@roseallert / roseallert@gmail.com

I am a creative and designer interested in illustration, product design, lettering and writing. The work I have featured is the ‘Scrub Rug’ I made in response to the Australian wildfires. As an Australian-British dual national, I felt the intense national grief that the fires caused, and wanted to promote more sustainable design as my response - the rug is tufted using 100% wool with some wool sourced from charity shops. It is 1x1m. The design is taken from a series of papercut collages I made of the floor of the ‘scrub’; areas of dry countryside that are extremely susceptible to fire. During quarantine I have designed my own typeface, have been experimenting with fibre arts like knitting and weaving and have been making jewellery using metal clay. My sources of inspiration right now are the colours of landscapes and a sense of home.

@bethashleyillustration

Over the years, I’ve eaten many bowls of pasta. But this statement has nothing to do with pasta. A polite hello to you! My name is Beth and I am an illustrator and printmaker. My practice centres around the employment of textual charm, ridiculous utterance and pure indulgent word play. Utilising juicy joyful wonderful pockets of expression that language has to offer our imagination, fuels my intent as an image-maker. 

The chief aesthetic venture here lies prominently with pursuing the harmonious clunk. It is an operation in repeating, adjusting, mistaking and balancing. Every shape, slice and curve has its home. Asserting ownership over composition is an important thrust behind my recent work. The bigger and more bonkers the better. 

The role of lighthearted wonder ensures a buoyant reminder that we aren’t taking ourselves too seriously now are we? 

If you can make good soup, you’re a pretty useful human.

@chairmanbuu / www.zarahbao.com / www.zarahbao.wixsite.com

Hi there, I'm Chairman Buu aka Zarah Bao. My work this year has gravitated towards the joy of nonsense. Particularly on my website where all of my final project work is curated, the utilisation of nonsensical imagery helped me to better translate the sensation of my depersonalisation. 

Depersonalisation, summarised shortly, is the experience of thoughts and feelings being dreamlike or not based in reality. My symptoms have exacerbated this year so it felt appropriate to try to understand my confusing experience with it better. Although unpleasant at times to be in this state, I discovered that my depersonalisation plays a major beneficial role in my practice. Surreal motifs and concepts have always been apparent in my work, so, this celebration of my strange and chaotic mind has allowed nonsense to joyfully exist in my latest work. Animation and collage have proven to be particularly successful mediums in the exploration of these topics.

@zb_illustration / www.zoebeckley.com

My practice is centred around reportage and instinctive drawn responses to people and the natural world, ultimately driven and influenced by research, experience and emotion. I take various approaches to image-making and aim to keep it loose and free as means of play – my sketchbooks are a vital component and are home to often itchy and frenetic, inky lines. Many of my illustrations and publications are born out of narrative; my book-making practice explores the fragmented if not juxtaposed relationship between language and illustration.

This piece is part of a series of illustrations created as responses to Ilya Kaminsky’s poem “Deaf Republic”, an observation of the radical presence and politics of d/Deafness existing in a hearing world which, as a deaf person myself, is a resounding call of “solidarity!!”.

@emmachristieart / www.emmachristie.art

Hello!

I’m Emma – an illustrator, maker and workshop facilitator, working by my mantra “joy radiates.” It’s a principle of working in such a way that I hope to create a ripple effect of knowledge, awareness, curiosity and, of course, joy.

I am particularly in love with art’s power for positive social impact. Exploring stories that need telling, and voices that need hearing so that lives are supported and helped.

My Final Major Project is an ongoing autobiographical short story series, where I’m documenting living with severe mental illness and autism. I hope that these will provide insight, catharsis and awareness for people, but I also want to ignite positive changes within services too. I’m using my stories as a catalyst to engage with health practitioners to support better practice within the NHS.

@isobelleillustration

Hello I’m Isobelle! I am an illustrator and printmaker currently based in Leeds, UK. My practice is driven by contextual research and observation, with an interest in uncovering and exploring unusual narrative. Through my work I am to tell a story and capture a sense of truth and authenticity, based on thorough research which is an important part of my process as an image maker. I enjoy observational research as well as historical and archival research, any context that alludes to an interesting character or story. 

