Zak Doodle is a children’s illustrator from Greece. She really knows how to lose herself in her mark making. Her creations are beautiful in their naiveté; they depict an unspoilt innocence that children possess and we tend to lose as we get older and are influenced more and more by our surroundings.

Visit Zak’s Facebook page to see more of her work. She also has an Etsy shop and you can read an interview with her on the Milly and Friends website.

Visit the ‘Everyday Love’ website to find the artwork of Nidhi Chanani. She is incredibly productive and sells prints, greetings cards, magnets, books and more. It’s no wonder her artwork is so popular; the refreshingly bright and warm illustrations are simply a joy to look at.

Nidji was born in Calcutta, India and later moved to San Francisco, USA. Here are some interesting honours from her About Page:

“In April of 2012 she was honored at the White House as a Champion of Change. Her media appearances include CNN-Anderson Cooper and BBC Radio. Her work has been featured on Fab, Daily Candy, and Scoutmob. She has worked with Hasbro, Paramount Pictures, ABC, Boom Studios and a variety of other clients. Her work is sold in retail shops across the country including the American Museum of Natural History, the Cartoon Art Museum, and Urban Bazaar.”

Cally worked for several years as an in-house illustrator for the greetings card industry. She now works freelance from her pink-themed studio in Newcastle, England. Her contemporary, fun style is dainty and delightful, featuring a host of cute characters.

“Inspiration comes from almost anything; a countryside walk, star gazing, music, a picnic on the beach, tending her vegetable patch, attempting to skip stones, even panda bears. (Though she’s yet to meet one).”

Visit her Flickr Portfolio.

Bee is from Melbourne, Australia. She’s a whiz at creating simple, bright, cute characters and patterns that find their way onto cushions, fabrics, greetings cards and more! Looking through her blog, you’ll find a master class in self-branding. It’s also evident that she lives and breathes this brand (baking cakes, making jam, gardening and collecting buttons). This is a good platform to sell her own products and it’s always reassuring to approach an illustrator whose style is consistent; that way you know what to expect.

Visit the Little Beehive, Belinda’s website. 

Jennifer’s tempting aesthetics have graced magazines, greetings cards and almost a dozen children’s books. Her soft outlines and textured colours are like visual hugs. She currently lives in Minneapolis, USA.

Clients include Simon & Schuster, Random House and Designer Greetings.

Visit her website, or alternatively her lovely blog.

Joel and Ashley, otherwise known as ‘This Paper Ship’ are an illustration studio who specialise in hand lettering and branding. They have a studio in the woods (sounds fun) near Hillsborough, North Carolina. Their clients include American Greetings, DIY Bride and Cincinnati Magazine. They have a great little Etsy shop here, for those who like prints, greeting cards and the like.

This month we are giving away free 3 high quality A5 greetings cards printed on re-cycled card & 3 sheets of my luxury wrapping paper, printed on re-cycled paper with vegetable inks. Designed and illustrated by the talented Suzanne Carpenter.

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To win these amazing custom items, you must simply do two things.

1. Firstly you need to follow either our Facebook fan page or our Twitter (if you are not already following us).

Facebook: www.facebook.com/illustratorslounge
Twitter: www.twitter.com/the_loungers

2. Secondly you MUST answer the following question by either pasting the correct answer on our Facebook page wall or on Twitter using our tag (@the_loungers):

Question:
Which Latin American country is most famous for celebrating the “Day of the Dead” each year from midnight on October 31st until November 2nd?

Answer options:
A) China
B) Spain
C) Mexico

All answers must be in before the 30th of April 2012. A winner will be selected and announced on the 1st of May 2012. Then contacted via either Facebook or Twitter and these items will be sent out to them.

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If you can’t be bothered to enter or don’t want to wait until the 1st of May to see if you have won, you can purchase these and a bunch of other cool stuff created by Suzanne direct from her Etsy account ->