Copies of a Copy

In 2007, an investment firm hired my studio, ERA404, to design an “Indiana Jones diary” for a global investor, as a unique way of showcasing their findings from a literacy study they conducted. Part of the project was creating a dozen or so original illustrations from his travels. One of the illustrations was of Huckleberry Finn rafting down the Mississippi River. I confess that I borrowed inspiration from an iconic book cover when creating the artwork.

"Huck Finn River" Google Search ResultsA few weeks ago, a friend and colleague pointed my attention to an article on VentureBeat.com which incorporated a cropped version of this illustration. On a whim, I did a Google Image Search, and was able to find that this image has been reproduced, re-cropped, and re-used in 8 pages and 90 links worth of results, making it one of the most frequently returned images in Google searches with the keywords “huck finn river”.

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Huckleberry Finn Illustration

Huckleberry Finn Illustration

Guess someone liked my Huckleberry Finn illustration for the Global Investment Literacy client so much, they decided to use it (without mention or credit) on VentureBeat. I suppose plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery.

See the finished book and all illustrations for this project in the ERA404 portfolio. Follow me @citarella and @era404 on Twitter.

Special thanks to @todd_greene for finding and sharing the link.

Street Art Utopia

Mike found a link on Street Art Utopia, which recently posted the 106 best street art photos of 2013. This gallery shows my favorites, but the site is a wealth of artistic and clever pieces. Take a moment to peruse their gallery to see that there’s more in the world of street art than just Banksy.

Fore-Edge Paintings in 19th Century Books

Fore-edge painting, which is believed to date back as early as the 1650s, is a way of hiding a painting on the edge of a book so that it can only be seen when the pages are fanned out. There are even books that have double fore-edge paintings, where a different image can be seen by flipping the book over and fanning the pages in the opposite direction.

(via This is Colossal)

Animated Gifs, by Rebecca Mock

Rebecca Mock

A few months ago, the internet was all aflutter about a wonderful illustrated GIF that appeared on a New York Times opinion piece about Amtrak’s Quiet Car– the GIF was a sweet and subtle animation of the train interior with muted scenery flying by in the windows. This GIF magic was drawn by Brooklyn artist Rebecca Mock, who has a particular talent for creating charming illustrations with simple animated effects: in one GIF, the ceiling fan lazily spins above a sleeping couple, and in another, nothing is perceptibly moving besides a sign swinging in the wind and one lone “Don’t Walk” signal blinking alongside.  Read more

Altamira

Altamira Bison

In researching inspirational photos for some new wine labels for a client, I came across these breathtaking paleolithic cave paintings from the cave of Altamira, located near the town of Santillana del Mar in Cantabria, Spain. Just one glance at the beauty and wonder of the artwork proves why the cave and its paintings has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Read more