The Art of Australian Geographic Illustration by Alasdair McGregor

Synopsis: Twenty seven years of excellence in illustration is celebrated in this sumptuously illustrated book from Australian Geographic.

The illustrator’s art has been one of the cornerstones of Australian Geographic since Banjo the platypus graced the cover of the first issue in 1986. Photo-realistic illustrations of native fauna appeared on each cover for the first 83 issues.

Inside the pages of Australian Geographic, illustration has been used to explain complex data, recreate scenes from our ancient past or simply to show us nature in all its detailed glory and continues to be a vital storytelling tool.

This gorgeous book boasts 224 pages of beautiful images from many of Australia’s finest natural history artists. Enjoy the chance to see many familiar scenes in a whole new light as they feature as artworks in their own right.

The book is packed with depictions of Australia’s fauna and flora as rendered by the finest illustrators and features words from award winning writer and artist Alasdair McGregor.

Published: November 2013 | ISBN: 9781742454726

Author’s Homepage: http://www.alasdairmcgregor.com.au

Like many Australians from my generation, I have fond memories of the beautiful, photo-realistically illustrated covers of Australian Geographic.  The Art of Australian Geographic Illustrations showcases these paintings, and many of the exquisitely detailed illustrations and diagrams that filled the pages of the magazine.  Artists’ work ranges from long time contributors such as Ego Guiotto’s traditional wildlife paintings to newcomers like Alex Ries and his digital space illustrations.  Alasdair McGregor discusses the context of these illustrations and profiles some of Australian Geographic’s long term contributors.  The resulting book is a beautiful, and often nostalgic compilation of Australian scientific illustrations. – From Tessa Koumoundouros’s 10 Great Books on Scientific Illustration

[Image Credit: http://res.cloudinary.com/wlabs/image/upload/v1411620296/kwozbfcur5kzixwq3tyt.jpg ]