Javi Royo, instructor at LABASAD, recommends 3 reference illustrators
Saul Steinberg, Julian Opie and Christoph Niemann are three of the references that Javi recommends that we take into account when looking for inspiration.
We went to visit Javi Royo at his studio, he is an illustrator, designer and professor at LABASAD, he runs the Chispum studio, a very cool space in the neighbourhood of Gracia, in Barcelona. Javi is a professor of the subject “Thinking and communicating with images. From abstraction to image” within the Máster Online en Ilustración Editorial y Publicitaria and has collaborated with brands such as El País, El Semanal, Visual, La Maleta de Portbou, Uppers, Cuarto Poder, El Meteorito and El Estafador. During our visit he recommended 3 leading illustrators and artists that you absolutely have to know.
The first illustrator that he mentioned to us is a great influencer for everyone who has worked and published on social networks, Saul Steinberg, he is an American cartoonist and illustrator originally from Romania, known for his work for The New Yorker. Saul lived during the 20th century and took many references from the artistic avant-garde to develop his personal brand. He has large projects where he tells stories only through drawing, and making a visual narrative which is a very simple way to approach illustration.
Another artist that Javi spoke to us about is Julian Opie, he has worked with the idea of reducing illustrations to simple icons, but working a lot on movement as if it were real. We can divide his artistic production into several groups, from figurative painting and the human figure, through sculpture, using everyday objects, wood, paper or plastic, to installations with videos and electronic, three-dimensional panels.
The last illustrator is a contemporary classic, Christoph Niemann, a person who integrates many objects and elements into his drawings. Christoph is an illustrator, graphic designer, author and animator. Since July 2008 he has written and illustrated The New York Times’ Abstract City blog. His work appears in prestigious magazines such as The New Yorker, National Geographic and The New York Times Magazine.
Javi mentioned that on Netflix there is a documentary called Abstract in which the first chapter is dedicated to Christoph and it is very interesting.
If you want to learn illustration with teachers as spectacular as Javi Royo or want more information about our Online Masters in Illustration, send us an email to [email protected] and we will be happy to help you.