A recent post on BoingBoing, (Everyone’s favorite blog other than this one.), introduced me to a new magazine called ILLO. I guess I’m a little late to the party, as issue #1 debuted months ago and issue #2 is already in the works. Still, I’m sure glad I discovered this new magazine.

ILLO is all about illustrators and modern illustration, but it’s unlike most of the other magazines that cover these topics. ILLO’s focus isn’t digital illustration or the latest software. Instead, it delves into the creative minds, and sometimes the strange worlds, of today’s illustrators. It seeks to understand what inspires their work, and looks at how these individuals turned a love of drawing into a career in commercial/creative illustration.

That said, ILLO won’t disappoint those with just a casual interest in illustration or contemporary art. Graphic designers, vinyl toy collectors, tattoo artists, and magazine publishers will all find something to enjoy as they flick through the magazine’s colorful pages. I definitely wouldn’t call ILLO a trend magazine because most of the artists it features are not easily categorized. They come from unique backgrounds and their work is often informed by very personal ideas. These folks don’t follow trends, they define them.

If you’re still not sure that all this is worth $10 an issue, I recommend you check out the ILLO’s website. ILLO is one of just a few periodicals that offer sneak previews online, and the thumbnails from issue #1 will give you a good sense of the magazine’s overall look and feel. I, for one, love it that ILLO doesn’t adhere to just one style. The first issue contains everything from Mitch O’Connell’s bold and saucy work to Mark Schultz’s painterly and highly-detailed comic pieces.

Is it all a little too over-the-top for you? Do you long for the classics? If that’s the case, check out ILLO’s older cousin Illustration. It’s a gorgeous quarterly focused on classic American work.

Whichever you choose (I say both!), you’re bound to find some new and useful insights into the world of illustration.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008 at 2:34 pm and is filed under Book Reviews, Illustration. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.