Research such as the literature of Lewis Carol’s Hunting of the Snark lead to this visual investigation of the scenes and events displayed in the nonsense poetry. I explored this brief through lino printing, with an aim to capture the strange tone within the narrative. I want to make work that inspires thought and curiosity, combined with the technical and traditional skill of relief printing that I am so passionate about developing.

@emmacrbtr

Emma Crabtree is an artist and illustrator making drawings, ceramic objects and publications. Her most recent project explores the interplay between taste and material surroundings. As a result of examining her own questionable taste, she is interested in the idea of preciousness and how the images she makes can exist somewhere between ugliness and beauty.

@samueljoshuadavies / www.damndavies.co.uk

At University I focussed my practice towards using Relief Printing and Bookbinding facilities, creating ambitious four-coloured A1 screen prints and bespoke Artist’s Books that challenge traditional formats. I have a constant craving to push my creative abilities which encourages me to experiment with image making, allowing me to explore new processes and styles of working whilst maintaining a strong sense of self. From a young age, I have always been queer in my expression, ignoring societal pressures of conventional gender norms. More so, in a heteronormative culture, my experience with sexuality has hugely influenced the issues explored in my work. Censorship and regulation are always underlying themes, commenting on controlled sexual expression positioning the viewer to question social customs and our attitudes to sex.

@bdgillustrations / folio.procreate.art/blublue / blubelldigia.designs@gmail.com

Hey there! My name is Blu Di Giambattista. I currently am a graduate illustrator. Throughout the years of my study I have been searching for my true purpose as a creative, I found that I love working with all sorts of techniques and applications. It is freedom to be fluid and in art it should be. Make the work you want to make and be true to your practice!  My illustration showcased is in reference to my studies on The Symposium by Plato. What I took from his work was to ‘Love All’ I wanted to celebrate the idea of we are all unique. Our bodies are a celebration of us. Who we are. Not just defined by genders; because initially that doesn’t mean a damn! I’m glad our world is opening up to this. How a text dated back to c. 385–370 BC, have relevance to today’s generation speaks volumes, let everyone be them and you do you!

@charliefreerillustrations / www.charliefreer.weebly.com / www.slutpunch.weebly.com

Charlie Freer is an illustrator and visual storyteller based in Leeds. Her practice endeavours to step out of the natural framework of life, while also directly referencing it - through the regurgitation of her experiences and observations of others and the world, onto character and story-driven illustrations.

The building blocks of her image-making are humour, personality, observations of life and imagined realities, which were the integral themes of her final major project - a visualisation of the fictitious band, Slut Punch. 

Brewed from summer fun leading into their final year, this project was a way of encapsulating those times, a celebration of friends, music and experience that she represented through a band of monsters.

@jorgiajgidney

A multimedia image maker. Mixing abstraction based work with photographic elements and graphic design to create visceral imagery. Bringing focus to smaller details that often go unnoticed. Play and experimentation are fundamentals within Jorgia’s work with emphasis on exploring and combining manual and digital techniques.

@lucegos / www.goslingluce.wixsite.com

Hi! My name is Luce Gosling and I'm a Character and Concept Artist. I specialise in historical and fantasy based work. Whether for animation or games, I aim to tell a story through fun and effective imagery! Next year I'll be attending Central Saint Martins with aspirations to complete a Masters in Character Animation.

@annieisobelhal / www.annieisobelhall.com

Hello! I'm a creative interested in applied illustration. My work is simple, bright and character orientated. My most recent project has been focused around contemporary knitting, which culminated in a publication and collection of knitted garments. If you fancy getting in touch or working together please drop us a line.

@broadbez / www.bezhall.com

Inspired by capturing the notion of chance, Bez is a book binder, experimental image maker, and creative practitioner committed to personal investigation. Their work is produced with a love for indulging in process, and often responds to lengthy periods of self-initiated research. Immediate and instinctive making is at the heart of their practical methodology, alongside making a deliberate space for play. Their aim for each picture that they make is that it echoes their hand and their voice, and they believe that they become most engaged when they are simply just feeling and thinking and making. Keen to engage with their personal history and identity, Bez’ work often revolves around themes such as sexuality, class, gender, community, and emotional expression.

@fran.haslam / www.franhaslam.myportfolio.com

I am an illustrator interested in problem solving, visually exploring concepts and the combination of handmade and digital media particularly in response to editorial articles. I love exploring bold shapes, colours, and space to produce primarily digital images, with a focus on gifs and moving-image. 

