Adam Cockerton is a freelance Creative Art Director living in London. He’s been a graphic designer for over a decade and has been lucky enough to work with some great clients and make a decent career out of it. He’s been noodling and doodling since I was a boy but the illustration thing is quite new though, it’s his ‘side hustle’. He’s mostly self taught and always learning new things on every illustration project and it’s be fun rediscovering drawing after designing for such a long time. Honoured to be asked to participate in this project with a line up of more established illustrators.
Adam says - My inspiration for the February cover is based around the statue of Cupid in Picadilly Circus and finding Love in a big city. I wanted it to be sort of a subversive celebration of all things Valentines, the background loud and garish, the absurdity of the whole thing. Whilst Cupid keeps firing his arrows forwards, unbeknown to him consumerism is right behind. The traffic cone symbolises cynicism, rejection and a rebel attitude towards love and relationships.
I made the original high contrast drawing with a Sharpie and then scanned into Photoshop. I use a Wacom tablet.
Andrew Swainson is an illustrator and graphic designer based in North Derbyshire though he lived and worked in London for many years. He is currently “resident art person” for Andy Partridge of XTC’s Ape music label and a vinyl re-issues label. As an illustrator he is a member of California based agency Poster Posse with whom he has produced official artwork for the likes of Disney, Sony, Warners and 20th Century Fox for films such as Alien, Justice League, Kong: Skull Island, Cars 3 and Big Hero Six.
There is no big or clever idea behind this illustration. Just a simple depiction of the now obligatory New Year fireworks coupled with the uncertainty that faces all of us in the UK as we prepare to tear ourselves out of the European Union. It doesn’t matter which side of the ‘debate’ you came down on, nobody knows exactly how easy or difficult the process will be or how beneficial or disastrous the ultimate outcome will be. The fact that we are mere weeks away from the arbitrary deadline set for it to happen and nobody is any the wiser is kind of terrifying but it seems like most people are bored of the whole thing and would rather distract themselves with bright lights and loud bangs. Happy New Year!
Artist MURUGIAH ‘s surreal take on Christmas for the December cover of The Londoner.
Sam Ailey is a designer and illustrator living and working in South East London, whose work is characterised by rough lines, bright colours and expressive characters.
Sam says: The cover is a wobbly portrait of the Barbican's iconic Shakespeare Tower. The complex has a divisive aesthetic, but since moving to London five years ago I've developed an appreciation for the brutalist phase of its architectural history. I'm still feel like I've been transported to some dystopian other world whenever I visit, but there's also a wonderful calming atmosphere that washes over you as the concrete blocks out the rest of the city. I wanted to capture a bit of both those feelings in my illustration.
Jemma Klein is an Artist and Illustrator based in Hull, England. She creates artwork heavily influenced by her love for all things film and popular culture, specialising in hand-rendered traditional and digital artwork.
Jemma’s October cover focuses heavily on the current political climate, with reference to Brexit and the idea of 'it being a pantomime'. The artwork was created as a homage to Victorian puppet master illustrations, but with a modern twist.
James Barton is a writer, illustrator and musician who has lived in Brixton since 2012.
James grew up in South London and spent a lot of time in Brixton as a teenager. His illustration aims to encompass the most iconic imagery from the area by imagining the tile art from Brixton underground station as a base to display a diorama of Brixton’s landmark buildings from an isometric perspective. The illustration includes several locations of personal significance to James, including the mural depicting Brixton-born David Bowie.
Mat Roff is an illustrator based in Oxford who has worked for the likes of PlayStation, Computer Arts Magazine & Surfers Against Sewage.
For his cover he wanted to focus on the diversity of London - from race to sexuality - and it felt only right following Pride Month to illustrate a scene that a lot of mainstream media rarely give a voice to, particularly in a positive way.
Darya is an award-winning illustrator from Moscow, Russia, working in the fields of book & editorial illustration.
Although created using digital techniques, her artwork retains the charm of traditional material and textures.
Darya’s cover illustration was made as a love letter to London. She wanted to capture her gentle affection to the city, carefully collecting random memories in one picture.
Freya Betts is a 21 year old London based illustrator and designer. After leaving school she pursued her passion for film and landed a job in the film industry, where she had the privilege of working for Universal, Paramount, Warner Bros, Fox and Disney to name but a few and is currently now part of the creative team at TEA. Alongside her professional career Freya loves to create film based digital art, where her technique is kept as close to fine art as possible by always drawing freehand.
Freya’s illustration focuses on The Royal Wedding which will be a hot topic in London during May. The cover is a contemporary take on the wedding, showcasing the phone and social media as our modern symbols of framework, with a subtle nod to the estimated cost to taxpayers.
Ella Masters is a Artist and Illustrator from London, England. Who's work spans across many different styles and media, but is always focused on human form and patterns.
Ella's Londoner illustration was inspired by her love of colour that comes with the changing of the season in spring as London can sometimes be depicted is grey and gloomy the illustration is based around one of her favourite places in London Columbia Road in East London and the eclectic people you can see walking amongst the flower stalls on the Market.
Daniel Nash is a Illustrator from Bedfordshire, England. The strong juxtaposition between rural farm life and technology focused artwork is largely influential to Daniel's artwork and creative process.
Dan's Londoner illustration really came from an article about the speed of current A.I advancements and the potential for them to 'spiral' to a point of no return. Our obsession with technological progression and making everything 'easier' and how maybe its not always so forward thinking.
DOALY is a UK based graphic designer / digital Illustrator with a passion for storytelling. His work is characterised by the very subject matter he is dealing with, creating a sympathetic aesthetic treatment to capture the essence of the piece.
He has worked on many great projects over the years for some incredible clients including Pixar, Disney, Marvel, Lucasfilm, FOX, BBC and more.
Although specialising in illustration and poster art Doaly also has a passion for all forms of design and loves to experiment with new mediums and different forms of story telling.
Doaly's cover for the Londoner celebrates the Lumiere Festival and the juxtaposition of the new and historical aspects of the city.
Sharm is a commercial artists living in South London running his business STUDIO MURUGIAH. Sharm started the Londoner as a celebration of all things London. He has lived in the city since 2006 after moving from his home town of Bridgend, South Wales.
Sharm's cover for issue 0 (the cover that inspired the Londoner magazine project) celebrates life in Tooting, an area in south London that he has lived in since 2012. He has seen the area grow into something quite fun with the local multicultural businesses still going strong and Tooting Market being one of his fave spots to visit.
Sharm's cover for Issue 1 looks at life on the tube and our every growing addiction to our tech and consumerism.
Sharm is a commercial artists living in South London running his business STUDIO MURUGIAH. Sharm started the Londoner as a celebration of all things London. He has lived in the city since 2006 after moving from his home town of Bridgend, South Wales.
Sharm's cover for issue 0 (the cover that inspired the Londoner magazine project) celebrates life in Tooting, an area in south London that he has lived in since 2012. He has seen the area grow into something quite fun with the local multicultural businesses still going strong and Tooting Market being one of his fave spots to visit.
Sharm's cover for Issue 0 celebrates his local area of Tooting, South London
