Good News, Illustrated by Talented Artist

An illustrator who goes by the name ICSD on social media got our attention for illustrating good news that is happening in the world right now. The Instagram account where you can follow these illustrations is called Weekly Graphic News and it’s approaching 2,000 followers.

View this post on Instagram

"I couldn't think of protecting myself, because the babies were under my protection. I was okay, so I needed to help." Pamela Zeinoun, a nurse at Saint George Hospital in Beirut, was in charge of five babies suffering from various health issues who needed to be kept in incubators when the port explosion hit, decimating the building. She passed out on the floor. “When I woke up, I did not know where I was. I tried to go back through the door, but the door was closed shut.” Zeinoun managed to get inside with the help of a father and another nurse and were able to find the babies. Two were saved by the father and the nurse, and Pamela scooped up the remaining three.  “We started running down the stairs. There was no electricity. Blood everywhere, people screaming.” In the frenzy, Zeinoun got separated from the others. Her heart raced because she knew she had to get the babies to another hospital quickly. Their survival depended on incubators.  She walked for 40 minutes in the dark with the three babies in her arms. When she reached the next hospital, she found injured staff in a damaged building with no incubators. So she started to walk again, as no cars could get by because of the debris. Surprisingly, the babies weren't crying and she fear they may not be alive anymore. "I checked their color – are they blue or are they pink? They weren't crying. They were just sleeping, you know?" In the end, after 5 kilometers walked through chaos and debris, Pamela found a car that took her to a functioning hospital just outside Beirut, were she fit all three babies in an incubator, to keep them warm and safe. When the parents got to St George Hospital, they realised the babies weren't there anymore. Then the staff told them "Do not worry, your children are with Pamela. This is her phone number, you can contact her and see your babies." And so they did. @weeklygraphicnews @arabnews #illustration #nurse #hero #beirut #baby #pamelazeinoun #heroic #lebanon #artwork #editorialillustration #editorialart #digitalpainting #portrait #kindness #realism #truestory #inspiring #instagood #goodnews

A post shared by Weekly Graphic News (@weeklygraphicnews) on

“A mix of passion for editorial art and interest in journalism led me to this idea, upon finding that some very interesting stories get lost in our feed because they have an ordinary cover picture, like a stock image that doesn’t say much. That’s because some subjects are too abstract to be photographed, so editors pair them with something neutral and insipid,” the artist told Bored Panda.

Since most of us spend our days consuming news and other content on social media, their idea was to create a visual editorial approach and highlight the good things that are happening. As you’ve probably noticed, bad news attracts people’s attention most of the time, and this account wants to change that. Scroll down to see some of the recent illustrations and follow ICSD on Instagram for more similar content in the future.

View this post on Instagram

Brazilian ultrarunner Fernanda Maciel completed a stunning mountaineering double in the Alps in a single day, setting a new female Fastest Known Time (FKT) on Gran Paradiso and climbed the Matterhorn. ⚡ After suffering frozen eyes in an accident on the Matterhorn three years ago and lost her flatmate in an accident there last year, Fernanda overcame her fears to complete the feat just one day before a landslide trapped 25 climbers on the mountain. "I was super scared, but these mountains represent a physical, emotional and spiritual challenge for me." ⏱️ Climbing without rope in solo style, Maciel reached the 4,061m summit of Gran Paradiso in just two hours and 40 minutes, completing the round route in just four hours and three minutes to better her own previous FKT. She then transferred to Cervinia, in Italy, and climbed the 4,478m Matterhorn summit on a difficulty IV rated route. 🏔️🏔️ The former lawyer, Ultra Trail Vice World Champion and jiu jitsu champion has set her sights on fastest known times on some of the world's biggest mountains. She was the first woman to run up and down Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the Americas, and also holds the female FKT on Kilimanjaro. 🧗‍♀️ Damn. 🗞️Source: @wionews 🎨For more uplifting illustrated news from around the world, follow @weeklygraphicnews #illustration #ultrarunner #brasil @fernandamaciel_oficial #athlete #sportnews #boasnoticias #speedrecords #alps #granparadiso #matterhorn #climbing #artwork #editorialart #sportillustration #digitalpainting #digitalart #goodnews #uplifting #girlpower #challenge #illustracao #ilustrador

A post shared by Weekly Graphic News (@weeklygraphicnews) on

View this post on Instagram

Every day up to 5,600 trucks, 20 ships and 92 planes are on the move, delivering food and assistance in some of the most remote and challenging parts of the world. They're all part of the WFP, the world's largest humanitarian agency, assisting 100 million people in 88 countries. 🍽️ So in 2020 the agency was given the Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to combat hunger and improve conditions for peace. 🏆 The WFP, the 101st winner of a prize now worth 10m Swedish krona, said it was "deeply humbled" to have won. "I was literally for the first time in my life without words," said David Beasley, the WFP head. "To receive this award is a recognition to the men and women at the World Food Programme who put their lives on the line every day for the struggling, suffering people around the world. So I hope this is a signal and a message that the World Food Programme is a role model and that we all have got to do more." 🤝 If you want to make a small contribution to the program you can tap the link in bio. The minimum amount is $1,50, which could make up for almost 5 food rations, given the strong ties between WFP and food suppliers. 👏 Source: @bbcnews @worldfoodprogramme #illustration #plate #gold #nobelprize #unitednations #humanitarian #award #artwork #editorialart #goodnews #positivity #uplifting #socialcauses #donate #editorialillustration #goldplated #digitalart #digitalpainting #alfrednobel #kindness #volunteer