This project was driven by research into the National Newspaper Archives to find particularly bizarre and humorous articles for the 1800's, and illustrating them with a contemporary twist, almost like bringing them back to life. Investigating first-hand the kind of media people were consuming was slightly surreal, but mostly fascinating to see what was capturing the hearts and the minds of the general population. Other things this project has taught me includes not to challenge people to catch cannonballs midair, not to trust hypnotists with a cage full of lions, and that people haven’t really changed much in the last hundred years.

@ejackillustration / www.linkedin.com

I aim to build an eccentric, vibrant, and chaotic world within my art, and I choose to create fictional and playful characters through the use of digital and analog design. It is a fervent habit that my work inhabits colour, disposition and brings humour or joy to the onlooker.

@zainabjode

Hi! I'm Zainab and I'm a comics artist and illustrator. My work consists of monochromatic sequential narratives that explore autobiography and grey morality through the use of fiction, visual subtext and symbolism.  

This piece is a page from an ongoing project exploring the concept of grey morality within narrative. It seeks to challenge social perceptions of justice and morality while raising awareness about the struggles of mental health and surviving physical, sexual and emotional abuse. The narrative gives the reader the chance to come to their own conclusions and judgements on the events that take place without the influence of the author's bias.

charlartz.com / @charlartz

'Female Power' is a piece based upon the local beck that she lives near. It is part of a series of illustrations that focus on the different characters that you can find hiding there. In her view, animals are extremely captivating and have become the focal point of her practice. She is inspired by Japanese graphic design and the natural world and believes that mixing elements of the two is what creates a playful realm for image building within her illustrations. Minimalism plays an important role in streamlining the messages in her work. Whilst graphic elements such as typography and bright colours play a huge role in keeping the tone of voice upbeat. She is drawn to projects that focus on the lighter side of life and often uses humour to explore a natural curiosity for narrative, through applications such as character design and moving image. 

@illustratesofia / www.sofiajohnstonillustration.com

Sofia Johnston is an illustrator and animator, whose practice largely focuses on the creation of surreal worlds and characters. Using vivid colour palettes and simple line work, Sofia enjoys designing tranquil landscapes for her strange creatures to exist in. With a growing interest in creating more immersive experiences of her work, Sofia has recently explored media such as 3D modelling and Virtual Reality, and is keen to challenge the ideas of what forms an illustration can take. 

Throughout her time at Leeds Arts University, Sofia found a real love for world building, exploring this through many briefs, most recently for her Final Major Project where she collaborated with a musician to build an audiovisual world titled ‘Terra’. The project is currently being compiled into the format of an interactive website which will be available online soon. Following on from university, Sofia plans to pursue a career as a freelance illustrator and animator, and hopes to continue exploring the theme of immersion through her personal work.

@claudiarosedraws / www.claudiarose.myportfolio.com

Claudia Rose is a Leeds based freelance illustrator, with a knack for coloured pencils and watercolour paints. Claudia loves to travel and wherever she goes her sketchbook follows; allowing her to keep in touch with her surroundings through reportage-style drawing. At the moment you can find Claudia's work on her instagram and website; though an Etsy shop where her work will be available to purchase is in the works! You'll be able to find this at www.etsy.com/uk/shop/claudiarosedraws very soon.

@stinkpinkfish / www.pinkstinkfish.tumblr.com

Mary Konstantinou is a Greek artist whose practice consists of character design and illustrations of fashionable, confident women. Inspired by mythology, history, and fiction, Konstantinou creates her own worlds through storyboarding and comics.

@preslavkostov / www.preslavkostov.com

Preslav Kostov is an artist and illustrator based in the United Kingdom with paintings in private collections across the US, UK, Australia and Europe. His work is inspired by traditional painting but seeks to explore the relevance of such values in the present day through his digital illustrations. This is pushed further through exploration of visual metaphors and references to contemporary culture. Preslav's affinity for illustration stems from his passion for problem solving and collaboration with other creatives.

I use a range of traditional and digital processes within my practice. My work usually focuses around character and storytelling. themes surrounding nature are repeated throughout my work. 

