into the creative mind of one of Britain’s most brilliant, daring and provocative designers.
£30.00 ~ Buy the gift
7. Saul Bass: A Life in Film and Design
This is the first book to be published on one of the greatest American designers of the 20th Century, who was as famous for his work in film as for his corporate identity and graphic work. With more than 1,400 illustrations, many of them never published before. I cannot overstate how wonderful this book is, it is a definite must-have.
£32.50 ~ Buy the gift
8. Alexander Girard
A popular book, now back in print, this massive monograph on seminal designer Alexander Girard covers virtually every aspect of his distinctive career. One of the most prolific mid-20th century designers, Girard’s work spanned many disciplines, including textile design, graphic design, typography, illustration, furniture design, interior design, product design, exhibit design, and architecture.
£40.00 ~ Buy the gift
9. The New Yorker Cover Giclée Print
The New Yorker is known for its wonderful illustrations, and over the years they have amassed a huge collection of stunning and iconic covers. The Condé Nast Collection premium giclée prints gives you the change to own your favourite. To make some suggestions, check out the covers of Tom Gauld, Tomer Hanuka, the famous first New Yorker cover and anything by Peter de Sève or Adrian Tomine.
$95.00 ~ Buy the gift
10. Alla Prima II
For fifteen years, the original edition of Alla Prima has been considered one of the most comprehensive art instruction books on the market and the standard in classical art education both in the United States and abroad. Whether you’re the owner of an original Alla Prima or a first time reader, you’ll love the new Alla Prima II.
$95.00 ~ Buy the gift
11. Palomino Blackwing Special Edition Gift Set
Blackwing 602 is arguably the best pencil ever made, so buying any Blackwing pencil is a good choice for illustrators, but for the extra wow factor, it is all about The Palomino Blackwing Special Edition Gift Set. The set includes 24 Blackwing pencils and a Blackwing Long Point Sharpener in a special edition hand crafted wood box.
$150.00 ~ Buy the gift
12. Skillshare, Schoolism and Society of Visual Storytelling
Online courses are a great way to sharpen the mind and an improve skills. For me, there are three stand-out learning communities for creators to really master techniques and theories that are rarely (if ever) taught in schools.
The first, and probably most well known, is Skillshare. They offer a bunch of free classes, but buy someone the Premium Membership and they can learn from Jon Contino, Roman Muradov, and Jon Burgerman.
Skillshare covers a range of creative topics, the next two focus more on drawing, storytelling and animation. Schoolism classes are taught by many top artist including Bobby Chiu, Dice Tsutsumi and Nathan Fowkes. As you can see from the banner above, Schoolism is currently offering holiday gift sale, until the 18th December, 2015.
Last but not least is Society of Visual Storytelling. It has many great classes taught by Jake Parker, Will Terry, Guy Francis, among others, and membership starts from $14.99 per month.
Bonus: Fuchs+Dachs Figures
This is a little bonus gift idea for those with bigger pockets and/or hearts. I only recently discovered the work of Sanja and Duan Čeek aka Fuchs+Dachs, but I was instantly blown away by how realised and striking their first collection was. Like I mentioned above, they are more on the pricey side, starting at €300, with their premium figure, “The Wild One” (pictured) selling for €600. All figures are limited in numbers and an outstanding gift for someone special.
€600.00 ~ Buy the gift
