Bob Staake
Encyclopedia
Bob Staake ' is an American illustrator
, cartoonist
, children's book author and designer. He lives and works in Chatham, Massachusetts
on the elbow of Cape Cod
.
After drawing editorial cartoons while at West High School
in Torrance, California
, Staake attended the University of Southern California
(1977) on a journalism/international relations scholarship. He interned at the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial's Students Press Law Center.
, Easy Reader
, the Los Angeles Times
, the Miami Herald, The New York Times
, Sports Illustrated Kids, Time, USA Today
and The Wall Street Journal
. His illustrations have appeared in advertising for numerous companies, including American Express
, the Cartoon Network
, Dr Pepper
, Hallmark Cards
, Kenner Toys, McDonald's
, Nickelodeon
, Ralston Purina, Sony
and United Airlines
.
Starting in 1993, Staake contributed concepts and cartoons to "The Style Invitational
", a humor competition at The Washington Post
. In 1995, he became a regular contributor to Mad
. He created many covers for The New Yorker
, beginning with the September 4, 2006 issue.
Staake is noted for using vintage software to create his illustrations. He currently uses Adobe Photoshop 3.0 on Classic
in Mac OS X
.
Headlines (Warner Books). In 1998, he wrote and illustrated his first book for children, My Little 1 2 3 Book (Little Simon), a 26-page board book
. He followed with numerous books for children, including The Red Lemon, named by The New York Times as one of the ten best illustrated children's books of 2006.
In The Complete Book of Caricature (North Light Books
, 1991). Staake explained how a subject's personality is incorporated into a drawing and provided reference materials, along with samples of caricaturists, including David Levine
, Mort Drucker and Ralph Steadman
. In 1990, 1991 and 1993, Staake wrote and co-edited the Humor and Cartoon Markets series of resource books listing magazines, newsletters, greeting card companies and other publishers who purchase humorous illustrations. In 1996, for The Complete Book of Humorous Art (North Light), he interviewed 20 illustrators, including Gary Baseman
, Lou Brooks and Elwood Smith.
, Aurelius Battaglia
, Mary Blair
, Jean Carlu
, A.M. Cassandre, Paul Colin
, Dr. Seuss
, Charles and Ray Eames
, Walker Evans
, Tibor Gergely
, Edward Gorey
, Paul Klee
, Alvin Lustig
, John Parr Miller, Paul Rand
, Richard Scarry
, Raymond Scott
, Ettore Sottsass
, Phillipe Starck and Grant Wood
.
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
, cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
, children's book author and designer. He lives and works in Chatham, Massachusetts
Chatham, Massachusetts
Chatham is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, Barnstable County being coextensive with Cape Cod. The population was 6,625 at the 2000 census...
on the elbow of Cape Cod
Cape Cod
Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...
.
After drawing editorial cartoons while at West High School
West High School (Torrance)
West Torrance High School is a public high school in Torrance, California, United States. The mascot is the Warrior.-History:West Torrance High was established in 1962. It serves area bounded by 190th Street, Hawthorne, Sepulveda and west city boundary. The school colors are brown and gold. The...
in Torrance, California
Torrance, California
Torrance is a city incorporated in 1921 and located in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Torrance has of shore-front beaches on the Pacific Ocean, quieter and less well-known by tourists than others on the Santa Monica Bay, such as those of neighboring...
, Staake attended the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
(1977) on a journalism/international relations scholarship. He interned at the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial's Students Press Law Center.
Cartoons and illustration
Artwork by Staake has been published in the Chicago TribuneChicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
, Easy Reader
Easy Reader
Founded in 1970, the is a weekly newspaper published every Thursday and delivered to homes in Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, and Redondo Beach , with a circulation of approximately 57,000, offering local news and extensive entertainment listings. It is the legally adjudicated newspaper for the...
, the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, the Miami Herald, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Sports Illustrated Kids, Time, USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
and The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
. His illustrations have appeared in advertising for numerous companies, including American Express
American Express
American Express Company or AmEx, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best...
