The Best Directors - Tarantino, Spielberg & Burton (Original Pen & Ink Illustrations by J-VO)


Who doesn't love Quinten Tarantino? Well... maybe a lot of people, BUT — for every person who finds him distasteful, there is someone who finds him to be a BRILLIANT creative director of the silver screen. This particular series of illustrations were really important to me - the challenge was to pick three people who were influential to you and through a variety of additional "props" so to say, you would be able to identify who this person was.
I have always been a big movie person - and by this point had a set top three favorites of all time - ever - ....and they were:
- Quentin Tarantino
- Tim Burton
- Stephen Spielberg
(The links above will take you to their pages on IMDB.com and give you an idea of all the movies they have done, their backstory, etc. - if you are interested)
Some of my favorite Quentin movies have really stuck with me - for both visual and conceptual reasons. His movies are bold, gritty, unforgiving and in-your-face loud - but they are visually stunning and extremely captivating - from the cinematography and beautifully composed scenes to the insane thrill-ride he takes you on - these moves are just - amazing and I highly recommend you see the following (if you haven't - it's ok, but you seriously owe it to yourself to see at least one)
Pulp Fiction - From the easter eggs to the freakin' crazy story line, vulgar obscenities, and beautiful cinematography - this is my all time favorite - its crazy, but its also just crazy good - not to mention the all star casting - Uma, John, Samuel - so good.
Kill Bill VOL 1,2 &3 - Yes they are all good, yes you should absolutely watch them all, and yes you should watch them in order :)
DeathRace - Its grungy - its crazy - it feels B-Rate - but I love it!
These three movies influenced the "props" I used in the below illustration:

I have always loved Spielberg - I mean he is the director behind some of the biggest flicks that have ever been shown on the big screen. I mean - E.T., Jurassic Park Series, Back to the Future, Gremlins, Indiana Jones, and more.. we can't barely name a blockbuster from the 80s & 90's that Spielberg didn't help to produce. His movies still live with me from my childhood and this illustration was a lot of fun to draw, these are the elements I used to help identify him in his portrait:
- He's riding a dinosaur to represent Jurassic Park
- A Moon to represent E.T.
- He's dressed in full Indiana Jones' get-up to represent no one else but Sir Indiana himself.
Burton is another one - he is definitely my most favorite of all time - even though I have him listed here last. But I have always been the kind of girl that likes to leave the best to last :D From the time I was a little girl, I fell in love with the man who made Edward Scissor Hands, BeetleJuice, Nightmare Before Christmas (I couldn't wait for that movie to come out!), Batman, Corpse Bride, etc. etc. etc. The list goes on. His drawing and personal style as an illustrator is so freaking good - I definitely attribute a bit of my style to Mr. Burton.
The elements for this portrait were:
- Jack Skellington costume - on top of the iconic hill in the movie
- Scissor hands for Mr. Edward
- Gears - because .. FUN FACT - Burton ALWAYS shows a gear in some way, form, or fashion in each of his movies -it is a bit of a signature for him and it has hidden meaning. To him gears mean progress and you will see these little glimpses of this message through and within every film he does.
So there you have it, three of my favorite Directors/Producers ever and my personal stylistic take on a charicature rendering of them. I hope you like them and will let me know what you think below! If your feelin' froggy and may want to see more of my work, please follow me :)

@j-jvo
Interested in seeing more posts from me? Here are a few I made over this past week:
Steem Wars - Day 4: Color Challenge - Tuesday Orange - Original Photos by J-VO - TeamUSA
Steem Wars - Day 5: Color Challenge - Wednesday Yellow - Original Photos by J-VO - TeamUSA
Six Sad Stories: See Illustration 5: "It's Behind You - Hurry Before it" - Rockne S. O’Bannon
Steem Wars - Day 6: Color Challenge - Thursday Green - Photos by J-VO - Team USA
Painting with Sparklers - Long-Exposure Photography (Original Photos by JVO)
Art Discovery Contest - USA - Bill Watterson a Hero of Illustration & Comics
All photography and creative artwork displayed in this post were created by @j-vo.






