Philipp Beck

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Conceptual

Graphic

Lettering

Retro

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The Black Keys Hell of a Season poster with moon and bird by Philipp Beck

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Illustration with torch and text We Remember for Holocaust Remembrance Day

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Hand-lettered merch design for California dispensary Embarc by Philipp Beck

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Classic influences with that certain twist.

The beautiful yesterday in the even more beautiful today.

And Philipp’s story as an illustrator captures the zeitgeist. He’s an entirely self-taught artist who used his creativity to survive lockdown in 2020 and discovered his talent for illustration powered by digital tools and a long-held passion for drawing. While his main source of inspiration is the pre-digital artwork and lettering of the early 20th century – with requisite warmth, friendliness and sentimentality – Philipp also draws on diverse influences such as 19th century architecture, the Surrealist movement, sci-fi novels and comics, punk tattoos and 80s and 90s pop culture.

Approach

A project begins with pen-on-paper sketching to establish the composition, before Philipp builds up content in more detail in Procreate. When a direction has been chosen, the illustration is finalised in Procreate and/or Photoshop for delivery.

Key software

Procreate and Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator or After Effects for animation.

Style

Classic influences are given a bold, modern twist using strong line work and detailed compositions. Philipp works flexibly with his clients to meet their needs.

Languages

English and German

Impressions

Interview

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Interview

What led you to become an illustrator? What fascinates me most about the craft is that illustration really stimulates your imagination. Other visual arts like photography and video are amazing art forms in themselves, but what has always struck me as unique about illustration is that it doesn’t spell everything out - it merely creates an impulse and leaves the rest to your imagination. Whenever I see an illustration, I can’t help but wonder what else is happening in that illustration’s little world, apart from what is immediately visible. What happened right before and after this still image? Exploring this from the creator’s side is not only a lot of fun - it’s also deeply therapeutic because while I’m drawing, all the doubts and worries that tend to weigh on us disappear for a while. Did you study illustration in college? No, I'm self-taught. I only started learning how to draw and design digitally during the pandemic - thanks to all the amazing resources people shared online. This really ignited a spark, and I kept diving deeper into it until I gradually transitioned from my previous job to working as an illustrator. Where did you grow up? I grew up in Bayreuth, a small town in Bavaria. Do you have a childhood memory relating to art that you hold dear? The first thing I distinctly remember drawing were knights, dragons and treasure caves. As an early teenager, I then became fascinated with the aesthetics of skateboarding and spent a lot of time redrawing logos of skate brands as well as designing my own imagined t-shirts and skateboard decks. Can you remember when you first saw art used in a commercial context? I remember being fascinated by commercial art as a young kid, especially bold typography, for example on the covers of comic books or on bubble gum packaging. However, it never really occurred to me that all this had to be created by hand at some point. Only when I realised that actual human beings were responsible for the creation of this commercial art, my real fascination began because I started asking myself how they did it. Where do you live now and what drew you there? I live in Leipzig, a mid-sized city in East Germany. I first visited Leipzig to get a tattoo by an artist who had his studio here. I instantly fell in love with the mix of architectural beauty and cultural vibrancy and knew I would have to move there some day. I love old buildings, and entire neighbourhoods here have preserved their historic architecture - and although it's getting more expensive, there's a strong and active art and culture scene that makes it easy to meet and connect with like-minded people. Describe your studio for us I work from home and my studio is a light room with high ceilings. I have my desk by the window with a view of the quiet street below and of the neighbouring roofs. If I’m not at the desk, I take my iPad to the couch, all the while in the great company of my books and my plants. On the walls, you’ll find vintage packaging and signs I picked up at flea markets as well as prints of other artists whose work I admire. I only recently moved to this new apartment and consider myself very lucky to have found a place like this. Who or What is your biggest inspiration? All the