, the Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
, Dr Pepper
Dr Pepper
Dr Pepper is a soft drink, marketed as having a unique flavor. The drink was created in the 1880s by Charles Alderton of Waco, Texas and first served around 1885. Dr Pepper was first nationally marketed in the United States in 1904 and is now also sold in Europe, Asia, Canada, Mexico, Australia ...
, Hallmark Cards
Hallmark Cards
Hallmark Cards is a privately owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce C. Hall, Hallmark is the largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the United States. In 1985, the company was awarded the National Medal of Arts....
, Kenner Toys, McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
, Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
, Ralston Purina, Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
and United Airlines
United Airlines
United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees (which includes the entire holding company United Continental...
.
Starting in 1993, Staake contributed concepts and cartoons to "The Style Invitational
The Style Invitational
The Style Invitational, or Invite, is a long-running humor contest that ran first in the Style section of the Sunday Washington Post before moving to Saturday's Style and later returning to the Sunday paper. Started in 1993, it has run weekly, except for a hiatus in late 1999...
", a humor competition at The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
. In 1995, he became a regular contributor to Mad
Mad (magazine)
Mad is an American humor magazine founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines in 1952. Launched as a comic book before it became a magazine, it was widely imitated and influential, impacting not only satirical media but the entire cultural landscape of the 20th century.The last...
. He created many covers for The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, beginning with the September 4, 2006 issue.
Staake is noted for using vintage software to create his illustrations. He currently uses Adobe Photoshop 3.0 on Classic
Classic (Mac OS X)
Classic, or Classic Environment, was a hardware and software abstraction layer in Mac OS X that allowed applications compatible with Mac OS 9 to run on the Mac OS X operating system...
in Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
.
Books
Staake began as a book illustrator in 1992 when he contributed to Jay Leno'sJay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
Headlines (Warner Books). In 1998, he wrote and illustrated his first book for children, My Little 1 2 3 Book (Little Simon), a 26-page board book
Board book
A board book is a type of book printed on thick paperboard. The paperboard is printed and used for both the cover and the interior pages. Each page panel is a minimum of two plies of paperboard thickness. Unlike a typical paper book that is bound with saddle stitching or perfect binding, a...
. He followed with numerous books for children, including The Red Lemon, named by The New York Times as one of the ten best illustrated children's books of 2006.
In The Complete Book of Caricature (North Light Books
North Light Books
North Light Books, is a United States publisher for both beginning and established artists, offering how-to materials for watercolor, acrylic, oils, pastels and many other media. The imprint is owned by F+W Publications, which also publishes several other how-to imprints.- External links :*...
, 1991). Staake explained how a subject's personality is incorporated into a drawing and provided reference materials, along with samples of caricaturists, including David Levine
David Levine
David Levine was an American artist and illustrator best known for his caricatures in The New York Review of Books. Jules Feiffer has called him "the greatest caricaturist of the last half of the 20th Century".-Early life and education:Levine was born in Brooklyn, where his father Harry ran a...
, Mort Drucker and Ralph Steadman
Ralph Steadman
Ralph Steadman is a British cartoonist and caricaturist who is perhaps best known for his work with American author Hunter S. Thompson.-Personal life:Steadman was born in Wallasey, Cheshire, and brought up in Towyn, North Wales...
. In 1990, 1991 and 1993, Staake wrote and co-edited the Humor and Cartoon Markets series of resource books listing magazines, newsletters, greeting card companies and other publishers who purchase humorous illustrations. In 1996, for The Complete Book of Humorous Art (North Light), he interviewed 20 illustrators, including Gary Baseman
Gary Baseman
Gary Baseman is a contemporary artist who works in various creative fields, including illustration, fine art, toy design, and animation. He is the creator of the Emmy-winning ABC/Disney cartoon series, Teacher’s Pet, and the artistic designer of Cranium, a popular board game...
, Lou Brooks and Elwood Smith.
Influences
Diane ArbusDiane Arbus
Diane Arbus March 14, 1923 – July 26, 1971) was an American photographer and writer noted for black-and-white square photographs of "deviant and marginal people or of people whose normality seems ugly or surreal." A friend said that Arbus said that she was "afraid.....
