Utne Reader Illustrated: Pablo Lobato

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In this continuing series, Utne Reader Art Director Stephanie Glaros explains the
process behind an
Utne Reader
illustration.

“Larry King Is the Future” is a hilarious article in which,
as the author states, “an old man yammers about how old he is,” and claims that
“Larry King and Lady Gaga are the same.” I knew there was fun visual potential to
play with the iconic King and Gaga, and I knew just who to call: Pablo Lobato
(a.k.a. Pablo). No one does caricature like Pablo. His illustrations are fun,
funky and modern, and there’s no mistaking who his subjects are, despite the fact
that he uses mostly geometric shapes to assemble their features. I sent Pablo
the story, and asked him to create “an illo that shows Larry asGaga and Gaga as Larry.” Any of his
sketches (below) would have worked well as is, but instead we asked him to
combine our favorite Gaga with our favorite King for the final illustration.
The final result (above) captures both celebrities with astonishing accuracy. And
I love how he uses repeated shapes and elements to unify the image. Thanks,
Pablo!

Since its inception in 1984, Utne Reader has relied on talented artists to create original
images for stories that express powerful emotions, brilliant new ideas, and
humorous storytelling. Browsing through back issues of
Utne Reader is like a tour of “Who’s Who”
in the illustration world. Artists like Gary Baseman, Brad Holland, Anita Kunz,
Bill Plympton, and Seymour Chwast have graced our pages over the years, to name
just a few.

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