Oh well you are really good!!!! Yes
Thank you 😀 you're so kind I appreciate your support!
very nice draws. Wish I could draw like that!
Thank you @bulkygangsta - most appreciate your kind words! I personally believe anyone with an interest can easily learn and with practice can become great! You should give it a try sometime 😀 i love your profile pic btw.. huge breaking bad fan!
Wow....
Super!!!
thanks @sketcher! Out of curiosity, did you have a favorite?
Your post shows a lot of interest in film directing, and also the bobble head looking drawing figures of the 3 famous hollywood directors is really good. I was an art student in college, so I can appreciate these sorts of things. Upvoted, Resteemed, and following!!!
Thank you @jamie-smith! I went to art school too - lol! Its nice to meet other artist who had "formal" education! Thank you for taking the time to let me know your thoughts! :)
Quentin! Talented person is talented in everything

this scene - it's higher than any level of awesomeness!!!
And he's awesome even as an actor

Totally agree on all fronts! Lol! He's just amazing. I love that first scene too! Thank you for your comment and your awesome gifs,
How can I pass by, when I see "Tarantino" in the topic of the post? =)
LOL - I was hoping it would catch the fan's eyes! I'm so glad it caught yours!!
These are all really fun, but I got to say I think I like the Quentin Tarantino the best. He has such a funky face that it's really fun to see stylized! The rest are great too, don't get me wrong! The Spielberg T-Rex is GREAT! I'ma think about it and probably change my mind in about 20 minutes, lol. As always, enjoyed your post! Upvoted and resteemed as it should be!
Thanks @i-am-wade - I really appreciate your constant support :) Thank you for helping to share my post :)
All good, all capturing what's unique about each director.
You have such a broad range of styles, it's really impressive. Are these all created completely digitally or did you start with pen and ink, then scan?
These were done with pen and ink on Bristol Board. Then I photographed them in studio. The Burton one has some soft washes built in. I took into Photoshop to crisp up the white a bit. But, yes, that is what my professor's in college used to tease me about (not having a specific style). But fortunately this gift works well for Graphic Design - especially Freelance if you want to be able to help all kinds of different people with different aesthetics achieve a successful "whatever task" - you know! Thank you for taking the time to take a look and comment! :) I appreciate your feedback!
Geez - why would they tease you about not having a "specific style?" I get the idea of producing a recognizable body of work and building a brand, but why limit yourself to just one? Times and tastes change, and I think it's great that you can be so adaptable.
Thanks for sharing part of your process with me!
You're welcome - and when I say tease - it was in good fun - they really all liked my work and were all very supportive - but so many of the other illustration majors had very obvious styles that they stuck to - which as you said did make them very identifiable - but I have always wanted to be flexible - do anything - to serve whatever mood or aesthetic I wanted to serve at any given time - and I agree with you that I think this makes a more well rounded artist that can thrive in a vast economy! Thanks for the conversation Winston - I hope you have a great evening!
Thanks for reading and best of luck in all your projects - and styles!
A solid post..
Thanks @jealson - I really appreciate you taking the time to stop by and read! Thanks for letting me know you liked it :)
wow...!!
these are super cool..!!
amazing wrk..!!
Thanks a bunch @ramyar - did you have a favorite? Thanks for taking the time to check them out - I appreciate it!
I'm a big fan of Quentin Tarantino myself, he has a unique approach on film making. It's cool that his characters are all related somewhat.
@kryptokayden - I know right!?! Glad to see another female who can appreciate his brilliance - a lot of girls I know didn't really care for him or his films.. I also agree that its interesting how he ties them all together in a way - he is creatively just so brilliant to me.
Only movie i didn't really like from him is Kill Bill Volume 1 and 2. Too much violence and blood for my taste LOL