illustrator | Technical Illustrators.org

July 9, 2010

Jameson Simpson

Illustrator Jameson Simpson creates colourful lineart illustrations for a broad range of magazines and advertising clients. When appropriate, he infuses humour into his instructional style which makes for a witty, more engaging image.

Tell us a little about yourself. What’s your background?
I’m currently living in Grass Valley, California. I tend to move a lot. I’ve been here 2 years. I never technically studied Illustration but I did study fine art and both my parents were artists so I grew up with that. I painted professionally for a couple of years before transitioning to Illustration. I’ve been Illustrating for maybe 12 year now.

What’s your work situation? Do you have an agent or are you self-represented?
I’m a freelancer. I have no agent. I’ve considered it a couple times but it always ends up feeling like it’s going to be limiting.

Software of choice?
Adobe Illustrator

Favourite clients or types of project? Subject matter?
I like larger projects I can sink my teeth into. Agency projects tend to be more like that. Humor is very good also. Because of the nature of Infographics, things can get a bit dry at times. Anything with a bit of lightness and humor poking fun at the genre is good with me, especially when I’m given free reign to throw in a little of the bizarre.

Any advice for illustrators just starting out?
Advice? Hm. My experience was that putting together a really nice promo card or promotional package is a good start. Then just put yourself out and see what happens. I’ve seen in myself and others in the field that it can be an overwhelming task promoting oneself. In the end though, it’s preconceptions that make things complicated for us. Better to be a man or woman of action and just throw oneself into it (both the work and the promotion) and magic can happen. I always loved that quote by Goethe (which may or may not historically be his words, nevertheless):

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness concerning all acts of initiative and creation. There is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans; that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen events, meetings and material assistance which no one could have dreamed would have come their way. Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now!”

All images © Jameson Simpson. You can find his work at http://www.jamesonsimpson.com/

July 2, 2010

Kevin Hulsey

“Any subject-matter is no more, or less, complicated than any other if you break it into small enough sections. A big, complex object like a car, plane or ship is just 30 or 40 small illustrations that happen to occupy the same space.”

The career of technical illustrator extraordinaire Kevin Hulsey is nothing short of prolific. His client list reads like a roll call of the world’s major transportation, technology, manufacturing and entertainment companies. His work has been recognized with numerous awards from Belding, Best in the West, Communication Arts Magazine, and the Art Directors Club Of Los Angeles. He began his trade with an airbrush in hand, then traded it in for a Wacom tablet and made the leap to digital media. And his website is an abundant source of inspiration, with illustrations of mind-boggling complexity and accuracy and myriad resources, articles and tutorials.

This all keeps Mr. Hulsey rather busy—unfortunately for us too busy for an interview. However, with his permission, I’ve collected some links to images, resources, and an interview he did with another site:

Kevin Hulsey - Automobile Motor Illustration

“Even after nearly thirty years, and thousands of illustrations, it is still fun to see your work on a billboard or in a magazine, particularly when you aren’t expecting it.”

Big thanks to Mr. Hulsey for sharing his time and work with us, and all the amazing resources on his site!

Update: Wacom case-study on Mr. Hulsey. (now on Internet Archive)

June 16, 2010

Illustration Podcasts

Sometimes freelancing can be like solitary confinement. Big projects, tight deadlines, (and if you’re in the Pacific Northwest, terrible weather) can all keep you locked up in the home studio. To ward off cabin fever I like to listen to a small selection of podcasts, some illustration-related, some business-related and others general interest to stay current with the rest of the world.

Sadly, I haven’t found a technical illustration podcast, but here’s my playlist:

Illustration Related:

Escape From Illustration Island: The Podcast
In-depth interviews with illustrators, artists’ representatives and art directors. Companion to Escape From Illustration Island, a resource portal and illustration community.

Big Illustration Party Time
A conversational podcast about the ins and outs of freelance illustration and cartooning.

Hawk and Squirrel
A brand new podcast searching for its voice. As manic and entertaining as its hosts (and friends of mine), Chad Covino, Juan Solon and Nimit Malavia.

Freelance and Business Related:

Freelance Radio
Official podcast of FreelanceSwitch.com covering work and life issues of freelancers.

General Interest:

The Monocle Weekly
A mix of discussions, interviews and field reports on world events and culture.

