When Schiffer Publishing contacted me to be in their new book, The Contemporary Illustrated Pin-Up, I was totally psyched. Being so new to the world of pinup, it was a real honor to be featured amongst the ranks of so many amazingly talented artists and for such a well-respected publisher.

About the Book

The first thing you’ll notice about the book is that it is beautiful! It’s 128 brightly colored, glossy pages makes for an awesome coffee table book for any pinup fan. What I love about the book (aside from me being in it, ehem…) is that it covers such a wide range of styles. It features 15 contemporary pinup artists and gives each of them a decent presentation.

I have a LOT of pinup books and this is one that definitely stands out from the rest. So many pin-up books tend to just rehash the old masters over and over. And don’t get me wrong, I love them all, but pinup is such a trend these days, and we are seeing the same stuff everywhere, (card shops, tin plated household swag, clothing, etc) so it was refreshing to see new artists finally getting some well deserved exposure.

Armando Huerta (aka the Dark Lord of Pinup) is a god with an airbrush. The dude absolutely blows me away with his detail. The black and white stripy sock drawings by Dirk Richter and the highly detailed acrylic pieces by Sonja Roji are also some of my personal favorites.

Artists Featured

Steve Baer, Paul John Ballard, Carlos Cartagena, Matt Dixon, Sean Early, Brian Gibbs, Erica Hesse, Armando Huerta, Michael Landefeild, Jan Meininghaus, Ed Mironiuk, Krystof Nemeth, Dave Nestler, Dirk Richter & Sonia Roji.

Motivation

I talked to Jesse Marth, marketing director at Schiffer Publishing, about what their motivation was for creating the book. Here’s what he had to say:

“We have a healthy list of pin up photography art books and a few years ago I started going to comic cons and realized there was a whole other side to pin up when I visited artist alley.

That new media for a traditional form was attractive and so we decided to do a compilation of some of the best artists we could find. We sent out a call to submission to contacts from comic con but also internet research.

We wanted to bring attention to this contemporary style of pin up and support the work of these creative artists who are combining tradition with modern cultural references and even humor.

That is what led is to publish the book.”

Note to up and coming pinup artists: Get your stuff out there and discoverable online and in the conventions! You never know who might be watching. Portfolio, Portfolio, Portfolio!

I really hope they decide to do a Volume 2 or even more. There are so many new artists these days that it would be a great opportunity to give them exposure in such a prestigious way.

By the way, stay tuned for a signed giveaway contest coming soon on Digital Pinup Magazine!

Buy Now on Amazon

Pick up your copy of The Contemporary Illustrated Pin-up on Amazon: Click Here

More Pin-Up Books By Schiffer Publishing

For more Pin-Up books by Schiffer Publishing, Click Here