Russell Cobb - Visiting Lecturer

I found the studio day when Russell Cobb came to visit and gave a talk particularly enjoyable and informative; I have an appreciation of his illustrative work. I love his use of a bright colour palette and imaginative style that has a sense of storytelling about it.

He has given a lecture called 'An Inside View' at different universities who offer art and design courses, in this talk he discusses his focus on sketchbooks and the importance of an illustrator creating self-initiated work.

Spring Collection 2015 V7, New Paintings on paper (part of a collection of work)

Russell Cobb described sketchbooks as 'vehicles for ideas'. He uses a sketchbook as if it was a diary. He believes that in order to sustain a career in Illustration you need to use a creative thought process, have a line of enquiry and have a sense of self critique.

He tries to sit and draw everyday, using the powers of observation as the most important part because the more you look, the more you see. He likes to brainstorm and include lots of detail. His work has been featured in the AOI Awards book, he created four spreads that were put together in print production. Russell enjoys reading encyclopaedias for Illustration ideas.

The sketchbooks he filled in the 1990s are full of responses to text/books, type and image, pen and pencil drawings, paintings... He enjoys drawing from the stage, industrial design, watching films and reading books. He believes an illustrator needs to be obsessive about what they do. He likes to write lists. Russell prefers to work in a black and white colour palette for quickness but he does use colour in longer scale illustrations.

 When drawing and creating illustrations, Russell tries to look for connections. He enjoys listening to conversations which may give him ideas. Sometimes, he draws himself drawing and he enjoys drawing architecture. He suggested we should be broad in our own illustrative practice, exploring many different areas. He also thinks it is good practice to have one than one sketchbook on the go. 

Personal Work

Self-initiated work is an important part of Russell's illustrative practice. He creates paintings from work he has created previously in sketchbooks. He also likes to buy old books from second hand book shops and create work in those. He stressed the importance of finding a 'subject matter that really interests you'.

An example of some of Russell's personal work is a series of 60 paintings in books he created to illustrate the song, Rings of Saturn.

Below are some paintings that Russell created on books. They are self-initiated paintings painted on books found in old book shops.

Self Promotion

Russell tries to do as much self promotion as he can. He sends ideas to creative magazines. Enters competitions and pays to have his work printed in trade books and award books. He thinks sending a postcard to an Illustration or design company is a good idea - an illustrated postcard should include contact details and reference your own interests. 

He has personally created 40 to 50 postcards that can then be sent off to collect and keep. He made them from drawings he has created in sketchbooks such as people drinking coffee. He once covered his whole studio with his drawings, it almost looked like a wallpaper because of the way he had stuck all of the pieces of paper to the wall. 

Russell also enjoys creating drawing books, such as illustrating animals that make up the form of a car or creating a car made out of a jungle. These books have a key theme and explore the theme in unusual but visually exciting ways. 

He believes photography is important, especially when he is creating packaging. He uses colours as a trigger point for the viewer. He has created war art as a self-initiated project at an army base.

Russell has his own agent, Debut Art, and he also posts his work on his own Instagram  - @russellcobb (photography account mainly) and @russellcobb_art

Below is the wallpaper style installation that Russell created in his studio. The project was the winner of the Best in Book in the Creative Review Illustration Annual 2011.

Drawn Ideas Room Installation

Published Work

Alot of the work that Russell produces for publication starts from little sketches. He has created advertising illustration for the Times, Feed Your Mind campaign billboard and for TV.

He designed a collection of Royal Mail stamps that featured Medical Pioneers. Russell enjoys creating book covers, he likes to find a connection between text and image. 

This isn't true for all Illustrators, but Russell enjoys the quick speed and turn around when working for newspapers creating editorial illustrations, he likes to cross reference things. For one commission, he combined imagery he created for New Scientist magazine. 

Another commission he worked on was a Yearbook for UBS Bank. 

Russell has 5 regular 'house' clients. 40% of his illustration work is commission and 60% is self-initiated. He was the Chairman of the AOI for 5 years.

An editorial illustration commissioned by The Times newspaper

Book cover designs

To finish his talk, Russell Cobb gave some advice to us. He emphasised the importance of drawing on location, he likes to use a rotring pen, ink pen and collage. He said if you ever decide to get yourself an agent, you should ensure that you know what they are doing and how they will feature you on their website. The agent deals with the clients and paperwork, fees, licensing and below or above the line contracts so they are useful for illustrators who may struggle with the business side of the field.

He recommended a book to us, 'The AOI Guide to Law and Business Practice which would be especially useful for those of us who wish to become freelance illustrators. He said never to work for free, even when giving a pitch to a creative company.

Finally, he said you must 'value yourself as a creative'.