“I’m known as Bad News on
the internet, but I’m very
friendly in real life,” assures
Edinburgh-based illustrator
and animator Mike Hughes, who’s
worked with the likes of Dr. Martens,
GQ, BBC, Adidas and Vice. With client
work, he stresses the importance
of thorough research and “a good
conversation with the art director
early on about what they really want”
before submitting roughs.
His main tools are pencil and paper
for sketching, then a combination of
Procreate, Photoshop, occasionally
Illustrator for vector outputs and After
Effects for animation, with everything
hand-drawn on his iPad or Wacom. He
makes notes more often than image-
based sketches initially: ”I find words
can spark the imagination faster than
making shapes on the paper.”
Mike studied painting at art school
but gravitated toward illustration
because he was “interested in
commercially driven art for the masses
rather than concentrating on some
one-off pieces for a few people at a
gallery.” His main stylistic influences
are American cartoons and classic
anime such as Akira. “The technical
brilliance and ambition of those pieces
were stunning,” he says. “I try to keep a
similar spirit, creating work that I hope
will capture people with its attention
to detail and not-so-subtle colours.”
m-hughes.comMike Hughes
BRINGING FIGURES TO LIFE THROUGH COLOUR AND DETAIL
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