thousands of little things I see when I step outside. I love wandering the streets of cities and see what interesting things my eyes can find. Visually, there’s an endless amount to discover and I particularly enjoy taking in the thousands of architectural particularities of old buildings, their little imperfections. Specifically, I’m fascinated by typography on buildings: an old engraving on an official building, the front of a small shop or the withered remainders of a once hand-painted ghost sign. When I look at all this, I can’t help but wonder who the people were that built those houses, who crafted the many little pieces the buildings consist of, what the shop and its customers once looked like or how the sign painter’s workshop smelled. What was your favourite assignment ever? While there thankfully were plenty of great collaborations, I think I’d have to say my favourite one was with Honest Toil, a family-operated producer of olive oil based in Greece. It was such a pleasure to work with Tom and Juli on their industrial-sized 10L box. They had a great vision yet gave me lots of creative freedom. The result was an all-around illustrated product taking inspiration from vintage packaging and the Messinia region’s olive groves. It went on to be shortlisted at the V&A Illustration Awards in Commercial & Advertising, making it a great experience from start to finish.What’s your favourite way to spend a day off? I really enjoy the morning atmosphere, when you’re looking forward to the day ahead and don’t know yet what it will bring. So my ideal day would probably start off by having breakfast with good friends somewhere outside, and later going on a hike or a bike tour together, which always feels like seizing the day to me. Do you collect anything? I try not to because I know I’m only a brief lapse in attention away from becoming a hoarder. But since my inner hoarder is a good negotiator, we have agreed that if something can be framed and hung up on the wall, it’s fine to buy it. So while I don’t actively hunt for them, I can hardly resist buying an old advertising sign when I come across one. What's your favourite podcast? There’re three podcasts I frequently listen to when I’m working: The first one is called 'Geschichten aus der Geschichte' ('Stories from History'), and it’s basically two historians who take turns in telling each other about a specific historic situation. The two are just really likeable and it’s somehow comforting to listen to their conversation. The next one is 'The Ezra Klein Show' by the New York Times Opinion. It discusses US and world politics in a very accessible, intelligent, and deeply reflective way, and the guests are always worth listening to. The third one is 'Paid 2 Draw', a really friendly and down-to-earth illustration podcast from Berlin. The hosts David Leutert and Viktoria Cichon discuss all things illustration with ever-changing guests from the industry, and I really appreciate how it makes you feel connected to your peers in a line of work that can be rather solitary. What is your favourite book? It’s hard to break it down into a single book, but I would probably say '100 Years of Solitude' by Gabriel García Márquez and 'The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy' by Douglas Adams. The narrative density of 100 Years of Solitude and its atmosphere, is unparalleled. I’m really fascinated by how it intertwines myth and reality so tightly and fluidly that, at some point, you find yourself giving up trying to tell them apart and just surrender yourself to the story. As for 'The Hitchhiker’s Guide': I’ve never read a book that so perfectly describes my own perspective on the world and human existence in general - way better than I ever could myself. And it does so with such wit, sharp observations, and genuine warmth that reading it really is an absolute joy. What is the last show you binged? 'The Sopranos'. Over 25 years old by now, but still incredibly entertaining - plus every now and then you get to see some vintage NYC shopfronts and signage with cool typography! If a client paid you enough money to take a year off and create whatever you want – an open brief - no constraints - what would you create? I would love to go all out with an entirely illustration-based corporate design, developing an abundance of illustrated assets. Ideally, this would be for the manufacturer of some kind of product, so I can really dive into the creation of the packaging, around which a whole suite would be developed: posters, stickers, stationery, company vehicles, merchandise, shopfronts, you name it. Is there a type of job you haven't done yet, but would love to do? I would love to work on gig posters more. I enjoy the blend of music and visual art, and I really appreciate that the result is a tangible product - something that reaches an audience that’s emotionally connected to the music. What career advice would you give your younger self? Since I only made the career switch to being an illustrator after 30, it would definitely be: Get started sooner!

Favourites

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