An artist I began following recently is Marcelo Frusin, from Argentina. He cooperated with writer Brian Azzarello in the creation of the western comic book series “Loveless”. Unfortunately there is not much material about Frusin, but I really like his style. He relies intensively on black tones and silhouette figures, creating a very good atmosphere without excessive details. When I discovered him, I had a western plot that I was scriptwriting and wanted to try a more simple style with a major focus on mood. One of my weak spots is confidence in lights and shadows, and I think that following his style is helping me.
“Loveless” issue n.1, cover by Marcelo Frusin,2005. “Time was away”, cover by John Minton, 1948.
There are many differences between these two book covers. In Frusins illustration emphasis is on drama and action. These can be especially noted in the foreshortening of the gun,the facial expression of the main character and in the movement of the three gunmen. The sentence “Behind every bad man is a badder woman” adds a sense of mistery to the red silhouette of the woman in the background. This illustration has been created in digital. On the other hand, Minton’s cover gives a sense of a peaceful atmosphere.The colors are warm and the values are only rendered in black. A series of lines in the sky, together with the highlights on the sea, give the impression of a sunny day. I do not find Minton’s cover particularly old-fashioned, except maybe from the text font, and I think that this illustration could be suited for a modern travel book. I think he used watercolors and ink, but I’m not sure since I still don’t have a good background of traditional medium.
Key Steps in Illustration 