A post shared by Weekly Graphic News (@weeklygraphicnews) on

View this post on Instagram

Unattractive people seem less able to accurately judge their own attractiveness, and they tend to overestimate their looks. In contrast, beautiful people tend to rate themselves more accurately. If anything, they underestimate their attractiveness. 😎 These are the conclusions of a research published in the Scandinavian Journal of Psychology which involved six studies that asked participants to rate the attractiveness of themselves and other participants, who were strangers. The studies also asked participants to predict how others might rate them. 👀 In the first study, lead author Tobias Greitemeyer found that the participants who were most likely to overestimate their attractiveness were among the least attractive people in the study, based on average ratings. 👌 "Overall, unattractive participants judged themselves to be of about average attractiveness and they showed very little awareness that strangers do not share this view. In contrast, attractive participants had more insights into how attractive they actually are. […] It thus appears that unattractive people maintain illusory self‐perceptions of their attractiveness, whereas attractive people's self‐views are more grounded in reality." Greitemeyer found that unattractive people were worse at differentiating between attractive and unattractive people. But the finding that unattractive people may have different beauty ideals did "not have an impact on how they perceive themselves." ⭐⭐⭐ In short, it remains a mystery exactly why unattractive people overestimate their looks. Greitemeyer concluded that, while most people are decent at judging the attractiveness of others, "it appears that those who are unattractive do not know that they are unattractive." So if everyone is okay with their looks, how do you feel about the mirror? 🗞️Source: @bigthinkers 🎨Follow @weeklygraphicnews for more illustrated studies & uplifting stories from around the world! #illustration #artwork #attractive #portraits #portraitart #cubism #sciencenews #research #facedrawing #sketch #editorialart #editorialillustration #digitalpainting #digitalart #goodnews #instaart #ilustree #geometricart #faceart #conceptualart

A post shared by Weekly Graphic News (@weeklygraphicnews) on

View this post on Instagram

“Hello Pia, I’ve read your story in the papers. You sound like a badass. I am an artist from the UK and I’ve made some work about the migrant crisis, obviously I can’t keep the money. Could you use it to buy a new boat or something? Please let me know. Well done. Banksy.” This was the email that Pia Klemp – the captain of several NGO boats that rescued thousands of people over recent years – got in September 2019. While initially she thought is a joke, it turned out Klemp was chosen by the British artist due to her political stance on the migrant crisis. “I don’t see sea rescue as a humanitarian action but as part of an anti-fascist fight." Soon Pia assembled a crew of European activists with long experience in search and rescue operations, and aquired a vessel which she named Louise Michel, after a French feminist anarchist. Painted in bright pink and featuring Banksy's artwork, the Louise Michel set sail in secrecy on 18 August under a German flag. The 31-metre motor yacht, formerly owned by French customs authorities, is smaller but considerably faster than other NGO rescue vessels. Louise Michel sails currently in the central Mediterranean where on Thursday it rescued 89 people in distress, including 14 women and four children. It is now looking for a safe seaport to disembark the passengers or to transfer them to a European coastguard vessel. With a top speed of 27 knots, the Louise Michel would be able to “hopefully outrun the so-called Libyan coastguard before they get to boats with refugees and migrants and pull them back to the detention camps in Libya”, said Klemp. The planning of the mission was carried out in secrecy between London, Berlin and Burriana, where the Louise Michel had docked to be equipped for sea rescues. Fearing that media attention could compromise their goals, Banksy’s team and the rescue activists agreed to release the news about the boat only after carrying out the first rescue. @guardian @weeklygraphicnews #illustration #banksy #goodnews #streetart #refugee #migrantcrisis #mediteranean #rescue #editorialart #artwork #lifebuoy #louisemichel #stencil #ilustragram #goodnewsfeed #graphic #humanitarian

A post shared by Weekly Graphic News (@weeklygraphicnews) on

View this post on Instagram

The population in Morterone, a mountainous community in Lombardy, rose to 29 after the birth of a baby boy, named Denis, on Sunday. 🍾 “It truly is a celebration for the whole community,” Antonella Invernizzi, the mayor of Morterone, told Corriere della Sera. Denis’s parents, Matteo and Sara, followed the Italian tradition of announcing the birth by placing a ribbon – blue for a boy and pink for a girl – on the door of their home. It is the first time such a ribbon has been seen in the village since 2012, when a baby girl was born. 🍼 Sara spoke about being pregnant during the coronavirus pandemic, which has severely affected the Lombardy region but spared Morterone. “It wasn’t easy to be pregnant during a pandemic,” she said. “You were unable to go out or go and see loved ones.” She said there would be a party once the family returns from the hospital. “We will welcome everyone with open arms … It’s exciting that my little one will be among the inhabitants of Morterone, and increasing, even if only slightly, the population.” Denis’s birth comes a few weeks after data showed that Italy’s declining birth rate hit a record low in 2019, with 420,170 babies born – the lowest since records began in 1861. 🍼 @weeklygraphicnews @guardian @corrieredellasera #illustration #birth #reaction #portrait #editorial #artwork #portraits #celebration #monterone #goodnewsmovement #goodnewwz #portraitart #lowangle #conceptualart #editorialart #editorialillustration #familytimeb #andratuttobene #lafamilia #lombardia #faceyourartchallenge #village #goodnews #goodnewsfeed #illustrationoftheday #sunday #digitalart #digitalpainting #joy

A post shared by Weekly Graphic News (@weeklygraphicnews) on