So for the third in my series of lady portrait-type assignments, I've got this more realistic one for the LA Times! No sassy bra-ladies this time ;). Joey Santos came to me with an article in the weekend issue about spring tips and trends in makeup as told by Carmandy of What Not To Wear fame (I used to watch What Not To Wear all the time, to Sam's chagrin). The general theme was out with the old and in with the new and fresh, with a particular emphasis on floral colors like corals, pinks, and reds. I was feeling the zest of spring and wanted to do something light and airy with plants and flowers to signify the season. The assignment turnaround was just 4 days from start to finish, so my sketches were necessarily brief. I had a little trepidation about doing the sketch that was chosen because I wanted the girl to look dreamy but not too silly, though I'm very happy with how it turned out. Joey also suggested adding her other hand putting makeup on, and toning down the floral wreath-- a good call on both counts! I've been trying to expand my color palette to include some more neutral colors, so I wanted to limit my brights to just the pinks and reds spoken of in the article. Because the emphasis is on the face and the "prettiness" of it all, I really enjoyed going with a more realistic fashiony style. It turned out to be one of my new favorite pieces, I hope you like it too! :)

My illustrations for Vioro Magazine

Illustration by Conor Nolan

Here is a selection some of my recent editorial Illustration work commissioned by magazines, newspapers and design companies. The conceptual nature of my editorial artworks are my main focus when creating commissioned pieces.

T oday's post is all about building a portfolio, and it's a timely one for me. Even though I've had a working portfolio for over a decade, I'm in the middle of a career shift so I'm currently doing all the things I'm sharing with you today - planning, building, editing and soon, presenting. Whether

Finding your illustration specialty can be as challenging—and as rewarding—as finding your voice and style. Swedish designer Emma Hanquist has found hers in Editorial Illustration, a branch that revolves around creating idea-driven illustrations that complement and enhance a written piece. Through it, she has worked for every major news outlet and magazine in Sweden, as well as companies like Spotify and Airbnb. In this course, Emma shows you ways to come up with illustration ideas by creating an efficient way to find inspiration and guides you through the process of creating an editorial illustration for a magazine, from the sketch to the presentation.

We are not the first to confess to being an admirer of illustrator R Kikuo Johnson’s work. The illustrator has gathered a large troop of followers mostly due to his knack for narrative, explaining that “most of my illustrations are designed to be ‘read’ more than ‘viewed’”. He’s right, whether Kikuo’s drawings are presented as a book, a magazine cover or a spot illustration, multiple possibilities and situations are present. Where most illustrators translate a quote or a sentence into one drawing, Kikuo’s drawings seemingly translates paragraphs.

Selected editorial illustrations created by Kacper Swat in 2018. Kacper Swat is a young Polish illustrator, graphic designer, and digital artist who