Meet the Illustrator: Meredith Downes

Name: Meredith Downes

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less:
Digital three-dimensional painting, with a focus on narrative in nature.

What items are an essential part of your creative space?
Sketchbook and pencils for early drawings and storyboarding, laptop and pen display for illustration, a solid block of time.

Do you have a favourite artistic medium?
I definitely prefer working digitally. I experiment a lot on the 'page' and would go through too much paper if I tried to do the same thing in pencil or using some other physical medium. I also love the freedom and flexibility of instantly changing what I am doing and how I am doing it.

Meet The Illustrator: Aśka

Name: Aśka 

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less.
Fast, energetic, loud, cornucopia of emotions (both big and subtle).

What items are an essential part of your creative space?
Most of my work is digital so a comfy set up is essential: a good chair, big non-reflective screen, and some reliable and well-loved retro tech. I also have copious amounts of one-sided/recycled paper for printing out countless samples and for biro-sketches.

Do you have a favourite artistic medium?
Black ink. When I was younger, I worked with the nib pen but being left-handed and pretty messy, the ink would often take over the whole work space (and me!). 

Today I love using brush pens. Their contained nature means the mess usually only travels as far as my elbow. There is something wonderful about the unwieldiness of ink and how big the role of chance in an ink drawing is. It’s something I struggle to reproduce onscreen.

Meet The Illustrator: Hannah Powell Fryer

Name: Hannah Powell Fryer (HP Fryer)

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less.
Hand-drawn, detailed with fun and a sense of humour.

What items are an essential part of your creative space?
My iPad is becoming pretty essential. I’ll always love traditional mediums (especially gouache) but Procreate is so much easier when it comes to juggling mum-life with illustration. At the moment I’m enjoying drawing with pencil on tracing paper (I like the texture) scanning that in and then adding colour in Procreate. This gives me a balance of traditional and digital. So- pencils, tracing paper and my scanner are essential too.

Meet The Illustrator: Sarah Ang

Name: Sarah Ang

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less.
Traditional, timeless, detailed, delicate, whimsical.

What items are an essential part of your creative space?
I love collecting beautifully illustrated children’s picture books, even ones in different languages, for inspiration. A window to gaze out of to ponder the world, and to have natural lighting. Elements of nature around me to calm and inspire me.

Do you have a favourite artistic medium?
Chinese black ink and watercolours.

Meet The Illustrator: Sarah Zweck

Name: Sarah Zweck

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less.
Playful, dynamic movement with an emphasis on fun and learning.

What items are an essential part of your creative space?
Space! I’m lucky to have a large, bright studio at home with my materials within easy reach. I also enjoy listening to a podcast or audio book whilst I work.

Do you have a favourite artistic medium?
If I had to choose, it would probably be paint (any kind). As part of my practise, I enjoy experimenting with material play.

Meet The Illustrator: Hélène Magisson

Name: Helene Magisson

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less.
Whimsical, dreamy, poetic, delicate, timeless, charming, ethereal.

What items are an essential part of your creative space?
My window is essential. It's open in every sense of the word. Open to let light pour in, open to the world outside. My books are also necessary. Art books and picture books from all over the world, always within reach to get inspiration. Then there are all the tools of my creative process: paper, brushes, paints, a scanner, my tablet, and an iPad for listening to audiobooks during the colouring phase. And of course, a mug for the hundreds of tea breaks I need throughout the day.

Meet The Illustrator: Tannya Harricks

Name: Tannya Harricks

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less.

Textured, painterly, loose and expressive.

What items are an essential part of your creative space?
Natural light. Paper and pencil – where every idea begins. 

Books are essential in a creative space. I am surrounded by my art books and often listening to an audiobook while I work. 

Dogs. I have 3 dogs, so there is usually one or two lying under my feet and happy for some attention when I need to take a break.

Meet The Illustrator: Gemma Creegan

Name: Gemma Creegan

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less.
Quirky, whimsical, playful, cute, nostalgic

What items are an essential part of your creative space?
I mostly create digitally so my ipad, apple pencil and sources of inspiration such as photos, picture books and sometimes background music. I also need lots of tea and snacks to keep me going.

Do you have a favourite artistic medium?
Since I got my apple pencil two years ago, I have been mostly creating digitally but from time to time I dabble in other mediums and particularly enjoy using Japanese watercolours.

Name three artists whose work inspires you.
This is a tough one as there are so many and I’m discovering new artists all the time. Top of the list will always be Beatrix Potter, Tove Jansson and Ludwig Bemelmans.

Meet The Illustrator: Dani G

Name: Dani G

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less:
Quirky, fun, bold colours, colourful, Australiana, stark, different, organic.

What items are an essential part of your creative space?
My desktop computer with the Adobe Creative Suite, Ipad and Apple pencil. Walls printed with photographs of my inspiration.

Do you have a favourite artistic medium
Although I work digitally, I do love traditional media such as printmaking using lino tiles and ink. I also love working with paper and oil pastels and getting messy with a mixed media approach.

Meet The Illustrator: Michèle Dodd

Name: Michèle Dodd

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less:
Semi realistic, quirky, colourful and totally original

What items are an essential part of your creative space?
A beautiful view, Lyra pencils, watercolours, scalpel, Lyra .25 lead pencil, a make-up brush to remove dust, paintbrushes and a Staedtler rubber.