Stuff You Should Know
Official podcast of HowStuffWorks.com, explains how everyday things and not-so-everyday things work.

Have any podcasts to recommend, illustration-related or otherwise? Let us know in the comments!

June 7, 2010

The Future of Technical Illustration

Wired Magazine on iPad

For those of us who work with publishers of magazines, newspapers and books, the past few years have been trepidatious. The future of the printed page looks uncertain. There’s much speculation that this business model or that device will save the industry. And as much as we techies may fall in love with each new gadget, they have been looked at as a threat, or at least an unknown variable in our careers.

But through all this, I’ve taken comfort in two facts. First, that we live in a visual society. For this reason, the pixel pushers, the vector tweakers, the pen sketchers, and more importantly the visual thinkers will always be in demand. Secondly, the environment around us grows more complex every day. We specialize in distilling complexity into more comprehensive, communicative forms.

I feel our skillset will remain relevant and in demand, but it is crucial to stay informed about prevailing technologies and mediums, and to constantly update our workflows to be able to deliver our product in whatever packaging consumers demand.

Threats or opportunities? What are your thoughts?

May 14, 2010

Bill Fehr

Bill Fehr - Equipment Cabinet

Bill Fehr is a technical illustration veteran, with 20 years experience in the field. In this interview, we discuss the technical skills, the ongoing learning of new software and technologies, and the exploration of new business models necessary for a sustainable career in illustration.

What is your background? How did you get into technical illustration?
I have worked and lived in St. Louis my whole life. I graduated in 1982 with an Associate in Applied Science degree in Technical Illustration from Meramec Community College here in St. Louis. I later went back and got my Bachelors in Business Management.

Since I was in High School I knew that I wanted to become a technical illustrator. That idea came to me when I was in drafting class and in the text book we were using was a description of what a technical illustrator does. It was accompanied by a photo of a guy using an airbrush to create a concept rendering of a car. That was it for me.

I was lucky enough to land a job as a technical illustrator before I graduated with my illustration degree. This was in the 80’s mind you so there were no computers. Everything was hand drawn. I was lucky enough back then to work for a small company where I had to learned to wear many hats. It was there that I learned to spec type, create photostats, airbrush, knockout backgrounds in photos, take photos, and paste up documents by hand.

In the eighties we didn’t have the advantages we have today of tracing digital photos or importing CAD data. Illustrations were created by extracting dimensions from blue prints or measuring actual parts. We would draw out the illustration in pencil first on a sheet of velum. We would then lay over that a sheet of mylar and “ink” the illustration using technical pens and templates. Inking was an art all by itself and one that I still miss to this day.

I have seen many changes over the 20-plus years that I have been doing this. The one thing that has never changed is the need for visual communication. The only difference between then and now is how it is created and how it is delivered.

How do you work? Employed, freelance or somewhere in between?
Currently I am employed by American Power Conversion as a technical writing manager. Our department creates installation, operation, maintenance, and service documents, just to name a few. In the evenings and weekend creating stock illustrations and photographs. I do very little freelance work. It requires much more time than I am willing to give these days.

What’s your favorite kind of project?
I still find black and white line art to be the most fun. Though at first it seems like it would be the easiest I find the opposite can to be true. You don’t have color, transparency, or animation to get you out of tough situations. All that you have to use to communicate is a black line. What you do with that line, now that is what makes all the difference. To me it’s very Zen-like.

Bill Fehr - Parts Identification

Any advice for technical illustrators just starting out?
Experience with software is secondary to technical knowledge. Anyone can learn software. The ones that can get themselves out of tough situations without using software in as a crutch are the ones that I respect the most. That’s not to say the you don’t need to know how to use Illustrator, or CorelDRAW, or whatever. In fact, the better you know the software the better you can illustrate because the software is not “getting in your way.” I’m just saying that you shouldn’t rely on the software to replace technical knowledge. There were many times where I had to rely on my technical training to get me through projects that had no reference photos or CAD data. All I had was a rough prototype and some napkin sketches.

Bill Fehr - Syringe

What is your software of choice?
Everyone has their favorite software. This is usually the software that they have used the most and are most familiar with. For many years I have used CorelDRAW exclusively. Once I started getting into stock illustration however I started to migrate over to Adobe Illustrator because stock agencies require an Illustrator version 8 compatible EPS file. It was much easier to make the transition to AI than it was to go through the process of exporting Draw files over to Illustrator, make correction, then export to EPS. I also moved to an iMac recently so that drove my decision to move Illustrator as well.

