Master Copy Monday | Austin Briggs

Wassup guys,

This week I selected the artist, Austin Briggs for my master copy. Austin was an American cartoonist and illustrator who got his start contributing to the popular comic strip "Flash Gordon" during the early 40s. After 1944 however, Briggs moved on to providing illustrions for the editorials "Readers Digest" and "The Saturday Evening Post". In 1969, he was elected to join the Society of Illustrators' Hall of Fame.

The illustration I chose from Briggs' expansive portfolio was originaly featured in "TV Guide". I decided to focus on the central character editing out the other story elements, so that I could explore the looseness of Briggs' style. His linework is very gestural and confident. Some sections of the anatomy and clothing flowing together as if it were a contour drawing. As for the materials used, It appears he originally used conte crayon, but since I don't have any among my supplies, I attempted to recreate those effortless value changes with a ballpoint pen. I took the liberty of changing a few story elements to fit the allocated space in my sketchbook. In hindsight, I probably would have drawn a small table, an ashtray, and a rotary telephone to compliment the gentleman peering through the blinds.

What do you think? Who is an artist I should consider doing a mater copy of? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. As always, don't forget to like and share this post~

Until next time,
Peace