@jlh_illustrations / www.jaslewishenman.co.uk

This project was initially about touch, the relationships we create through brief moments of contact, and the boundaries our bodies break when we connect physically. When the pandemic hit and we were thrown into mass isolation, I found there was much more space for inward reflection and bodily mindfulness. From this stemmed an obsession with the boundaries of our bodies, our fragility, our impermanence. If a tooth falls out is it still part of us? How connected can our bodies truly be as separate entities? What actions can we take to melt into one another?

I've created two pieces of writing, each a personal, mindful account of my body designed to go on the reverse of an illustrated postcard - tangible objects that can be collected and tucked away like loose teeth. My other outcomes include a zine, an essay on bodily disgust and accompanying disgusting animations, all found on my website.

My work is a way to channel honesty. I aim to somehow translate the ambiguity and energy of our emotions into an illustration; to reflect on human truths, told in a way that's maybe unusual or surreal; and to articulate the messy thoughts a lot of us share.

@jamesllooydart / www.j-lloyd1720-sp.blogspot.com

James Lloyd is an image maker and designer whose passion lies in communicating ideas and concepts through playful, engaging imagery. Exploration of shape and form with a no-boundaries, abstracted approach drives his process. James maintains a constant balance between digital and traditional processes which allows him to create exciting and lively imagery. Music is a big inspiration for him and has often been a focal point for the work that he creates. Exploring the synergy between the two disciplines is a fundamental component of his practice. For this project James started out looking into the relationships that exist between people and music, looking for a way to translate this into his work. Through a research driven approach this project ended up looking into the Cosmic Disco scene in Italy in the 80s and explored an interview with the notable DJ, Daniele Baldelli. This gave him the opportunity to pull together his interests in both illustration, graphic design and music. In the future his aims are to work to a range of briefs that are engaging and interdisciplinary.

@jadedtoaster / www.artstation.com/donmarks

Don Marks is a digital  illustrator aspiring to work in the games industry. He has been interested in this part of the creative industry, and since a young age has been inspired by illustrations from companies like Riot Games, Blizzard entertainment, Jagex and Valve.

I am an Icelandic illustrator and graphic designer based in Reykjavík, Iceland. My work is primarily digital as well as painted on canvas. I use bold and bright colours, seek inspiration from landscapes and nature and want my work to convey a sense of mystery.

@caitmceniff / www.caitmceniff.co.uk

My practice is rooted in playfulness and intrigue, aiming to weave storytelling and narrative with a sincere, curious and wonky voice. I use illustration as a way of navigating, making sense of and preserving my childlike curiosity and sentimentality. 

This final project was born out of an interest in folklore, folk art and vehicles of storytelling. Its practical basis was formed through exploring different methods to visually tell the 4 folk inspired stories/poems I had written, which aimed to ‘explain’ the origins of the weather. This 1m x 80cm hand-stitched tapestry was one of those outcomes. It is a vessel on which to tell my 4 stories in the order in which they occur - Rain (the underground figure), Wind (the lady and her chicken), Thunder (sky horses), and Sun (.. the Sun). The wind story from this collection involves wind being sewn into a cape, and so this tapestry functions also as a cape, able to exist ‘within’ the story as well as telling it.  This was and is still continuing as a project about stories and slowness, ideas and indulging, poems and patience, rhythm and research. Making and doing and thinking and joy.

@oliviamcewanhill / www.oliviamcewanhill.com

'Triquetra'

An exploration of connection and growth, with others and with the natural world. Triquetra explores the power of three; I wanted to reflect on my three years at Leeds Arts University, how much I’ve grown as an Illustrator and how much I’ve learnt about the power of my own voice and responsibility as a creative. I hope that by demonstrating the beauty and power the Earth holds, through a series of ceramics, illustrations and textiles pieces, a greater awareness of social issues and ecological action is encouraged.

It is a group mentality that will effect change, and by promoting a sense of community, sustainable living and ethical choices we can make a difference. Human joy and fulfilment is intrinsically linked to a connection with the natural world; protecting the ecology of our planet is extremely important in ensuring we maintain a relationship with our roots.

By creating objects of sentimental value, I wanted to reference the importance of valuing what you own, owning what you need and diminishing the need for a ‘throw away’ culture. Through depicting natural elements as influential symbols within my work I hope to educate and inspire people to promote responsible, sustainable choices. We must respect the natural world that we share with millions of other organisms, in order to better protect and maintain these environments for future generations.