Do you have a favourite artistic medium?
Pencil and watercolour.

Name three artists whose work inspires you.
Van Gogh, Maurice Sendak and Julie Vivas

Which artistic period would you most like to visit and why?
Would have to be when The Heidelberg School artists were in full swing creating amazing Australian landscapes at their artist camps in the Heidelberg area - late 1880’s to early 1890’s.

Meet The Illustrator: Mirka Hokkanen

Name: Mirka Hokkanen

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less.
Happy, positive, cute, soft, nature centric and colourful.

What items are an essential part of your creative space?
No interruptions, quiet, writing/drawing tool and something to write on. It could be digital, or it could be pencil and paper. Lastly, some items of inspiration for a jumping off point. That could be an illustration I like, a book, a photo or a memory.

Meet The Illustrator: Peter Baldwin

Name: Peter Baldwin

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less.
Earthy, expressive, narrative-driven with nature and character at heart.

What items are an essential part of your creative space?
Books and comics for inspiration, Dungeons & Dragons miniatures for painting and storytelling, tidy art supplies for focus, and my computer to pull it all together. My miniature ecosystems—terrariums and aquariums—bring the outside in. They help me slow down, stay curious, and dream up the wild worlds I love to draw.

Do you have a favourite artistic medium?
Hand-drawn inking is definitely my favourite. I enjoy the control and expression that ink pens and brushes offer. I also use pencil, coloured pencils, crayons, and watercolours to add texture and colour. My lightboard, Wacom, and computer help me refine and finish the work digitally. It’s a balance between traditional techniques and digital tools.

Meet The Illustrator: Esther Siam

Name: Esther Siam

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less.
Detailed everyday observations, inspired by nature, flowing with whimsical imagination.

What items are an essential part of your creative space?
Watercolour paints and cold-pressed cotton paper. Lavender, I love its calming scent. A cup of freshly brewed coffee is always close by!

Meet The Illustrator: James O'Hanlon

Name: James O'Hanlon

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less.
Expressive animal characters in absurd situations. Blending science with silliness.

What items are an essential part of your creative space?
1- Tea with milk and sugar
2- Pencils and paper for sketching, any kind will do!
3- Drawing tablet - Wacom Cintiq
4- Electric pencil sharpener. Once you get used to them, it’s hard to go back to manual sharpeners or whatever they’re called. Acoustic sharpeners?

Do you have a favourite artistic medium?
I love using watercolours over ink line work, but for most projects I find myself working digitally.

Meet The Illustrator: Novia Heroanto

Name: Novia Heroanto

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less.
Emotive, expressive, character-driven storytelling with quiet emotional depth.

What items are an essential part of your creative space? 
Skim latte, my sketchbook which also serves as my notebook, and a trusty iPad.

Do you have a favourite artistic medium?

I love the spontaneity, fluidity, and the transparency of the watercolour, but since I have a curious little toddler around me, I feel more comfortable with blending digital and traditional media. Especially digital pencil and gouache or watercolour textures that still feel organic and ‘homemade.

Meet The Illustrator: Elizabeth Misek

Name: Elizabeth Misek

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less.
Whimsical worlds, full of warmth, wonder and movement.

Do you have a favourite artistic medium?
My paint tins. I have one that holds my signature colours as well as a larger storage tin, that holds random accent pans.
I then add one or two fresh colours to my signature tin, depending on the project.

Meet The Illustrator: Natasha Carty

Name: Natasha Carty

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less.
Whimsical, textured and detailed - with an emphasis on light and shade.

What items are an essential part of your creative space?
A cup of tea, comfy clothes, a tidy work space filled with beautiful things and a podcast in-ear.

Meet The Illustrator: Allison Black

Name: Allison Black

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less.
Playful, bold, and colourful art that engages, delights, and tells stories.

What items are an essential part of your creative space?
My computer, Wacom tablet, notepad and pen, a glass of water, and a pet - whether a dog by my feet or a guinea pig in my lap!

Do you have a favourite artistic medium?
For most commercial work, I prefer to create art digitally using Illustrator and Photoshop. This allows me to experiment, develop multiple versions, and edit quickly. However, I love painting murals and hope to do more work in this area.

Meet The Illustrator: Evie Barrow

Name: Evie Barrow

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less.
A hand-drawn celebration of warmth, texture, and imperfection.

What items are an essential part of your creative space?
Books, pencils, paper and a comfy chair.

Do you have a favourite artistic medium?
Graphite of all kinds and coloured pencils. I like buttery, soft leads like Prismacolour Premier, Derwant Drawing and Caran d’Ache Luminance.

Meet The Illustrator: Lucia Masciullo

Name: Lucia Masciullo

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less.

Whimsical characters, dynamic composition and traditional media.

What items are an essential part of your creative space? 

A large table, a wide bright window and lots of paper and art supplies: the more the better.

Do you have a favourite artistic medium?

Probably not: I love experimenting with new media whenever I start a new project, so I spend some time deciding what to use. I really enjoy the spontaneity of watercolour mixed with pencil or ink, as well as the consistent colour palette of acrylic or acrylic gouache. Deadline sometimes dictates the media I can use, because I feel more confident and achieve quicker results with watercolour or acrylic.