These famous illustrators have their unique styles with visual expression. They have worked in sectors like merchandise illustration, prop art, packaging artwork, publication illustrations and more. Examples of artworks from these famous illustrators are no less than rich case studies in artistic expression, with adherence to the clients’ messaging.
Aaron Draplin
- Illustration Focus – Vector illustrations, Merchandise artwork
- Notable Works – Patagonia, Poler Outdoor Stuff, Mondo Con 2016
- Books Authored – Draplin Design Co. Pretty Much Everything
- Drawing Style – Although Aaron Draplin mostly makes flat vector illustrations, his work, by no means, compromises on intricacies. His work is perfect for offset printing on merchandise and branding deliverables. Draplin is certainly one of the famous illustrators of social media for giving sound advice to freelance creatives.
Abby Leighton
- Illustration Focus – Merchandise illustrations, logo and branding illustrations, label artwork
- Notable Works – Back East Brewing, Serenity Lake Farm, National Park After Dark, LaSal Skin
- Drawing Style – Think “cabin in the woods”, and you’ve described Abby Leighton’s illustration style. Her work can get you nostalgic about the matching t-shirts you and your friends wore at summer camp in the 1980s.
Adam Nickel
- Illustration Focus – Character illustrations, Publication Illustrations
- Notable Works – Forbes, New Scientist Magazine, St Moritz, Inside Housing, Pew Research Centre, etc.
- Drawing Style – A hint of texture, light play, tonnes of expressions and storytelling through illustrations. His charming animation illustrations are reminiscent of the 2D illustrations from the 1950s.
Alexandra Zsigmond
- Illustration Focus – Publication illustrations
- Notable Works – The New York Times, The New Yorker
- Drawing Style – Alexandra Zsigmond has the ability to adapt to almost any illustration style that the publication’s feature demands.
Arthur Rackham
- Illustration Focus – Detailed Victorian storybook illustrations
- Notable Works – The Cheshire Cat, Hermia and Helena, The Pied Piper of Hamelin
- Books Authored – The Arthur Rackham Treasury: 86 Full-Color Illustrations | The Art of Arthur Rackham: Celebrating 150 Years of the Great British Artist
- Drawing Style – Arthur Rackham’s mesmerising illustrations are seen on many classic storybooks from the 20th century. If there is ever an exhibition in your town of his popular work, don’t miss it.
Aubrey Beardsley
- Illustration Focus – Black and white woodcut illustrations
- Notable Works – The Peacock Skirt, The Dancer’s Reward, etc.
- Books – The Art of Aubrey Beardsley by Arthur Symons | Aubrey Beardsley Decadence and Desire by Jan Marsh
- Drawing Style – A strange mixture of surrealism, art nouveau and a few art deco flappers peppered the work of this unique illustrator. Aubrey Beardsley is one of the most famous illustrators of the surrealist movement.
Brian Blomerth
- Illustration Focus – Cartoonist and publication illustrations
- Notable Works – Lilly Wave
- Books Authored – Brian Blomerth’s Bicycle Day | Brian Blomerth’s Mycelium Wassonii
- Drawing Style – Fine outlines, playful colours with a concoction of organic and geometric elements. Brian Blomerth’s illustrations are a delight to see in science magazines.
Charles Burns
- Illustration Focus – Comic book illustrations, cartoon illustrations, children’s book illustrations
- Notable Works – Final Cut, Kommix, Last Look, etc.
- Books Authored – X’ed Out – Volume 1 | The Hive | Black Hole #10
- Drawing Style – Charles Burns produces comic book illustrations with heavy ink and hatching details. Perfect artworks for a comic book collector.
Charles Samuel Addams
- Illustration Focus – Cartoonist, publication illustrations
- Notable Works – The Addams Family
- Books Authored – Charles Addams Half-Baked Cookbook: Culinary Cartoons for the Humorously Famished | The Addams Family: An Evilution by Kevin Miserocchi
- Drawing Style – Character illustrations with heavy narratives and depth. One need not look beyond the layers that each character of the Addams family has. Addams is still one of the most famous illustrators since his work, either through cartoons or a Netflix series, is still popular today.
Curt Frankenstein
- Illustration Focus – Fantasy illustrations, book illustrations, etching
- Notable Works – Bureaucratic Landscape, Members Only, The Slow-Poke
- Drawing Style – Dot-hatching details and whimsical sketches that simply enhance the story of whatever book Curt Frankenstein might have been commissioned for during his career.
Gina Barranco
- Illustration Focus – Illustration, art direction
- Notable Works – Black Lives Matter campaign, Love Wins campaign
- Drawing Style – Gina Barranco’s illustrations fill up every inch of the page to create an immersive illustration outcome.
