Gobelins’ graduate and ex-intern at Dreamworks SKG, Aurelie Blard-Quintard is a freelance illustrator/animator based in Paris. Her style is loose and full of charm. To see more of her work hop over to her brilliantly titled blog, “Tea time isn’t it?“.

Belgian illustrator Mister Melvin creates wonderful illustrations with a unique style. He knows how to create illustrations which make you chuckle, that’s for sure. Comprising of mainly editorial and children’s’ book work, he also has some graffiti and other bits and pieces on his website. Mister Melvin contributed to our book ‘100% Recycled Paper’ (soon to be published). When I first saw his comic strip for the book, it made me laugh out loud to the point of crying! Such is his excellent sense of humour. Additionally, he has an intelligent way of getting his ideas across in his work with wit and charm.

On a personal note, I found Mister Melvin to be a true pro and he doesn’t do anything half-heartedly. Visit his fantastic portfolio here.

Now the sensational work of Alina Chau did have us saying, “it’s nice, but is it manga?”. Well, after a hearty discussion we settled on, “yes”. Her work draws inspiration from various western genres, and though it doesn’t have the familiar conventions of modern manga, it definitely has a heavy influence from traditional Japanese art, harking back to manga’s origins. Ignoring the categorisation of Chau’s work, what is not debatable is the skill it oozes. Keep up to date with her work on her blog.

You can always see the thought behind Davor’s illustrations. The message is put across in a way which is well thought out and interesting. That’s what all the best kind of editorial illustrations do. On top of that, his visual style is great. In fact he has two distinct styles in his work. He has a great editorial style and a simpler look for his childrens’ illustrations, which is very appropriate. I’m a fan!

Davor is a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts, Zagreb, Croatia. He lives and works there, too. He has a client list which includes GlaxoSmithKline, UNICEF and Zagreb Bank.

Thanks for contacting us Davor!

Charles Santoso lives and works in Sydney, Australia as a concept artist and illustrator. He is currently at Animal Logic, where he has worked on animated feature films and commercials. His soft style often incorporates monsters and creepy looking animals, so the contrast is always interesting. The tones and lighting are always carefully considered and beautiful. Visit his website here for a really nice selection of work.

Book by its Cover features an extensive range of illustrated books, with short reviews and comments as well as screenshots. What makes this even better is the fact that there are also hand-made books included, so you’ll definitely find something you won’t see in a shop anywhere. A great source of inspiration! Additionally, there are interviews and a list of good book suppliers, as well as some great links to appropriate websites. The site is run by illustrator Julia Rothman and currently assisted by Leah Goren. Julia started the website so she could share a great variety of art related publications. Good job!

Thanks to Iro for the suggestion.

Going through Lee White’s amazing gallery made me want to draw. It’s those ambrosial visuals, always with a tasteful colour scheme. I like how he sometimes uses distance in his illustrations. It feels like the picture is your little secret and that only you have had the pleasure to witness it. There’s a lot more where that came from too; visit his website here. If you’d like to buy prints of Lee’s work, he has an excellent selection.