Jacquie Lawson – Svetlana Molodchenko

Armenia-based illustrator Svetlana Molodchenko creates a richly detailed illuminated alphabet for e-card company Jacquie Lawson.

White Mountain – Carolina Rodriguez Fuenmayor

Carolina Rodriguez Fuenmayor illustrates her second book in Ruby Jean Cottle’s Black River duology, commissioned by Simon & Schuster through Atria Books.

Gregori Saavedra – Not So Fast China – Newsweek

Gregori was commissioned to create a front cover illustration regarding a possible future conflict between China and Taiwan.

Gregori’s illustration was briefed to highlight how the reality of a war with Taiwan wouldn’t be a quick win for China.

More of Gregori’s work can be viewed at https://www.debutart.com/artist/gregori-saavedra?tags=illustration

Lisa Sheehan – The Guardian – Lifestyle section.

Lisa was commissioned to create an illustration for the cover of a Guardian Lifestyle section.

The cover feature explored the idea of skincare product overload and the pressure around excessive beauty routines. Lisa decided to use her own face for the concept, though in the end the focus was mainly on her eyes, combined with a fake CG “goo” effect to push the visuals into something really exaggerated and surreal. It was a fun challenge for Lisa tackling the cover while also acting as the model — always nice to experiment and have fun with a cover!

More of Lisa’s work can be viewed at https://www.debutart.com/artist/lisa-sheehan?tags=all

Lucy Davey for Flock Cards

Lucy was commissioned to produce a set of beautiful bird illustrations for the ‘Flock’ card range with Stormy Knight Cards. Complete with gold foiled edging and details, they are a stunning set!

Lucy said: “I’m big into birds so this was a lovely commission for me. Herring gulls and swallows to start with, more to come!

Lucy Davey is represented by The Artworks

A Mighty Mural, by Hannah Bailey

Hannah Bailey was commissioned to illustrate some gigantic murals by the Star of the Republic Museum, Texas. Read on to find out how she approached this mammoth task, complete with life sized chickens!

"I was absolutely delighted to be asked to illustrate a set of murals for the Star of the Republic Museum, Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas - a big moment in my career in more ways than one! This was my first mural and a whopper, my illustrations covering the length of 2 x 14m long walls inside the family gallery.

It was a huge challenge to scale up my work, calling for my rusty maths skills, a big scanner, huge brushes and some giant tracing paper. I loved the chance to create big textures and splash the ink around. To give an idea of the proportions - the chickens in the mural are lifesize!

To make sense of the huge space, I broke it down into lots of scenes, and joined them all up. From one end to the other, the mural shows a 19th century Texas landscape, moving from farmers cottages and livestock to a market town with stores, carts and stalls, and an old well. I wanted to capture the essence of the townspeople through their bits and bobs - as if they had put down their things and gone inside for lunch.

Thank you to the Star of the Republic Museum and Gallagher Design for inviting me to be a part of this project, to the Artworks and Tom at Mendola for all your hard work."

Hannah Bailey is represented by The Artworks

GARETH LUCAS – ABRAMS APPLESEED

Meet nature’s most unusual creepy-crawlies in author Laura Gehl’s and illustrator Gareth Lucas’ latest collaboration Odd Bugs. Getting children excited about science and nature at an early age, this fabulous board book introduces the beautiful glasswing butterfly and the treacherous robber fly among others, brought to life in all their magnificent glory by Gareth’s colourful illustrations.

Gareth Lucas is represented by Meiklejohn

JULIA ALLUM – HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW

Commissioned by the team at Harvard Business Review for a special issue on How to Collaborate Better, Julia developed a collection of concept-driven illustrations in her distinctive minimalist style. With her trademark use of scale and visual metaphor, Julia’s illustrations explore the different aspects of collaboration with clarity and wit.

Julia Allum is represented by Meiklejohn

Laurence was called upon to create the cover for to celebrate 75 Years of Archers on the BBC - the longest running radio series.

The brief was to create an idyllic country scene, but if you look closely you'll see some of the quirky moments from the series in the background. The styling was based on the other samples featured.

https://www.nbillustration.co.uk/portfolios/laurence-whiteley/

CLAYON JUNIOR – BANDE DESSINÉES/GRAPHIC NOVELS

Clayton is known for his mural and graphic novels - Dropdead is an unpublished 110-page story drawing from memories of childhood, teenage years and his recent past as an adult, the author drives the reader through the tragic, the comic, and the ridiculous moments of his relationship with a long lasting passion: the skateboard”.

Samples show some other of Clayton's comics including pages from collection of short stories about personal stories passed down from families during the war.

https://www.nbillustration.co.uk/portfolios/clayton-junior/