@caitlinm.illustration / www.caitlinmillustration.com / caitlinm.illustration@gmail.com 

Hello!  I am an illustrator and printmaker based in Leeds, UK. I have an interest in storytelling and narrative illustration that include elements from history and mythology.  I want to celebrate the lives of people from history, and make sure that events and beliefs from the past do not get lost or forgotten.

I work mainly with analogue media (ink, collage, watercolours, pencils, graphite...) and I am especially fond of mono-printing using hand-cut paper stencils.  I enjoy it when you can see little hints of the person behind the work: accidental fingerprints, smudges, and splatters

@cmcmillustrations / www.charlottemyland.art

Charlotte Myland is an Illustrator based in Leeds, UK. She works primarily in pen with digital colouring, exploring surreal and mythological themes. Recently, she has been creating illustrations inspired by Mastodon’s album Emperor of Sand.

@callumillustration / www.callumillustrations.com

I am a freelance Children's Illustrator who loves embracing the slightly weird and wonderful. Creating my own special characters that live in imaginative worlds is what I most enjoy about what I do. Through many mediums such as paper cut, ink, acrylic paint, coloured pencils and mono print I seek my own desired texture unlike any other. I like my illustrations to be quirky and different as this is how my personality comes through my work. Most of my imagination comes from wild animals and walking my dog.

My final degree work is about Mr. Blob and his adventure to make more friendships. I have been playing around with creating animals of my own and the final results showcase all that hard work. It is everything I imagined it to be and more as it is not just fun and adventurous, it celebrates being different and picking up beauty from the people we meet. The world can be dark but I like to bring light through my illustrations.

Becki is an illustrator and image maker from Greater Manchester. She primarily uses digital techniques in her work with a focus on character, detail and tone. Influences for her work include femininity, youth culture, and anime.  Her final project is an explorative project, where supernatural and mythological creatures inhabit Leeds in an alternate universe. This piece is taken from a comic detailing the day of a fictional character Lilith, drawing inspiration from student life, personal experience, and the small, candid and mundane moments in day to day happenings.

@hazalozkeles / www.hazalozkeles.com / hello.hazalozkeles@gmail.com 

Hazal is an illustrator who has a passion for monochrome and vibrant colours. Incorporating striking graphics with bold and clean aesthetics, using patterns and textures to add depth and movement into her artwork, she is not afraid to adapt her style to the clients' needs. Her main inspirations come from science, music and nature.

This piece is a poster from her final project "Delight" where she created a cosmetics brand from scratch. Delight is a response to Turkish culture under the umbrella of commercial illustration and graphic design. This project consists of brand identity building, marble printmaking, repeat patterns, product design, packaging design, and advertisement materials.

@addapals

Adda Pálsdóttir is an illustrator from Iceland with an interest in making harmonious drawings that center around narrative and storytelling. With a love for good lines, interesting textures and a hope to make images come to life.

@b__munn / bijou.munn@gmail.com 

Bijou is a freelance illustrator who uses circles and lines to create illusion. She mainly works in digital with limited colour palettes. Her main interest is to create works based on subjects that are intangible, such as emotions, concepts, knowledge, and scientific facts etc. Her key skills and strengths lie with Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, After Effect, being bilingual, designing concepts, impactful writing, and hyperrealism portraits. Her favourite artists are Wassily Kandinsky, Whanki Kim, and Nomar Bar. She has also been influenced by the Bauhaus design movement. She has lived in different countries for 12 years, this helps her to have different and unique perspectives as an artist. She loves Frank Sinatra.

@fanette_illustrations / fanetteperrineaubf76.myportfolio.com

@luc.ipina / www.lp26164118a6.myportfolio.com / hellolucip@gmail.com

Luci Pina is an image maker and illustrator based in Leeds, UK. With a lofi and sentimental approach to image making, her practice tends to follow personal narratives in response to text and poetry - usually a visual exploration of image, type and drawing. Along personal narratives, she enjoys making research-led responses to elements of black culture with energy, intention and a conscious and loving consideration for the politics of representation. This image is a response to nas’ Illmatic [1994] and a part of a larger research based visual investigation of golden era Hip-Hop albums spanning from the 90s to the early 2000s.

@chloeplattsillustration / chloeoliviaplatts@gmail.com

Chloe Platts is an aspiring illustrator based in Leeds, who specialises in highly detailed portraiture and children’s book illustration. She is particularly interested in drawing animals. She hopes to inspire people to learn more about the various creatures on our planet by illustrating them with personality and character.

