Book Review: Illustration that Works by Greg Houston

Hours disappear in minutes whenever I’m drawing, so it’s great having a sketchbook with me for dull pauses in my day. If I sketch for 20 minutes while sitting in the dentist’s office, it feels like I’d just sat down when my name is called. Seriously, it’s like time travel.

Whenever I sketch in public, there’s a chance someone might notice what I’m doing and we’ll start chatting about drawing and the sort of work I do. Often, that person will tell me they’ve always admired people who could draw but that they aren’t “naturally talented”, themselves. Maybe they have a relative who is good but, “I didn’t get those genes, I guess”. Or “some people are just born with it”.

Ah, the legendary “natural talent”. It’s what allows a select few to paint like Rembrandt from the time they open their gifted little eyes. It’s the extra bonus granted to only the chosen. It’s the elusive strand of midi-chlorians that keeps the rest of us from ever being a Jedi. It’s the Secret Ingredient.

While it’s probably a lot more interesting to think my hand is guided by genetics or The Force, I really just learned how to draw. Everyone who knows how to draw learned to do so. There’s no Secret Ingredient.

Greg Houston would agree. He’s a professional illustrator with an enviable portfolio spanning twenty-five-plus years of working with clients like The Village Voice and Marvel Comics. He’s taught illustration courses at MICA and the art of cartooning to kids. Currently, he can be found at the newly-opened Baltimore Academy of Illustration, where he is a co-founder and instructor. When it comes to commercial art, this is someone you’d want to listen to. So it’s fitting that he’s just published a book on the subject, Illustration That Works. As the title suggests, Houston’s blue-collared approach to a successful career in commercial art preaches a strong work ethic.

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In the preface, he writes,

“It’s a working art. It serves a purpose. Unlike ‘fine art’, illustration isn’t about navel-gazing or finding greater truths in a tube of paint. It’s not for dilettantes or bored socialites. Illustration is an art and a profession.”

And Houston definitely respects his profession. In the chapter “Your Taste Doesn’t Matter”, he writes,

“Once you agree to take on that job, your assignment is to make the best work you can for the client. Trying to railroad the client into seeing things your way isn’t very professional, and giving the client a finished piece that’s different from what you both agreed to is entirely unacceptable.”

As proof of loyalty to these words, he includes multiple examples of work where the client had ideas he didn’t agree with but still realized those ideas with the same level of attention he’d give to any other project.

Other chapters focus on the technical parts of the job: developing concepts, creating effective compositions, research, and style. He writes, “A successful illustration is the perfect combination of style and substance. If that balance is off, the illustration suffers.” Accompanying each lesson are works by classic and contemporary illustrators, as beautiful and inspirational, as they are fantastic examples.

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Written at a quick pace not usually found in vocational guides, Illustration That Works is certainly informative and it’s also entertaining as hell. For example, while stressing the importance of correctly rendering the human form, Houston writes about (and draws!) a guy he saw in college who looked like a living checklist of amateur mistakes. He mentions Dracula enough times to notice and he’s very excited to tell you about gouache.

Illustration That Works is available now to purchase. Check out Greg Houston’s portfolio at www.greghoustonillustration.com and see which courses are being offered at the Baltimore Academy of Illustration at www.baltimoreillustration.com


Greg Jericho spends an awful lot of time designing for clients that do not exist. Check out his work at jerichovinegarworks.com

25 Ways to Rejuvenate Your Creativity

To celebrate AIGA Baltimore’s 25th year, Jon Barnes, Director of Communications at ADG Creative, has a to-do list for you that’ll motivate your imagination.

Dig out some of your old work or go through an earlier portfolio to see how far you’ve come.

Go to a museum you’ve never been to but always wanted to visit.

Watch a documentary on an artist or visionary who inspires you.

Have your best friends bring their favorite inspirational documentaries over for a movie night.

Focus on 1 artistic project you’ve had brewing in your head and get started on it. Not for work, just for you.

Volunteer at a career fair for local students or visit your high school art teacher just to say hi.

Rearrange your home office or studio for a fresh look and feel. Throw some junk out.

Start a file on your computer called “dreams” and start putting thoughts, notes, and ideas into it of your artistic visions.

Go the bookstore and browse through the art or design section. Buy something motivational for your coffee table.

Create a guerrilla art project somewhere secretive in public. Tell no one.

Make a really stylish homemade card for the next family member of yours who has a birthday. Work so hard on it that the card itself becomes the gift.

Post some of your favorite motivational quotes on sticky notes and put them in your car/bathroom/kitchen.

Create a motivational quote wall at your home or office and ask your friends to contribute their favorite inspirational quotes to it.

Take a day off from work and go to the beach. There is something deep and real about the ocean that connects with the artistic process. Schedule it now.

Spoof something famous (Mona Lisa, Abbey Road album cover) and post your subversive work around the office.

Take a new route or mode of transportation to work for a week.

Change your schedule drastically for a month, prioritizing your “personal creative time” above everything else.

Start a Facebook group asking your friends to post links to their favorite art and design websites. Call your group “Design Motivations” or something with the word “-licious” in it.

Get in touch with a local non-profit and offer to do a free piece of design work for them.

Commission a piece of artwork from a child you know. Pay them handsomely for it and hang the artwork in your house or office.

Repaint one of your rooms. Single color or mural.

Have an art show for all your friends and family at your house. Call it an “art party” and post up your work on all the walls. Even better: Rent a few cheap hotel rooms and have your show there.

Volunteer at a senior center or hospital to give some free art lessons or do a fun collaborative design project.

Pick an obscure holiday and plan a celebratory office party around it (Potato Day, Thomas Crapper Day, etc.). Go overboard with decorating, contests, activities and food. Pull in your co-workers to conspire with you in the planning.

Take a look at your personal website or online portfolio. Overhaul the content, get it updated, refresh the look. Barter with someone if you need help.