Max Riffner: May 2005

Classics Illustrated

Inspired by the classic pinups of yesteryear, here are my takes on the vintage pinup girl calendars (with a cartoonist's twist). Each month, I'll produce a pinup illustration available for download to use as wallpaper for your computer desktop. I may change my style from month to month in subject and in illustrative technique. For example, some may be very Vargas inspired, where as the next month could look like something Tex Avery would have done. Either way, these retro-inspired girls will hopefully give me a chance to explore the past (along with the female form in sexy and fun ways), and for you to enjoy the present everytime you turn on your computer.

Recommended Books

Instructions

Click on the size you want.
Your choice will download directly to your desktop.
The desktop pinup images available on this page are licensed under a Creative Commons License

Pinup Archive

July 2006 · Thursday July 6, 2006
June 2006 · Thursday June 1, 2006
May 2006 · Tuesday May 30, 2006
April 2006 · Sunday April 2, 2006
March 2006 · Friday March 3, 2006
February 2006 · Saturday January 28, 2006
January 2006 · Monday January 2, 2006
December 2005 · Sunday December 4, 2005
November 2005 · Sunday October 30, 2005
October 2005 · Sunday October 2, 2005
September 2005 · Friday September 2, 2005
August 2005 · Sunday July 31, 2005
July 2005 · Thursday June 30, 2005
June 2005 · Sunday May 29, 2005
May 2005 · Saturday April 30, 2005
April 2005 · Tuesday March 29, 2005
March 2005 · Sunday February 27, 2005

SuicideGirls.com - Pin-Up Punk Rock and Goth Girls

Pinups

May 2005

Clicking on the above image will give you a full size preview!

Notes: Holy cow, May is here already! This month’s entry is inspired from my recent discovery of Jack Cole’s work on Playboy. Like many comic guys, I only knew Jack Cole’s work from his creation of Plastic Man. I had no idea that he had also been one of the main cartoonists for Playboy’s early issues in the 50s.

After examining some of his work, I thought this month it would be challenging to try an inkwash. Again, all effects were done in Adobe Illustrator using its superior brush effects and combinations. I am especially happy with the hair and fishnets (which took forever to get right, but well worth my patience). The trick with doing traditional illustrative effects in Illustrator is to have done them before in the physical world, in my opinion. It would be easy to just use the brush effects and slap down strokes haphazardly, leaving you with a piece that doesn’t have the feel of an inkwash. I’ve done many inkwashes before in college; that knowledge of how the wash is handled helps create the illusion. If you are curious how it is done, become a Premium Donor and download the file for yourself.

This pinup has been the most challenging and most rewarding thus far, lending to my goal of style experimentation with these pieces. I’m learning so much and expanding my visual vocabulary as I go, and I think you can see that progression in the three desktops I have done so far. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did creating it!

For more information on Jack Cole, here are two great resources:

Jack Cole and Plastic Man: Forms Stretched to Their Limits

The Classic Pin-Up Art of Jack Cole

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