Retro Modern Illustrators: Johnny Yanok By Way Of Charles Harper

Johnny Yanok is a working illustrator for hire as well as a fine artist who has been around for a few years. I found Johnny when I was designing my boy's clothing line Georgie World and I needed a t-shirt designer. I thought Johnny's work was colorful, creative, and he had a mischievous thread that wove through his personal work. I am not the only one who thinks Johnny is an amazing artist- so does Target and the Cartoon Network! Both have hired Johnny for various independent projects. Here is one of the t-shirts he designed for me, along with other projects for other clients:












Isn't he great? Johnny is very shy, and he never really talks about himself, so there are almost no interviews online. However I found out from his MySpace page that Charles Harper is one of his influences, and I happen to think Mr. Harper is a genius, so lets explore him, shall we!

Charles Harper (also known as Charley) was an illustrator and fine artist who's best known for illustrating The Golden Book Of Biology, which sounds really boring, but his artwork made it compelling. Check this out:







Aren't those remarkable! I think the colors are some of the best we have seen yet, and I love how he stylizes his subjects. Even those cells in the first picture are stunning. I mean wouldn't you love to have a skirt with that as the fabric design?

To find out more about Charles Harper, check out this video where Todd Oldham interviews Harper a few years before his death in 2007: