Illustration is rarely a discipline that’s a discrete, individual package. It’s
tied up in so many other fields that propel it far beyond old-fashioned
stereotypes as simply something to adorn and decorate, or slap across
editorial pages, packaging or brand campaigns. Many illustrators have
arrived at the role through routes as diverse as ceramics, architecture,
graphic design, filmmaking and animation, as this year’s Computer
Arts Illustration Hotlist proves.
At its heart, illustration is about telling a story in a succinct image –
no mean feat – and communicating something to the viewer through
shapes, colours, character design and composition that words alone
could never do. Sometimes this idea of storytelling and the importance
of narrative is a crucial part of an illustrator’s work, such as those who
make graphic novels like Anna Mill’s stunning Square Eyes or Anna
Haifisch’s hilariously astute cartoon strip series The Artist. In other
cases the sense of narrative is less obvious, yet all these illustrators’
work perfectly exemplifies the notion of being able to use an image to
convey a thousand words.
By the very nature of such images being made by an individual,
illustrations are often as much a reflection of their creator as of their
subjects or narratives. As Sander Ettema puts it, who started out
wanting to be a filmmaker, her work is almost like a diary – but one
that enables her to create entirely original visual worlds that she’d once
thought she’d be making through film. Similarly, Kieran Glennon’s
illustration career started out, in a way, as a kid when messing about
making daft depictions of friends and family members.
What makes a great illustrator, though, is the ability to turn these
personal starting points into images that are not just beautiful, funny
or fitting the brief they’ve been given, but that can be understood by all
of us – regardless of our knowledge of who drew them. They make the
personal universal, and tell us stories about people, places and social
and political issues in refreshing new ways that bring about a greater
understanding for all of us. Turn the page to discover 16 of the best
illustrators working today – no doubt you’ll be seeing more of their
singular creativity throughout 2020...