Hyesu Lee
- Illustration Focus – Mural illustrations, cartoonist
- Notable Works – It’s Nice That, Design Sponge
- Books Authored – Self-Love Club: Real Talk and Reminders for Discovering that We’re Enough
- Drawing Style – Isometric illustrations in the Wimmelbilderbuch style, Hyesu Lee’s illustrations will have you grab a magnifying glass to appreciate every detail of her work.
Jean Giraud
- Illustration Focus – Cartoonist, book illustrations
- Notable Works – Silver Surfer: Parable, Morbius
- Books Authored – Inside Moebius | Fort Navajo | The Long Tomorrow, etc.
- Drawing Style – Extremely fine line art in pleasantly colourful, full-page illustrations makes Jean Giraud’s artworks dynamic. The angles and perspectives make staring at these illustrations like looking through a window.
Jim Kay
- Illustration Focus – Digital paintings and book illustrations
- Notable Works – Harry Potter series
- Drawing Style – Jim Kay’s character illustrations with background settings and elements add even more depth to whatever story it accompanies. His work on the Harry Potter books makes the stories even more immersive.
John Alvin
- Illustration Focus – Movie poster illustrations
- Notable Works – ET, Princess Bride, Star Wars series, etc.
- Drawing Style – If you have had a popular movie poster hanging up in your room during your childhood, it might have just been a John Alvin artwork. Alvin made eye-catching and engaging movie posters that drew the audience to the cinema. John Alvin is one of the famous illustrators in Hollywood since his work is just so ubiquitous.
John Hendrix
- Illustration Focus – Book illustrations, character illustrations, publication spreads
- Notable Works – Mythmakers, The Holy Ghost comics, etc.
- Books Authored – Drawing is Magic: Discovering Yourself in a Sketchbook
- Drawing Style – Concept artworks and narrative artworks for comics, books and book covers are what John Hendrix does best.
Kasi Turpin
- Illustration Focus – Graphic art, poster artwork, outdoor advertising illustrations
- Notable Works – Psych0 Bunny series
- Drawing Style – If an illustrator dabbled in pop-art, their illustrations would probably be like Kasi Turpin. A versatile illustrator, Turpin’s work can enhance almost any surface.
Kay Sohini
- Illustration Focus – Book illustrations, comics artist
- Notable Works – Washington Post, NYC Department of Education
- Books Authored – This Beautiful, Ridiculous City: A Graphic Memoir
- Drawing Style – A blend of realistic and cartoon-like, Kay Sohini’s illustrations are great for young-adult books and publication features.
Lale Westvind
- Illustration Focus – Comic illustrations, graphics art, motion graphics
- Notable Works – LA Times, Pittsburgh Independent Expo
- Books Authored – Grand Electric Thought Power Mother
- Drawing Style – Lale Westvind’s illustrations are almost electric with sharp angles, vivid strokes and shocking colours.
Lauren Griffin
- Illustration Focus – Brand Illustrations, typography
- Notable Works – Han’s Kombucha, Pink Canoe Productions
- Drawing Style – Thick line artwork, playful typography, uniform usage of brand colours and an overall cohesive layout. Lauren Griffin (Typogriff) makes work that is perfect for brand deliverables.
Lauren Hom
- Illustration Focus – Mural illustrations and lettering
- Notable Works – Simon and Schuster, YouTube
- Books Authored – Good Things Are Happening Guided Journal: A Journal for Tiny Moments of Joy
- Drawing Style – Lauren Hom’s work rarely uses outlines but never fails to bring on the charm. Her food illustrations and lettering work are delicate and pleasing to the eye.
Linnea Sterte
- Illustration Focus – Comics illustrations, book illustrations
- Notable Works – Stages of Rot
- Books Authored – A Frog in the Fall | Stages of Rot | In-humus
- Drawing Style – Linnea Sterte’s work almost had a vintage, steampunk feel to it. Her illustrations exhibit excellent storytelling skills in meaningful palettes.
Lisa Congdon
- Illustration Focus – Fine arts, illustrations
- Notable Works – MoMA, Martha Stewart Living
- Books Authored – Find Your Artistic Voice: The Essential Guide to Working Your Creative Magic
- Drawing Style – Lisa Congdon’s excellent colour blocking and whimsical elements make the most attractive illustrations and poster artwork.
Lotta Nieminen
- Illustration Focus – Graphic designer, packaging illustrator, publication artwork
- Notable Works – Google, Meta, Volkswagen
- Books Authored – Pancakes! | Pizza! An Interactive Recipe Book
- Drawing Style – Colour blocking and the use of right angles at its finest. Lotta Nieminen’s artworks are perfectly juxtaposed to hold layers and layers of meaning.
María Medem
- Illustration Focus – Poster illustrations, print artwork
- Notable Works – Apa Apa Comics
- Books Authored – Zenith | Land of Mirrors
- Drawing Style – Medem tends to use electric purples, shocking oranges and inky blues to make her work look almost like a vapourwave illustration. Her illustrations cleverly use space to give the viewer the feeling of vastness in the landscapes.