@rosieillu / www.rosieillu.com / www.r-reynolds1720-sp.blogspot.com

My practice is centred around belief, superstition and untold stories. This project found its roots in my own superstitions about birds, basing luck and fortune on corvids and doves, that were, to be honest, minding their own business, unaware of their own effect on me. I began a personal journey to both understand and gain control over the worries and concerns that
are associated with fortune and luck. I discovered that for me, the most interesting thing about it is that it’s a shared observational experience. Whether or not you necessarily believe in the consequences of superstition, it is a learned cultural phenomenon: everyone has it in common, notices it, and automatically sees meaning in it. The experience of noting is deep-rooted in folklore and storytelling vices.

Similarly to believing in lucky or unlucky numbers, icons, symbols or colours, people seek meaning and in things they can’t control or necessarily understand. Noting events, and making choices for better outcomes based on these patterns we observe, are just small ways to make sense of our chaotic, unruly lives. This connects us all, in some way, in an unspoken manner. But i’m not too sure as to why, yet.

@d.roman_rivera / www.dereckroman.co.uk

While originally from Puerto Rico, Yorkshire has become my home after studying here for a few years. I have been learning and refining my skills in illustration for the last five years in Leeds, and over the last two years, I have been focusing my work on world- building and map-making through mixing traditional and digital mediums to create pieces. Currently residing in the UK I am continuing to create work based around mapping, guides and tourism.

@zacrosso / www.zacrosso.com

I'm an artist fascinated by faces, history, geometric abstraction and my environment. My work is journalistic and I love to record events as I see and feel them. My practice is all about engaging thoughtfully and intimately with the world around me. I aim to make people, places and ideas accessible, understood and beautiful through the medium of illustration. I combine analogue and digital drawing materials to create original and ready to print images and I try to instil vibrancy, positivity and dynamism in all my ideas to create pictures that are endearing and uplifting.

My final degree work is the Magical Leeds project. This is a body of artwork, merchandise and animation dedicated to celebrating, mystifying and promoting the wonderful city that I have come to call home. This work was created with months of exploration, observation and investigating the hidden gems of this fascinating northern city. I hope it encourages viewers to have a sense of pride in where they live and also inspires them to visit new places.

@peachswizzle / www.peachswizzle.com

I am a Leeds based character designer and fashion illustrator, I love to combine my interests in pop culture and celebrities with sci-fi and fantasy. My newest project post-uni is exploring an urban fantasy world where all different species coexist and wear cute clothes. I love to focus on figure and character in my work, and I’m now working on putting the characters I create into environments and worlds.

My final major project during my degree was about the character I created called Nova, who is an alien from Jupiter who comes to Earth to become the galaxy’s biggest influencer.

@lucysharpillustration / www.lucysharpillustration.co.uk / lucysharpillustration@gmail.com

My practice is primarily centred around animals and nature, grounded in the Yorkshire countryside and inspired by my personal interests and experience of farm life. My working methods are largely traditional and when making art intuitively I work representationally with hand rendered processes such as paper cut collage, printing, and painting. 

This A2 paper cut image was made in response to my final major project which focused on communicating the beauty and nature of parrots, as well as the ethical considerations of keeping exotic birds as pets.

@kittyshortsh / www.kittyshort.hotglue.me

My practice is centred around publication making and creating narratives that cross interdisciplinary boundaries. I'm interested in how making informed by experience can transform the personal into the magical.

@alisimmonsart

This project ‘A Trail Of Breadcrumbs’ was driven by researching and me-searching. It explores the significance of bread, through its symbolic and ritual use, our connection with it through touch and my personal feelings of nostalgia towards bread, having been gluten intolerant for about four years.

“Challah torn and shared. Still the best thing since sliced bread.” Is a significant line from some of my creative writing. The image shown here is made up of re-arranged, torn pieces of an image of two loaves of Challah - traditional Jewish plaited bread. I shared the individual pieces with friends and family during lockdown, to try, in a way, to continue the ritual of tearing and sharing Challah on Shabbat, to connect people the way sharing bread does, and to mark this time.

Symbolism, emotion, and the synthesis of familiarity and ambiguity, are present throughout my work, across mediums. I am interested in nuanced, individual and collective human experience, and aim to continue exploring these in future projects through the interplay of imagery and text.

