Artist James Jean has been successful in both the commercial and fine art worlds, and it's not hard to see why. I always love to look at artists' sketchbooks -- it's the closest you can get to seeing the world through their eyes. There are lots of indications of the thought processes, and tons of small gems to discover. And in Jean's sketchbooks, we get to see the exquisite draftsmanship and sensitivity of his undeniable natural talent.
To Twitter-philes, Yiying Lu isn't a household name, but she should be. She is the creator of the omnipresent "FailWhale," a lovely illustration of a whale being lifted and carried by birds. Twitter chose to use this illustration when the service was unavailable or overloaded, and as such it gained the nickname of the FailWhale.
On the show this week we highlighted surrealist/fantasy painter and illustrator Ryohei Hase from Tokyo, Japan. He created works for book covers, the web, games, and magazine, and he exhibits his paintings regularly in Tokyo. More of his work after the jump.
