The individual way in which he constructs his imagery has made him popular among big clients such as Nike, Adobe, VW, and Google. It has also gained him notable recognition, with this ‘Mad Men’ image winning the bronze award in the ‘AOI Images 35′ design category.

The faces in his portraits are gently built up from intertwining, decorative shapes, that each represent different depths and tonal qualities. Sometimes the forms are sharp and structured, creating gorgeous, crystalline surfaces. Sometimes, the are smooth and seem to form organically like the topographical contour lines of a terrain.

However, portraiture isn’t the only facet to his work. He also does a lot of design and typographical work, with an equally impressive portfolio and list of clients. You can check that work out on his other, separate site here. Below, he tells us a little more about what he does.

I am a freelance illustrator based in London. I studied at Liverpool School of Art and Design, after which I worked as a graphic designer for several years. Since focusing on illustration, I’ve worked for clients including Adobe, Converse, Google, Nike, VW, Seat, GQ, ESPN and Uniqlo, and have had work shown at several exhibitions in London and Europe.

My latest work involves creating handmade versions of my geometric digital work. I have a Staffie called Maisy who helps me to manage my workflow. I am represented by Agency Rush.

© Charle Williams, 2012

Cesc creates his work as computer-rendered 3D models. The colours are vibrant and the surfaces have a nice, soft, almost spongy texture to them. These surfaces make it all the easier to imagine his designs being translated into toys and other physical 3D models. He says his influences include Japanese aesthetics and art toys.

© Cesc Grane, 2012

I work both traditionally & digitally. When creating gallery work its 100% traditional. My paintings are normally acrylic although I’d like to get back to using oils & watercolor.

When doing editorial work the piece is roughly 50% traditional 50% digital. I’ll render the drawing with ink, graphite & markers…some paint might be applied in the mix. From there I take it it into photoshop and finalize it digitally. I show the step by step process in the ‘News’ section on my site.

© Chris B. Murray, 2012

We like the strong characterisation and gritty texture to the piece. We look forward to more from this talent.

© Sean Soong, 2012

Natsuki’s hope is that her illustrations can make people happy, even if for just a moment.

I have a style that is best described in colour and realised in detailed design. Bold vibrant colour forms the basis of a working practice that seeks to unite dreams and reality. I try to give the viewer a feast of colour and complexity, my surreal macabre touches are the counterpoint to my sweet and childlike innocent subjects.

My working process is simple, I do a lot of research then roughs, work on my original ink/pencil drawings as much as I need, sometime I digitally colour onto the original as well, then give it a clean finish!

© Natsuki Otani, 2012

Kali’s illustrations have a nice hand-drawn look to them, the kind where you can almost feel the ink moving against the paper in the edges of the shapes and the style of the brush marks. However, that, as we now know, is not the case, with her process predominantly taking place in Photoshop.

The way in which her illustrations are made aside, we like the use of and play with colour. As you’ll read below, she says that the experimentation with different palettes in her work in one of her favourite stages, which results in some fun combinations.

Where colour is absent is also worth taking a look, Kali is a pretty adept user of negative space. We particularly like the way in which the figure is created with white space in the image below, and how the background of the text bleeds into the illustrations and body of the characters in the following zodiac illustrations. We asked her to tell us more about how she works.

I’m a freelance illustrator based in Baltimore, where I also teach part time at the Maryland Institute College of Art. All my work is drawn exclusively in Photoshop with a Wacom tablet, from sketches to finals, though sometimes thumbnailing on paper is easier for me. 

I’ve also found that it’s easier for me to build up my images using shapes to define form, instead of linework. As a control freak, I take full advantage of Photoshop’s capabilities for endless tweaking.  It’s not uncommon for me to spend an hour dragging color sliders around and shifting hues until they’re just right, but working with color is my favorite part of the drawing process!

© Kali Ciesemier, 2012

We like the addition of the watercolour textures and more roughly worked-out areas, it’s a nice little twist to add to the vector shapes. However, it’s probably the dead expressions and creepy, vacant eyes that will draw you in and keep you captivated in some of his more abstract pieces. He tells us a little more about how his process works.

I am mainly focused on illustration with mixed media, traditional techniques and digital processing.

Regarding the process, I usually start from a photograph, print or digital image, which I draw on vector graphics software. This process is rather mechanical but, while I am doing it, I am thinking about the further development of the piece.

Sometimes, I follow the lines in the original and sometimes I distort or geometrize some aspects of the image. This is the frame or skeleton of my work. In the second part, I add textures to the piece. I mainly use watercolor on paper as textures, which I do myself and later scan and add as layers in Photoshop until I reach the final result.

© Alvaro Tapia Hidalgo, 2012

Here are a few examples of Karan’s reworking of Spongebob Squarepants for Nickelodeon/MTV for Spongebob’s 10th birthday. He uses lucid colours and digitally painted textures and shading to create his identifiable look, which easily translates through his other work seen here.

“I’m an Australian illustrator of Indian origin living and working in New York City. Illustration has always been something that I’ve been drawn to as a kid but never properly nurtured until I went to uni. I studied Interaction Design but am a self-taught illustrator and have been working professionally for a little over five years. I’d like to think my work is eclectic and  vibrant taking cues from retro futurism to that cool thing I saw on a street the other day.”

“I recently completed my Daily Quickies, an illustration projection where I created a simple illustration every weekday for a year. I also really enjoy writing and run a neglected side project called ‘Pig Bimpin‘ where I write articles about design and interview creatives.” 

© Karan Singh, 2012

The strength in their work comes from the straightforwardness in the design. We like their uncomplicated, geometric shapes and precision in their overall layouts. But, with all the exact alignment and careful consideration, they still manage to collectively inject a little light heartedness.

© Always With Honor, 2012