ILLUSTRATION NOW
TO KEEP YOUR WORK
ALIVE, YOU NEED TO BE
CONSTANTLY EXPLORING
Yeah, digital work can recreate watercolour washes, but
I can really tell. There’s something about the texture and
unpredictability of the ink on the paper that makes it
appeal to people more emotionally.What’s the first thing you do with a new brief?
I will try to sit with the text for a while and see what it
draws out from inside of me. I didn’t used to do that before
my MA – I would try and draw the picture that other people
wanted – but people trust me now to make an image which
will be worthy of the piece. The image has to draw people
in [to an article], the journalism comes after that.How has winning the V&A award impacted your work?
It was weird, [2020] was the year that everyone has
forgotten. I felt like I’d won this award and I was the only
person who knew I’d won this award. There was supposed
to be a ceremony in June and then an exhibition.
There is a trust from people that I’ve found in the
last year or two. That validation has also given me the
confidence that I know how to do it. I shouldn’t have
needed an award to tell me that, but the validation that
people in the industry acknowledge that I can draw... It has
given me confidence. It’s hard as an Irish person though,
you never take a compliment.What’s the one thing you know now that you wish you
knew at the start of your illustration career?
I often get asked to give advice to young illustrators and
there’s one thing that always comes up. People think that
they need to be stuck in a style and I really don’t agree
with that. To keep your work alive, you need to be
constantly exploring instead of funnelling yourself to
perfect a style, because then you’re limiting yourself and
you’re limiting your creativity and you’re limiting your
interest in your craft because at some point you will get
tired of doing that style. I did that with animation, I got
burned out and I turned away from it completely, so this is
definitely something I would have advised my younger self.
http://www.annkiernan.comRIGHTAnn
Kiernan,Polish
Protests, 2020
LEFTAnninher
BerlinstudioBELOWAnn
Kiernan,Sky
Magic, 2020