Inspiring Illustrators

Here is a random assortment of illustrators.  I used this website to look for the illustrators I have listed below.  It is an article from Smashing Magazine by Aquil Akhter.


Yiying Lu is an illustrator out of Sydney, Australia.  I find her work inspiring because they are very simple and clean.  I especially enjoyed perusing her logo designs.  They were very clever, but simple enough to make effective logos on different platforms.  Her other illustrations have the same style.  Her style is very distinct and consistent with lots of bold colors and flat illustration. 
Here is her website:
http://www.yiyinglu.com/

Zutto is a Russian based illustrator.  Zutto's designs are also very distinct.  She uses a lot of bright and rich colors, which enhance the whimsical feeling of her illustrations.  The subject matter brings to mind the game Candyland, but more complex and interesting.  My favorites of her illustrations are The Magic Spring and Calm Decay, both are toward the bottom of her website.  The Magic Spring is striking with the use of a mostly dark illustration and a glowing pool conceived out of bright blues and greens.  Calm Decay is different than much of her work in that it is done mostly in muted tones of gray and green. 
Here is her website:
http://zuttoworld.com/

Christopher Lee is a designer and illustrator originally from Sacramento.   His work varies a lot based on the project.  His portfolio lists the client next to the project, which helps explain the differing styles.  My favorite of his work is the I Heart Pies.  It is a branding piece he did for his friends' pie shop in LA.  I am not typically attracted to logos with a character, but this one is simple enough that it works.  Also it is just cute.  So there is that.
Here is his website:
http://www.thebeastisback.com/work/

I also really like the monochromatic look, as in this illustration by Tom Whalen.

This photo was not cited on the website, but was part of a blog post on Showboat Entertainment. I like the simplicity of it and it gives me some ideas for one of the articles I am considering.

This illustration is also care of Showboat Entertainment. I don't really like the style of this illustration, but it gave me some ideas for one of my potential articles.

Project 1 Research

The NFL and Marijuana 
The NFL currently includes marijuana as one of the drugs they test for in their random drug tests.  This article argues that marijuana is not a performance enhancing drug and would be beneficial as a possible pain killer for professional football players.



Chinese parents and option for more than one child 
Despite the Chinese 1 child policy being lifted if one of the parents is an only child, many Chinese women still say they only want one.


Seattle Center playground plan stuck in Seattle "process"
In typical Seattle fashion, there has been plans for a new playground in the location of the the old Fun Forest at the Seattle Center.  Since 2011 there has been space and funding, but not until this past spring was there even a planning committee convened.