100 Illustrators that all Illustrators should know: #54
Playboy Magazine Artists:
Erich Sokol (1933-2003) Doug Sneyd (1931-)
Rowland B. Wilson (1930-2005) Eldon Dedini (1921-2006)
Country: Sokol; Austria. Sneyd; Canada.
Wilson, Dedini; USA. Kiraz; Egypt, France
Famous for: Playboy Magazine illustrations, cartoons, gag strips, comics, pinup artwork, animation, character design
Influenced: Arthur Pins, Shane Glines, Jon Kricfalusi, Bruce Timm, Disney Animation,
Influenced by: Renaissance sensibilities, Fashion Illustration, Newspaper Comics, Book Illustration, Editorial Illustration, Political cartoons
Though (obviously) primarily focusing on photos of nude and semi-nude women, Playboy Magazine became a great avenue for illustrators and cartoonists across the globe, employing some top talents such as the ones listed below. Many of these artists were the first to combine humorous cartoon illustration with a more erotic edge, before the advent and explosion of the underground comic movement.
Erich Sokol: Born in Vienna, Austria, Erich Sokol had an interest in art from an early age, and contributed illustrations to many Austrian and German publications. Beginning in the late 1950s, he became a regular contributor to Playboy Magazine as a result of his prowess in painting heavily stylized and attractive female characters. Sokol passed away in 2003 and has since become one of Austria’s most celebrated cartoonists and draftsmen.
Doug Sneyd: Starting work as an artist at some of Canada’s largest advertising studios, Doug Sneyd is one of Playboy’s most prolific artists, with a slew of over 400 gag cartoons appearing in the publication since 1964. As with most Playboy cartoonists, his work is embodied by a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor coupled with appealing stylized characters and caricatures.
Rowland B. Wilson: Born in Texas, Wilson was a gag cartoonist and production artist for many leading publications, including Playboy and TV Guide, Esquire, The New Yorker and more. As time went on, Wilson also created pre-production concept artwork for some of Disney’s features such as The Little Mermaid, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Tarzan and Hercules.
Eldon Dedini: Dedini was yet another one of Playboy’s mainstays, often injecting elements and characters of fantasy and mythology into his illustrations. Besides Playboy, Dedini worked for many other publications, including The New Yorker and Esquire. Dedini studied at the Chouinard Institute, where many of Disney’s veteran artists were formally trained in the arts. Dedini passed away in 2006 at the age of 84.
Edmond Kiraz: Born Kirazian in 1923, Kiraz is an Armenian cartoonist and illustrator from Cairo, who later emigrated to post WWII Paris. He would begin his career with more politically-oriented cartoons, later switching to humor, leading him to work for Playboy. Kiraz developed a very distinct visual style, combining a very sophisticated color palette and design sense with quirky, heavily stylized and elongated fashion-illustration-like figures.
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