I have used a few vector illustrations packages over the years, CorelDRAW, Corel Designer, Xara Xtreme, IsoDraw, Deneba Canvas, and Adobe Illustrator. I also have used Solid Edge, SoldWorks, AutoCad, Maya, 3D Studio Max, and Blender for 3D modeling and rendering work.

Most of my experience has been with CorelDRAW. It has, I believe, one of the best toolsets for technical black and white line art. It allows you to draw with much more precision and at a higher rate of speed than other programs. I have also created a custom technical illustration toolbar that I use within DRAW which helps me get through an illustration pretty fast. I also like that the overall file size is small. CorelDRAW is great for those just starting out because it is inexpensive.

The downside to CorelDRAW is that it is a bit buggy and will crash at the drop of a hat. I have learned to save versions of the file that I am working on just in case of such a crash. CorelDRAW does create backup files and crash recovery files but they are not always usable.

Bill Fehr - Padlock

You sell stock illustration via iStockPhoto, Shutterstock and Dreamstime. What has your experience been with this?
I love the microstock business. It’s kind of the best of both worlds. On one hand I can create what I want when I want and still get paid. Of course the more your work aligns with the needs of the customers the more money you will make.

The stock photography and illustration business can be tough to define. What is going on is your trying to guess what somebody might need. You want to create images that can be incorporated into design pieces, film, advertising, mailers, etc. You can try to communicate concepts or ideas like space travel or a health care. It can be fun and challenging.

I think creating stock images fits my personality and lifestyle better than doing freelance work. I am under no pressure and I can work whenever I want. I have done my share of freelance and I don’t care for having to find the jobs during the day then working evenings, weekends and holidays to get it done.

Bill’s technical illustration work can be found at TekART Technical Illustration, and his fine art and photography at BillFehr.com.

May 4, 2010

Nate Williams’ Illustration Career Advice

“Technical” may be the last word you’d use to describe illustrator and illustration community leader Nate Williams’ work. But his advice on a career in illustration is relevant to just about anyone with a career in image making.

I first read it shortly after graduating college, and since then I’ve revisited it every few months to re-evaluate my career and hone my efforts. It’s an all-encompassing checklist, covering the subjects of technical skills, style, online and offline marketing, customer service, workflow, creativity and attitude. I think this is a great resource for any illustrator, at any stage in their career.

Illustration Career Advice from Nate Williams

April 30, 2010

Path Area and Perimeter in Illustrator

Calculate Path Area and Perimeter in Illustrator

Ever needed to determine the area or perimeter of a path in Illustrator? You may (or may not) be surprised that Illustrator lacks this information. Luckily, Telegraphics offers free plug-in filters to add this functionality to versions 7 through CS4!

Path Length and Path Area filters free from Telegraphics

December 22, 2009

Curtis Sayers

Curtis Sayers – Lotus

Tell us about your background?
I live in Newton, which is just outside of Boston. I took art classes at Hofstra University but actually majored in English. After school I got interested in illustration and design while working at an ad agency, so I took a lot of classes at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. I started working as a graphic designer for high-tech companies about 15 years ago, and this allowed me to create technical illustration in-house and begin to build a portfolio. I decided to focus on illustration about five years ago and that’s the core part of my work now.

Are you a freelancer or in-house?
I freelance out of a home studio.

Software of choice?
I use Illustrator, Photoshop, and Luxology’s modo for 3d work.

Favorite clients/jobs?
Being an Air Force brat, I’ve enjoyed some military-themed projects for clients like Raytheon and Agility Logistics. I’ve also recently completed some projects in the renewable energy industry, which is very satisfying. Overall, clients that provide solid art direction but allow some freedom to create images that have marketing appeal are ideal.

Curtis Sayers – Tire Cutaway

Any advice for illustrators just starting out?
Always try to create your very best work. Of all the illustration disciplines, ours is perhaps the most demanding as far as accuracy is concerned, so be a perfectionist. Digital tools have allowed us to get lazy to some degree, so be methodical in your execution and scrutinize your work. The results will show for it.

When appropriate, use some creative license in how you approach a project to help it accomplish its communication goals. Sometimes people starting out are too rigid with how they execute an image and they don’t allow themselves to play with the subject matter and compose something that really resonates as a piece of art.

