Grelin, El Gunto, Yeagle and Andreae

As citizens of the United States we as people, on the whole, tend to think of ourselves as the center of the civilized world, especially when it comes to the arts.

 

As a country comprised of immigrates you would think we would appreciate our European ancestries.  Sadly, most Americans do not.

Art, especially illustrated art and in particular cartoon/comic book/commercial art, is NOT the exclusive property of the United States and its artists.

Some of the most incredible art is coming out of Europe in all those aforementioned areas and as Americans we need to pay attention.

Comix Buro has a wonderful series of books under the umbrella banner of Sketchbooks. The small, square-bound, full-color books contain some of the best of the best of contemporary European art by some of the best known names in the business.

Simply referred to by their last names, four new Sketchbook collections, consist of work by El Gunto, Grelin, Andreae and Yeagle.  All are excellent draftsmen and artists-especially when it comes to the female figure.

All are adept at fantasy illustration, conventional and computer generated work and demonstrate an astonishing range in their work.

Yeagle's work looks so fluid that the figures practically jump off the page-especially his picky-ish girls.  Andreae has mastered computer coloring and character and their attire. 

Grelin's work is slightly more angular and realistic with bold compositions and innovative comic book panel layouts and El Gunto shows his incredible versatility as an artist from simple cartoon to polished computer rendered illustrations.

All of the Sketchbooks are a joy to look at and contain enough eye candy to satisfy the sweet tooth of any illustration fan.