Nolan Pelletier
- Illustration Focus – Ornamental Illustrations, surface pattern designer
- Notable Works – New York Times
- Drawing Style – Nolan Pelletier juxtaposes continuous elements by pattern blocking them to create depth and contrast. His work with motifs and ornaments is comprehensive and playful.
Olivia Fields
- Illustration Focus – Publication illustrations, poster illustrations
- Notable Works – Bloomberg, NYT
- Drawing Style – Consistent line weight across the illustrations and the use of flat colours with thematic palettes make the illustrations of Olivia Fields great for commercial use and print spreads.
Peter de Sève
- Illustration Focus – Book illustrations, print and publication illustrations
- Notable Works – The New Yorker
- Books Authored – The Visitor and Other Drawings | Local Fauna: The Art of Peter de Sève
- Drawing Style – Peter de Sève’s illustrations create fantasy worlds with caricature-style characters and heavily detailed environments.
Pieter Bruegel The Elder
- Illustration Focus – Illustrations, fine arts, paintings
- Notable Works – Hunters in the Snow, Tower of Babel
- Books – Pieter Bruegel the Elder: Religious Art for the Urban Community by Barbara A. Kaminska
- Drawing Style – This 16th-century illustrator did not have an iPad or Adobe Illustrator, nevertheless, his work is packed with precision and moody palettes. Pieter Bruegel the elder is one of the most famous illustrators in fine arts
Rebecca Guay
- Illustration Focus – Illustrations, children’s books, comics
- Notable Works – DC, Vertigo, Dark Horse comics, World of Warcraft trading card game
- Drawing Style – Rebecca Guay creates highly immersive fantasy worlds, just the way the writer probably thought of it in their head.
Roz Chast
- Illustration Focus – Cartoonist
- Notable Works – The New Yorker, Scientific American
- Books Authored – Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? | Going into Town: A Love Letter to New York, etc.
- Drawing Style – Rob Chast’s comic illustrations can be described as Hogarthian with a dash of wit. With her experience, Chast could probably whip up a topical, newspaper illustration in under 10 minutes.
Rube Goldberg
- Illustration Focus – Cartoonist, machine and prop illustrations
- Notable Works – Goldberg’s Professor Butts and the Self-Operating Napkin
- Books Authored – The Best of Rube Goldberg | Rube Goldberg Inventions! by Maynard Frank Wolfe, Rube Goldberg | Rube Goldberg’s Simple Normal Humdrum School Day by Jennifer George
- Drawing Style – The intentionally over-complicated machine, designed to perform a simple task, is called the “Rube Goldberg machine.” For instance, the alarm clock in the Tom and Jerry cartoons that wakes up Tom by sprinkling water on his face but takes up the entire room can be called a “Rube Goldberg machine.”
Sarula Bao
- Illustration Focus – Publication illustrations, print art
- Notable Works – The New Yorker
- Drawing Style – Sarula Bao works great with strong colours, sinewy elements like in Art Nouveau and bold ink strokes.
W.A. Dwiggins
- Illustration Focus – Type design, calligraphy, book design
- Notable Works – Yale University Press, Layout in Advertising
- Books Authored – W. A. Dwiggins: A Life in Design by Bruce Kennett | The Püterschein System Diagrammed, Described
- Drawing Style – W.A. Dwiggins’ work on fonts like Metro, Caledonia and Winchester will go down in history. If you work with fonts regularly, it is likely that you have used Dwiggins’ work. Dwiggins is one of the most famous illustrators in type and book design.
Walter Crane
- Illustration Focus – Children’s book illustrator, surface pattern illustrations
- Notable Works – The Frog Prince – 1873, Swan, Rush and Iris wallpaper
- Books Authored – The Art & Illustration of Walter Crane | The Art & Illustration of Walter Crane | Flora’s Feast: A Masque of Flowers, etc.
- Drawing Style – If art nouveau met Victorian children’s book illustrations, Walter Crane’s charming illustrations are what you would get.
William Heath Robinson
- Illustration Focus – Pen and ink illustrations, machine and prop illustrations
- Notable Works – Great Western Railways, 1932 Summer Olympics, Hans Christian Andersen books, etc.
- Books Authored – Golden Age Illustrations of W. Heath Robinson | Heath Robinson: Wonderful Contraptions and Extraordinary Inventions | Contraptions
- Drawing Style – Probably the Rube Goldberg of Britton, W.H. Robinson was known for his illustrations of whimsical contraptions. His work inspired several set pieces in classic Doctor Who episodes and even Wallace and Gromit. If he were around today, no doubt he would be both an illustrator and a pro at 3D CAD software.
0 Comments