Illustration Teardowns: Figures Included

Scenic illustrations can oftentimes benefit from the subtle use of figures. These figures may be placed as a focal, middle, or background element depending on the intended narrative effect.

Girl sipping drink in dip pool—illustration by Rob Levin

In the spirit of UX Teardowns, I’ll be looking at illustrators that catch my eye, and try to analyze what makes their work so compelling. Please note that all illustrations hereinafter (besides the one above), are the express work of the artist I’m reviewing; I do not take any credit for their works! Also, I will try to be careful to post links back to the artist’s site — so if you click their image it will link through.

There’s a show on Netflix called Your Brush With Nature, where painter Heiner Hertling takes you through a plein air per episode, much the way Bob Ross used to do. I like to watch this show when I’m on “baby duty” ☺. In one episode (I unfortunately don’t have a direct link), Heiner shows how many landscapes or seascapes can be “dressed up” by the subtle use of figures. Joshua Been also talks about Painting the Figure In The Landscape, stating that the use of figure can give a painting “a lived in feel”, and “a sense of scale”.

While figures aren’t appropriate for every work, I generally agree that they can add a sort of related narrative. Let’s take a look at this use of figure in some contemporary illustrations. I’ll be doing observations in the figure captions this time…

Malika Favre

Malika Favre’s June features the back silhouette of a swimmer with her flowing hair and smooth glide through the water. The way she’s broken the line in the arms and lower legs gives a wonderful feeling of movement appropriate for the girl submerged in water. While the amount of image space used for the figure is minimal, our eyes go right to her and can relate to the luxurious idea of taking a lap in a 5 star pool.

Despite the “flat” style, the silhouette and careful placement of the shadow shape informs the viewer of the form. For example, the long S-curve shadow shape from the top of her back down through to the buttocks and side of left leg, give a definite depth to the figure. Same thing for the shadow over her right wrist. Soles of feet. It’s subtle, but Malika’s ability to go closer to anatomically correct figures, without detracting from the graphical style of her illustrations is absolutely uncanny.

I love Malika’s style (can you tell!?). While I see several influences—training in proper figure drawing to inform her minimalistic style, pop art, patterns and architecture, film noir—I notice a slight resemblance to the 80’s pop illustrator of my era Patrick Nagel who was also quite ground-breaking at using minimal colors, shapes, and lines, to produce figures that were semi-realistic from an illustration perspective.

Katsushika Hokusai

The vague but interesting figures to the left bring life and a narrative to the scene—are they samurai’s setting camp for the night by necessity? Where on their adventure will they be going next?

David Doran

David Doran’s Sailing the Seas takes liberty with the length of the figures giving them a “larger than life” feel, while playing up the bugs eye viewpoint.

Takasina Kamura

Takasina Kamura’s landscape strategically places the small figures sneaking out behind the leftmost foreground plant, giving the viewer a sense that they’re getting a glimpse of a private party. Don’t you just love the pattern hatching and overt “in your face” foreground plants juxtapose to the the distant bridge and mountains in the background giving depth to the scene?

Jeremy Booth

Jeremy Booth’s Bar Maid uses simple silhouette, non-contrasting color, and geometric shapes (e.g. the nose and mouth indentation are both triangles) to give the figure a more subdued, blended in feel

Owen Gatley

Owen Gatley’s The Best Things in Life Are Free illustration takes what would be a rather typical landscape and really brings it to life with the figures. Although, essentially simple silhouettes, they’re all moving or posed in an interesting way giving a sense of action.

Brian Miller

Brian Miller’s figures have a rectangular geometric shape to them nicely riffing of the angular rock shapes in the scene. Extremely small in the composition, they still hold an important part to the narrative.

Sébastien Plassard

Sometimes a diminutive figure such as this can give a sense of urgency to the scene. Here, it plays nicely with the color red which adds to the unsettling mood.

Pascal Campion

Pascal Campion’s figures always tell a story and bring the viewer in to the scene. “What are they looking up at?” Similar to David Doran, Pascal’s figures are often tall and slender and purposely not to proportion giving a sense of fantastical whimsy reminiscent of a Disney feature.

Mark Boardman

Another more geometric figure in this atmospheric illustration by Mark Boardman

Overall Observations

• Some figures will be more anatomically correct and some will be more abstract. Usually, this should reflect the underlying approach of the illustration style.
• Flat does not have to equal abstract (as it usually does). Malika Favre is a perfect example of this, with her strategic placement of every element giving a sense of realism against the graphical backdrop.
• Geometric shapes, elongated forms, etc., can be used to abstract the figure away from the more literal.
• Scale of figure vs. scale of overall composition can give a sense of overall space to the scene, and also be used to infer a feeling.

Previous in series: Italian Illustrators. Next in series: Matisse Erwhere. Also, you may like one of my other illustration teardowns.

Rob Levin is a freelance illustrator. Portfolio: https://roblevin.myportfolio.com/ For illustration work enquiries, collaboration, or to say hi: roblevinillustration@gmail.com.

Also, you may like to read more of the illustration teardowns articles.