"In every art beginners must start with models of those who have practiced the same art before them. And it is not only a matter of looking at the drawings, paintings, musical compositions, and poems that have been and are being created; it is a matter of being drawn into the individual work of art, of realizing that it has been made by a real human being, and trying to discover the secret of its creation." ~Ruth Whitman
This guy's colors are great even though he seems to use a very limited palette. But most of all, he has got an INCREDIBLE sense of composition! All his designs are very dynamic! HIS WEBSITE IS COOL.
This illustrator is incredible! He uses lots of white lines and shapes to tell stories...instead of the usual black lines of pen and ink! His color sense is wonderful and his hues burn each other at the edges with their contrasting temperature. His website.
My first artist! He has a wonderful video: http://vimeo.com/13387502. He talks about how whenever we draw we get better at it and how we need to go beyond drawing in sketchbooks and let the world see what we are capable of. Really great stuff.