Lots of different styles from London-based illustrator and designer, Oren Haskins. Yet, they all have a common thread. His drafts have eloquent and often rigid shapes. His pallets are muted and constrained. One may think that this combination may hinder any emotion or motion in the illustration, but in fact, the narrative is better for it. Check out more Haskins’ work on his website and blog.

Comic artist Glyn Dillon started his career way back in the 90s. He was one of many a contributors to the British comic magazine, Deadline, where he collaborated with Tank Girl author Alan Martin on a strip called Planet Swerve. Around 2008, Dillon began working on a graphic novel titled The Nao of Brown, in 2012 it was released by UK publisher Self Made Hero, and the critics greeted it with very positive reviews. He used a pencil and watercolour style for the book, choosing not ink at all. Instead he draws with a HB pencil and darkens his lines in Photoshop. A technique that retains all the nuances of a penciller, that can not always be imitated by ink. The best place to see more of Glyn Dillon’s work is on his blog.

…and yes, for those who are thinking it, he IS the younger brother of Steve Dillon.

With the animated return of The Snowman to British television, in the form of Channel 4 production The Snowman and The Snowdog, it seems appropriate that we honour it’s creator, Raymond Briggs.

Raymond Briggs was born in Wimbledon, London, England. He pursued illustration from an early age attending the Wimbledon School of Art to study painting, and Central School of Art to study typography. The release of Peter and the Piskies: Cornish Folk and Fairy Tales in 1958 kick-started Briggs’s career in children books. He then went on to to write and illustrate classics such as Father Christmas, Fungus the Bogeyman, Jim and the Beanstalk, and graphic novels such as Gentleman Jim and it’s acclaimed sequel When the Wind Blows.

In 1978, Hamish Hamilton published Mr. Briggs’s children’s book, The Snowman. Entirely wordless and illustrated with only pencil crayons, it truly is a work of art. Inspiring the 1982 Oscar nominated animated cartoon, which has has been shown on British television at Christmas every year since, immortalising his work in the hearts and minds of all British children.

I would like to take this time to thank all our readers for support thus far! You have been great, so we already have lots of treats in store for you next year! From all of us at The Lounge, we hope you all have a great Christmas!

Born in London, David Wright was only 13 when he left school and eventually joined his uncle, who was an artist for The Graphic newspaper. He really came into prominence when he was commissioned to produce a series of “lovelies” for The Sketch. His glamorous pin-ups, were amongst the most popular during world war II. Following his Sketch contract Wright went on to work for magazines such as Men Only, Playboy and Esquire. September 1956 saw the first publication of Carol Day, a daily comic strip illustrated by Wright and scripted by Peter Meriton. The series was about a fashion model, and ran in the Daily Mail from 1956 until his death in 1967.

A good place to see some of his work for Carol Day is on Comic Art Fans and carol-day.com. David Wright’s work will be featured in the upcoming issue 2 of illustrators quarterly.

London-based freelance illustrator , Jake Blanchard has a very pattern-propelled style. His use of abstraction and bright colours create a for some very unique images. Some of his clients include BBC, Nike and The Guardian. You can find more of his work on his recently launched website.

Dan Hillier produces stunning victorian-influenced illustrations using a combination of collage and pen and ink. His illustrations, though absurd, are only a slight exaggeration of the gaudy idiosyncrasy of the victorians, and would probably have been equally popular at the time. His work has been exhibited in various galleries including the Saatchi Gallery and the ICA in London. To see more of his work head over to his website.

London-based illustrator Robert M Ball produces wonderful geometric images. Despite their rigidness they have fantastic character and humour. Over on Mr. Ball’s website he has bunch of great pieces, not least of all his collection fifty baddies.