My boy, Sam Bosma continues to kill it on his long-term project of depicting The Hobbit through illustration. Read about every step of the way on his blog—the project is half way complete.

And then I’ll be demanding each and every piece printed, and behind glass for me to enjoy selfishly!

On three occasions now, I’ve run into the artwork of Iain Macarthur, through various tubes on the internet. Each time, a new piece of his startles me with excitement, and upon immediate pursuit I realize he’s the skull guy! That’s just a name I’ve given him, because his skull drawings make me weak in the knees… not sure if anyone else calls Iain the skull guy.

Anyway, I decided to booooooom it, and continue this post with more of his skulls. LOOK AT THEM!!! (after the jump)

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These life-like drawings by Dirk Dzimirsky are chilling! I tend to gravitate towards artwork in this tone, and I’ve gotta say, Dzimirsky does it remarkably well.

[Link via: Design is Kinky]

James Murphy can draw! He’s also got a great sense of humor that comes out through his work, oozing with sarcasm and wit. James is a popular artist on the popular artist outfitter, Threadless—here, he goes by the alias, sweet n sour.

Although I can’t manage to locate a portfolio website for Mr. Murphy, there’s more than plenty to admire between his Threadless account page, and his content-heavy Flickr photostream.

From now on, the notes I take at work just might bear a striking resemblance to James Murphy’s drawings!

I needed a visual reference for a project I’m working on at the office. So I turned to Google, but what I got was not what I expected. In fact, it was better than what I set out to find, and it managed to soak up precious minutes of my day! It makes no sense, and I’m not really into video games—and for that matter, I’m certainly not into cats. To top it off, I have no idea who is responsible for this artwork (great journalism skills, right?), only that it exists on an old closet of a blog called Eeegra.

I invite you to share my momentary joy, with Game Mascots with Cat Faces.

The graffiti culture is one that has surrounded me fairly consistently in the past. However, It’s one avenue of lettering that I’ve barely scratched the surface of, myself. Despite the playful, energetic personality that surrounds street artists, there exists a heavy weight that keeps the amateur from breaking into the scene. Street credit exists, and the street is the street after all.

I’ve had the incredible pleasure of visiting 5 Points in Queens, New York on two occasions. Recommendation: if you’ve never been there, get there; this paint-consumed warehouse is one of NYC’s best kept secrets. Since my first visit, I’ve done a lot of research on the progress of street art in all form, I’ve picked the brain of a few friends and acquaintances immersed in the East coast culture – and mind you, they take their identities very seriously. Artists from all around flock to 5 Points for a chance to claim a few square feet of wall space. The location is almost like a who’s who or hall of fame documentation, with names and styles of all kinds on display, and an urban setting that’s absolutely prone to photo and video shoots – one of which was staged and executed during my second visit. I still don’t know what is inside of the warehouse, but I’d like to visualize endless drafting tables and artists plotting their next attack!

While many of the more outstanding pieces on display leave most people dumbfounded and sweating to understand the lettering structure, the main attraction of my post is actually focused on a 50-second scrawl on paper with a chisel tip Sharpie marker. As much respect as I can muster up for the brilliant ensembles of color, pattern, form and depth displayed under bridges and along freight train cars, I find myself most genuinely in love with what are referred to as hand styles.

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I just joined Typophile WordPress, and I’m looking forward to keeping up with my account!! I’ll begin by mentioning a calligraphy-based lettering artist named Luca Barcellona. I stumbled upon his outstanding style via welovetypography.com – what a lovely little designers’ distraction! The lettering styles featured in Luca’s Flickr-based portfolio (http://tinyurl.com/csvkdq) have all found themselves in my research archive, while I struggle to practice a variety of methods on a daily basis.

I know it probably sounds typical, but I feel a bit more than obligated to devote a certain amount of my time to Ooo-ing and Aww-ing over type. Type of all kinds. Lettering of all kinds. I just relocated from Baltimore to Chicago, and while I unpacked all of my books I found myself surrounded, sitting on the floor, flipping through all the books that I’ve neglected over the past few months.

95% of them focus on graphic design; old and new. 90% of them discuss typography. 80% of them were purchased online. 20% of them are annual publications. 10% of them were designed by Abbott Miller. Another 10% of them were edited by, or contributed to by Ellen Lupton. 5% of them are autographed. 3% of them are still contained in shrink wrap. 1% of them are never stacked upon and are contained in a plastic freezer bag, because I don’t even trust myself around the Pentagram Bible. There is also a shelf-full that focus more on photography (but that’s another story).

Writing is always something I thought I would have more time for, and maybe Typophile WordPress will be a nice outlet for that. Looking forward to my next post!