New Designers 2011: Illustration

Throughout the illustration section of New Designers this year we have found an array of outstanding technique and talent.

Nathan Oteng-Owusu from the University of Hertfordshire has created an array of stylised characters within his illustrations, often using bright cartoon-like colours. However, highlighting his diversity in sepias is ‘Twisted Tales’, a story of a cheeky squirrel and a luckless hunter presented in a pull out story board. Illustrated in two different ways on each side of the book, Nathan uses clean lines and confident digital techniques.

Presenting a strong ability to apply mixed media practice across his work is Arran Macphail from Cambridge School of Art. Using edgy graphics in an urban style, Aaran has illustrated the popular children’s story ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ in textured reds and black. With hand drawn and painted line pieces amongst his pop arty style, Arran presents an accomplished application to stand alone pieces including his digital work.

Frankie Brown from the University of Portsmouth celebrates the hobby of collecting. Containing muted tones and an observation of human behaviour, Frankie has applied ‘the hoarder’, ‘the fetish’, ‘the souvenir’ and ‘the professional’ collector into high quality printed designs. Using clean repeat patterns and depth within her illustrations, Frankie has transferred her digital prints onto cards, cups and onto textiles for fashion.

MA Illustrator Jessica Knight from Glyndwr University illustrates seaside-esque scenes. Tranquil colour and lightly hand drawn scenes show off the strength of Jessica’s work, producing a concertina of simplistic images narrating the story of her beautiful characters in acrylic inks and emulsion.

Expressive illustrations from Katie Pascoe of the University of Portsmouth delve into the subject of fragility within nature and the impact of humans on the environment. Katie has thoroughly made use of a wide range of media, using weave, ink jet printing on fabric, hand sewn illustrations and laser cutting. Skeletal silhouettes present a very effective method of telling a story and provide a very versatile range of work. Katie’s pull-out book on Japanese paper displays through her beautifully illustrations the importance of the issues surrounding her work, making for very emotive and intricate showcase.

Michael Julings from the University of Falmouth confidently uses colour in fantastically built up designs. Complementery colours amongst busy imagery allows Michael’s work to look organised and neat, yet tell a story in thorough depth. Containing many aspects of a theme, it clevery showcases the digital practice within Michael’s work in a very bold and playful fashion.

Nathan Oteng-Owusu
Arran Macphail
Frankie Brown
Jessica Knight
Katie Pascoe
Michael Julings