, Aurelius Battaglia
Aurelius Battaglia
Aurelius Battaglia was an American illustrator, muralist, writer, and director. He was born in Washington, D.C., in 1910 and he died in Provincetown, MA in May, 1984. He was the son of Giuseppe and Concetta Battaglia, who had emigrated from Cefalù, Italy. Aurelius attended the Corcoran School of...
, Mary Blair
Mary Blair
Mary Blair , born Mary Robinson, was an American artist who was prominent in producing art and animation for The Walt Disney Company, drawing concept art for such films as Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Song of the South and Cinderella...
, Jean Carlu
Jean Carlu
Jean Carlu was a French graphic designer, specialised in posters. He was member of a family of architects; his brother Jacques Carlu for example designed the Palais de Chaillot in Paris...
, A.M. Cassandre, Paul Colin
Paul Colin
Paul Colin was one of France’s greatest poster artists.Made famous in 1925 by his poster for the Revue Nègre, which helped to launch the career of Joséphine Baker , he worked for over forty years in the theatre, creating not only posters but also numerous sets and costumes.Very Art déco at...
, Dr. Seuss
Dr. Seuss
Theodor Seuss Geisel was an American writer, poet, and cartoonist most widely known for his children's books written under the pen names Dr. Seuss, Theo LeSieg and, in one case, Rosetta Stone....
, Charles and Ray Eames
Charles and Ray Eames
Charles Ormond Eames, Jr and Bernice Alexandra "Ray" Eames were American designers, who worked in and made major contributions to modern architecture and furniture. They also worked in the fields of industrial and graphic design, fine art and film.-Charles Eames:Charles Eames, Jr was born in...
, Walker Evans
Walker Evans
Walker Evans was an American photographer best known for his work for the Farm Security Administration documenting the effects of the Great Depression. Much of Evans's work from the FSA period uses the large-format, 8x10-inch camera...
, Tibor Gergely
Tibor Gergely
Tibor Gergely was an artist best known for his work in several popular children's books. Born in Budapest in 1900, he studied art briefly in Vienna before emigrating to the United States in 1939, where he settled in New York City. Largely a self-taught artist, he also contributed several covers...
, Edward Gorey
Edward Gorey
Edward St. John Gorey was an American writer and artist noted for his macabre illustrated books.-Early life:...
, Paul Klee
Paul Klee
Paul Klee was born in Münchenbuchsee, Switzerland, and is considered both a German and a Swiss painter. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. He was, as well, a student of orientalism...
, Alvin Lustig
Alvin Lustig
Alvin Lustig was an American graphic designer and typeface designer. He studied at Los Angeles City College, Art Center, and independently with Frank Lloyd Wright and Jean Charlot. He began designing for books in 1937. In 1944 he became Director of Visual Research for Look Magazine. He also...
, John Parr Miller, Paul Rand
Paul Rand
Paul Rand Paul Rand Paul Rand (born Peretz Rosenbaum, (August 15, 1914 — November 26, 1996) was an American graphic designer, best known for his corporate logo designs, including the logos for IBM, UPS, Enron, Westinghouse, ABC, and Steve Jobs’ NeXT...
, Richard Scarry
Richard Scarry
Richard McClure Scarry was a popular American children's author and illustrator who published over 300 books with total sales of over 100 million units worldwide....
, Raymond Scott
Raymond Scott
Raymond Scott was an American composer, band leader, pianist, engineer, recording studio maverick, and electronic instrument inventor....
, Ettore Sottsass
Ettore Sottsass
Ettore Sottsass was an Italian architect and designer of the late 20th century. His body of designs included furniture, jewellery, glass, lighting and office machine design.-Early career:...
, Phillipe Starck and Grant Wood
Grant Wood
Grant DeVolson Wood was an American painter, born four miles east of Anamosa, Iowa. He is best known for his paintings depicting the rural American Midwest, particularly the painting American Gothic, an iconic image of the 20th century.- Life and career :His family moved to Cedar Rapids after his...
.
Awards
- New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books Award (2006)
- National Cartoonists SocietyNational Cartoonists SocietyThe National Cartoonists Society is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the troops...
, Reuben Award, Best Cartoonist in the Division of Newspaper Illustration (1997)