Curtis Sayers – House Wiring

Curtis Sayers’ work can be found at Studio Sayers.

December 17, 2009

Tutorial – Advanced Isometrics

Stratocaster Exploded Isometric

In the last tutorial I covered how to make an isomeric grid and build simple blocky shapes on it. In this tutorial I’m going to talk about another method of creating isometric shapes that doesn’t require a grid and is much more useful if your objects are complex or curvy.

When creating a complicated isometric illustration it’s best to begin by breaking down your object into its simplest parts. This will help to make the project more approachable. It is possible to make the most complex objects entirely on an isometric grid using the method I discussed in the last tutorial. There is another method that is much more useful for creating curvy or complex isometric objects in Adobe Illustrator. I’m going to call this method scale, shear, rotate or SSR.

The basic idea behind the SSR method is by using tools in adobe illustrator you can place an object onto an isometric plane without using a grid. This method is most useful for curvy or complex objects but it will work for anything. I’ll begin simply by making an isometric cube.
Read More

December 16, 2009

Mike Fraser

Mike Fraser is another one of those illustrators that’s been a big influence on me. Just deconstructing his work has been a big help in my transition from working in the auto industry to working in soft goods for the outdoor apparel industry. Mike has done a ton of work for companies like The North Face, Gerber and Boa Technology, just to name a few.

Mike is one of those guys you won’t see much online, he’s too busy working, so I’m very happy to show his work here.

Illustration by Mike Fraser

What is your background in Illustration?

After I finished college in 1972, I was a high school art teacher for 3 years before I started
free-lancing. During the summer after I left teaching, ( 1975 ) I put together a PITIFUL portfolio
and started calling on people around town. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing! …but people were nice, and helpful, and pointed me where I needed to go.

The North Face Back pack

I was lucky and was offered studio space to rent ( not a job, just a studio )…fortunately, there
were a bunch of other artists working there who taught me what I needed to know, a little
at a time. They also sent me “overflow” work. I did mostly print production, and occasionally an illustration here and there. Along the way, I learned a LOT…about art and printing, and picked up clients of my own, and by 1979, I was sending work to some of the other guys.
Over the next 18 years (from 1979 until 1997), I got more and more “illustration” projects, and fewer and fewer “print production” projects…

Illustration by Mike Fraser

I divide my “career” into 2 parts…“Before” computers ( 1976-1997 ), and “After” computers…
I didn’t get my first computer until 1997, and didn’t get any “good” at it until after 2000.

Boa Lacing System

Until 2000, I always had a studio “downtown”…and then I moved my office home. From 2000 until 2006, I worked in our “guest bedroom”, using it as as my studio…it was way too small, but I made it work. In 2006, I finally had a contractor build me a “real” studio in the backyard ( built into the garage ) with skylights, vaulted ceilings, and lots of ROOM! Even though it has gotten “smaller” as my work load has grown…it is the greatest workspace I’ve ever had!!!!

Illustration by Mike Fraser

What’s your setup?

I’m working on the Macintosh Platform, using the Adobe Software Suite…I think my background in “traditional” art media really helps me to maintain image “integrity” when working in the computer…after 12 years working on the computer, I’m very comfortable and confident taking on just about any assignment…

Mike Fraser Illustration

Any advice for other illustrators starting out?

My advice to artists just starting out is to talk to as many people actually working in the field as you can…school is great, but it never seems to quite prepare you for the “real thing”…
Always try to learn as much as you can, and constantly try to improve your skills.

Illustration by Mike Fraser

Look at the work of artists whose work you admire. Then, once you get going, ALWAYS meet your deadlines…whatever it takes…and NEVER be satisfied to let a project go out of your studio that is not the very BEST you can do. As an artist, your reputation for quality work, and your dependability are what you sell.

Illustration by Mike Fraser

What have you been up to lately?

Lately, I’ve been doing mostly “product” and “technical” illustration and even some photo retouching…one gal I’ve known for years told me that most of the old airbrush retouchers around town never made the switch to the computer. I used to do quite a bit of airbrush work… but after I got used to Photoshop, I never went back. ( my old airbrush is hanging in the corner… I haven’t used it in years! ).

Illustration by Mike Fraser

If you would like to get in contact with Mike, send an email to mike_fraser@comcast.net