25 Amazing Illustrators To Follow

These 25 famous illustrators to follow, including Daniel Frost, Guy McKinley, Agathe Sorlet, Matteo Berton, Cécile Dormeau, and Hsiao Ron Cheng, create unusual characters, hand-drawn sketches, and photorealistic portraits, each with a distinctive style. Some have worked with Disney, BBC, Adidas, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Wired, and Puma, and all of them are worth following for inspiration.

Illustration is a powerful visualization tool, and illustrations in UI design use its huge range of styles and techniques to convey different moods. Custom artwork helps promotional, e-commerce sites, and portfolio sites stand out, and it reflects a company’s branding, style, and mood better than photos. Many modern illustrators draw on twentieth-century avant-garde art, from Picasso and Matisse to Rothko and Warhol.

Below is the list of 25 contemporary illustrators, with a short note on each artist’s style and clients and a link to their Instagram account.

Daniel Frost

British illustrator Daniel Frost (@danielfrostillustration) has crisp and vivid aesthetics. He values natural colors and the simplicity of composition. Daniel is fixated on odd people and strange situations, which he reinterprets in his mind in an imaginative way.

Guy McKinley

An artist specializing in atmospheric pencil drawings. Guy has already worked with major brands such as Disney, BBC, Adidas, and New Balance. His Instagram account (@guymckinley) is full of masterfully drawn concept pieces. McKinley’s work is infused with his love of old comic and storybook art, with a visible  Japanese influence in a lot of his work, and so pattern, color, and details.

Agathe Sorlet

Agathe (@agathesorlet) is a French artist based in Bordeaux. Her minimalistic illustrations with bright color splashes pay homage to women and love. The colors are usually two and are alternated with contrast, to give more writing to the scenes; her creations don’t require many colors to leave their mark.

 

\

Matteo Berton 

Illustrations with an emphasis on color and geometric shapes. The author (@matteberton) is the owner of the gold and silver medals of the New York Society of Illustrators. Works with New York Times, New Yorker, Wired, Monocle, Der Spiegel, Timberland, Fast Company, Feltrinelli, Moleskine.

Cécile Dormeau

Cécile (@cecile.dormeau) creates illustrations from everyday life. The theme of the drawings is women with all their oddities and cute features. Cécile Dormeau is using her art to confront and hopefully make a change in stereotypes that are central to evolving how both women and men should be able to perceive one another without judgment.

Sergiy Maidukov 

Illustrator from Kyiv, Ukraine. Sergiy (@sergiymaidukov) draws for such major clients as The Washington Post, The Village Voice, The Boston Globe, The Architectural Review, Esquire Ukraine. Original and memorable style. The works that Sergiy publishes are ready-made images for magazines and many sketches. His style invades the blank page with gusto, unusual compositions and ill-proportioned characters.

Seva MFN

Seva (@seva_mfn) makes illustrations for magazines, such as Esquire, tattoo sketches, movies and shows, and more. His works are always bright, defined and stylish.

Marlon Mayugba

According to Marlon’s website, the designer (@marsmygb) defines his style as abstract, anamorphic, & surreal compositions. He uses geometric, still-life, and ordinary objects in flat and 3D perspective surroundings.

Justin Mezzell

Justin (@justinmezzell) is an illustrator and designer currently based in Orlando, Florida. A graduate of the University of Central Florida, he specializes in illustration, digital art, and UI/UX design. His an unprecedented retro/futuristic vibe.

Robin Davey

Robin Davey (@robin_davey) is a master of seamless, detailed and quirky animated illustrations. His illustration is comprised of bold, clear-cut shapes assembled to create cute, bumbling characters representing human beings from all walks of life, combining geometric precision with bold color and playfully exaggerated forms.

Jurek Mazurek

Jurek (@jurek_mazurek) is an illustrator with a gentle and unique style, and a soft pastel color pallette. He specializes in 2D character illustrations.

Dennis Wardzala

A designer, illustrator, and animator, Dennis (@denward) is one of the promising underdogs of the year. 

Anastasia Druzhininskaya

Anastasia (@druzhininskaya) has worked on such brands as Puma, Cosmopolitan, Harpers Bazaar, Jo Malone, Woman’s Health, etc. Her minimalistic 2D illustrations convey all the spectre of human emotions.

Mijke Coebergh

According to Mijke (@mijk.jpg), through illustration, she works on making the world a bit more understandable, inclusive, and positive. Her illustrations are characterized by bright colors, hand-drawn textures, and retro aesthetics.

Steve Scott

Jelly London characterizes Steve Scott (@steve_scott__uk) as an established animation director and illustrator – a true master at mixing fresh contemporary style with a nod to the retro. Juxtapoz magazine described him as “witty, compelling, completely inspiring and diverse.”

