I recently joined Dribbble, a creative social networking website. That’s where I discovered Evgeniy Ivanov, an incredible vector/raster artist and designer from Russia. His illustrations are almost super-realistic, even better than real life. His apples look tastier and his pearls shinier. I believe he sells his work exclusively through iStockphoto and Getty Images. But check out his site for a truly amazing vector art portfolio.

This looks like an amazing event. There is a really great line-up of illustrators on the panel, including Jamie Hewlett, Posy Simmonds and living legend Quentin Blake.

“Each will select and explain a personal choice of favourite illustrations, drawn from different genres, cultures and styles. The event will be chaired by Rachel Cooke, columnist and features writer, The Observer. Presented in association with House of Illustration. Please note that tickets for this event include free entry to ‘LATE at the Library ILLUMINATE! A Celebration of Illustration’ in the Entrance Hall, running from 19.00 to 22.30. This event is part of the British Library’s Spring Festival, a five day celebration of creativity, fashion and design.”

When: Fri 2 Mar 2012, 18.30 – 20.00

Where: Conference Centre, British Library

Price: £10 / £7.50 concessions

Needless to say we at the Lounge have booked our tickets. We hope to see you there!

Johnny Cheuk uses vectors, photography, hand-drawn techniques and computer programmes to create his vivid illustrations. Clients include WWF, Computer Arts Magazine and Adobe. In 09/10 he was picked as one of the 200 Best Illustrators Worldwide by Lurzer International.

Rui Ricardo lives and works in his home town of Porto, Portugal. Before he had even completed his graphic design course at the Fine Arts University of Porto, he had four graphic novels published. Since then he has worked mainly in the animation industry and as a freelance illustrator doing editorial work. His client list is massive and includes several big players such as FHM, Unicef, Hasbro, Vodafone and Samsung.

Inspiring abstract illustration by Paulo Uberti.

Toronto based Kaley McKean has an interesting style about her illustrations which is followed through to her one-of-a-kind plush dolls.

Thanks for getting in touch Kaley! And on that note, we had a really encouraging email from Daniel Swartz recently. He said:

“Just wanted to write a quick note thanking you for posting on me. It was great publicity and has led to a job already.

Thanks again, have a great year! I’m looking forward to your future posts.”

We’re really pleased for you Daniel and we hope other illustrators benefit from having their work on show here.

Koji Morimoto has been working his way up in the animation industry since the late 70s. In that time he has put his hand to some of the best animes including Akira (1988), Kiki’s Delivery Service (1988), Memories (1996) and Steamboy (2004). In 1986 he along with producer Eiko Tanaka and animator Yoshiharu Sato founded Studio 4°C. Which has in turn produced a wonderful aray of films, including one of my favourite animes, TEKKON KINKREET (2006).

Morimoto’s illustration work is very varied, although always kinetic. That element of tension and motion is something I find in a lot of animator’s personal work. A lot of his illustrations also have remarkable intricate details, something that is not as common amongst animators.

Brazilian illustrator Carlos Araujo spent eight years working as a graphic designer. He then decided to focus on his illustration skills, which was the turning point of his career. He has never looked back…

“My illustration style uses silhouettes and high contrasted figures with an whimsical and fun approach. A lot of my illos look like a scene captured from an animated movie like they are a part of a larger story. And instead of saying “style” I prefer the technical term ‘my way’.”

Carlos has been selected twice as one of the world’s 200 best illustrators according to Lüerzer’s Archive.

Thanks to Jose Mauricio Ribeiro de Araujo for the link.

I recently stumbled on the work of Damian DeMartino whilst dilly-dallying on Covered, and I am glad I did! His portfolio is filled with gems, and his blog has nice breakdowns of his working stages and thought process. Check out his website here.

Studio Piet Paris creates incredible fashion illustration and design as well as commissioned and own-label products. All the work stems from fashion illustrator Piet Paris’ super stylish illustrations.