@georgiaroseillustration / www.grtillustration.wixsite.com / www.issuu.com

This piece is part of my Final Major Project based around dogs; the work features a springer spaniel, an edited drawing for my exploration of the dog’s personality to be used for design for children. The project aimed to explore dog breeds personalities and use them in an illustrated way to be for children, focusing on the dogs to be featured in an illustrated story book.

My Illustration work focuses on design for children, animals, simplified colour, and shape working together to give graphic fun colourful images full of personality. My work is created for children in mind, looking at children’s publishing and designing for a children’s market. The work I create often contains positive messages, looking at bringing the sunshine back to children’s lives in a world which often faces them with complex challenges. My work aims to bring fun and joy to whoever views my images which are usually produced with traditional methods and enhanced with digital media as in the image above. I also explore themes of environmentalism in my work as well as animal welfare and scientific interests alongside my children’s narrative-based work, I have interests in children’s educational publishing as well as children’s narrative.

@rosiewainwright / www.rosiewainwright.co.uk

Rosie Wainwright is an image maker and designer currently based in Leeds. Her work typically follows a personal, observational or humorous narrative. Using a range of processes, she is a multidisciplinary creative with drawing at the centre of her practice. She enjoys collecting imagery and ephemera as well as making publications.

@mattwalkerart / www.mattwalkerart.com

I started out working in the service industry before pursuing my dream of becoming an artist. I picked up a foundation degree in Art & Design at Wakefield College and studied Illustration here at Leeds Arts University.

I gravitate towards children’s book illustration and editorial work, as well as a little bit of animation.

For my final major project, I decided to illustrate Miles Cameron’s fantasy novel The Red Knight. The aesthetic is heavily inspired by Eyvind Earle, most famous for his background work for Disney, and Scott Wills of the Samurai Jack series.

A key focus for this project was understanding light. I wanted to the pieces I created to have an animated appearance, but with aspects of realistic lighting and atmospheric effects.

My process starts with small thumbnails which are then mocked up digitally in photoshop. These digital mock-ups are then worked in with traditional painting and textures.

@millie.illustration

My practice heavily involves the use of colour to create imaginative scenes based around the natural world and the flora and fauna and animals that live within them. I often use the medium of acrylic gouache to explore and experiment this within my brief. I like my illustrations to be wacky, fun and never boring and hope that they can bring a little light to someone’s day.
 

This image is a culmination of my most recent project based on my interpretation of what Britain would have looked like within the Jurassic period. I loved exploring this time period and the people that made these discoveries like Mary Anning; one of the first female palaeontologists whose findings were often accredited to men. My love of research fuels my practice and helps me to discover unusual and fascinating stories that otherwise I would have never heard of.

@itskenma / www.zoldyc.com / www.itskenma.wixsite.com

My name is Maverick, I am an illustrator and photographer who primarily explores the themes of gender and sexuality with a large abstract visual signature. As a transmasculine, genderqueer artist my work often derives from thoughts and feelings regarding my queer identity. Having not had appropriate forms of LGBT+ representation growing up, I aim to take control of my body and my voice through abstract portraiture. Gender in our modern society is something that isn't so strictly defined, so I began to think "why should my visual language be one singular thing?"

Transphobia still poses a major threat in our society, but it stems from an irrational fear due to a lack of understanding towards people who break away from the westernised binary. Through exploring the modern world of gender and the importance of representation in the media, I found my own role within this space, as not only an artist but as an activist. We as queer people deserve to be seen and I aim to continue fulfilling this need going forward as a practitioner.

@isabel.r.w

"Pretty City"

Unseen and overlooked decorative aspects in a city landscape. A spread from a publication forming part of the project, designed to encourage appreciation, exploration and engagement with our surroundings. Research led analogue image making enables me to document my subjects in a tactile and honest way.

I have made a children’s Welsh language picture book designed to teach flowers names to young children in an easy way, by creating illustrations which literally represent the names. For example the lion showing its teeth will help children remember the name dant y llew which literally means lions teeth. The illustrations I kept simple and colourful, giving children easy shapes and images to recognise. This project has been inspired by my interest in nature, my home and language, and use of cut out shapes and textures inspired by illustrators like Eric Carle.