George Townley

George (@george.townley) is an illustrator and designer based in London who celebrates Los Angeles landmarks with a touch of retro.

Rafael Mayani

Rafael (@rmayani) draws inspiration from the vibrant colors and shapes of Mexico and the natural beauty of Canadian landscapes.

Willian Santiago

Willian Santiago (@willian_santiago) was a Brazilian illustrator known for the playful and lively colors typical of his work. He used bold color palettes and tropical motifs to depict his picturesque surroundings. Fairytale-like themes, wondrous flora, and magical fauna lure you to dive right in and explore the exotic landscapes he beautifully illustrates.

Fran Labuschagne

You can recognize Fran Labuschagne’s (@franlabuschagne) illustrations for their lovely, clearly defined, elongated physiognomies and pastel colors. She mainly draws circular geometric shapes, which breathe perfectionism into her illustrations.

Milica Golubovic

Coming from the coast of the Adriatic Sea, Milica Golubovic (@_milica_golubovic) is an impressive Montenegrin illustrator. 

Vedran Klemens

Vedran Klemens (@klemensovo)  is an impressive illustrator from Croatia. He takes his time creating funny characters, and studies them well before he draws them. Vedran’s work clearly demonstrates his immense dedication to creating amazing illustrations.

Boris Kuzmanovic

Boris Kuzmanovic is an interesting illustrator who doesn’t necessarily stick to one style or follow any trends, but he rather boldly experiments with different materials, collages, and techniques.

 

Hsiao Ron Cheng

Drawing photorealistic portraits isn’t exactly the most popular art form, however the illustrator Hsiao Ron Cheng has shown us how captivating these artworks can be.

Victoria Semykina

Victoria (@victoria_semykina) creates free-hand drawings, she manages to bring characters into focus and perfectly illustrate any movement, making it all look like a frozen movie frame.

Aleksandar Andi Zolotic

Andi is an illustrator that brings us back to the times when ponds seemed like a sea, animals could speak, and our favorite tree was our second home. 

Graphic illustration is not just pretty pictures. They unite and enhance the entire user experience as a whole. Any business can be successful in design, whether it’s a product or a service. It all depends on the wise choice of the outsourcing company. BTW, if you want to create an app, you might want to read our article on how to hire an outsourcing agency that gets you right. 

Take a look at more examples of illustrations on our graphics page, and read some stories in our portfolio where we tell more about how we used illustrations in commercial projects.

FAQ

Which contemporary illustrators are worth following?

This list includes 25 artists with distinctive styles: Daniel Frost with his crisp, vivid aesthetics, Guy McKinley with atmospheric pencil drawings, Agathe Sorlet with minimalistic two-color scenes, Matteo Berton with color and geometric shapes, Cécile Dormeau with everyday-life drawings, Robin Davey with quirky animated illustrations, and Hsiao Ron Cheng with photorealistic portraits, among others.

Which illustrators work with major brands and media?

Guy McKinley has worked with Disney, BBC, Adidas, and New Balance. Matteo Berton works with The New York Times, The New Yorker, Wired, Monocle, Der Spiegel, and Moleskine. Sergiy Maidukov draws for The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and Esquire Ukraine, and Anastasia Druzhininskaya has worked on Puma, Cosmopolitan, and Harper’s Bazaar.

Which illustrators create realistic art?

Hsiao Ron Cheng draws photorealistic portraits and shows how captivating this less popular art form can be. Guy McKinley specializes in atmospheric pencil drawings full of pattern, color, and detail, with a visible Japanese influence. Victoria Semykina’s free-hand drawings capture movement so precisely that they look like a frozen movie frame.

What styles do modern illustrators use?

The illustrators on this list work in very different styles: minimalistic 2D illustrations, bold geometric shapes, abstract and surreal compositions in flat and 3D perspective, retro and retro-futuristic vibes, soft pastel palettes, hand-drawn textures, bright tropical colors, and experimental collages. Many draw on twentieth-century avant-garde art and the graphic styles of Picasso, Matisse, Rothko, and Warhol.

Why use custom illustrations for a business?

Custom artwork helps a brand stand out on promotional sites, e-commerce sites, and portfolio sites. Illustrations reflect a company’s branding, style, and mood and convey its concept better than photos. In interface design, they are a powerful visualization tool that can set different moods. If a fully custom set is not an option, commercial illustrations can be bought and adjusted to the brand’s colors.

Related reading

• Why AI Image Generators Won’t Replace UI/UX Designers & Illustrators
• How To Design An App Icon When The Logo’s Not Enough
• Web Animation Tutorial From Shakuro-Inspired Motion Designer