CHECK OUT OUR ONLINE EXHIBITION!
WWW.GRADUATESCHOOL.AUB.AC.UK
WELCOME “As Course Leader of MA Illustration at the Arts University Bournemouth, I would like to introduce you to this year’s amazing MA cohort. An extraordinary and tenacious group of illustrators, they accepted and met the substantial challenges of this strange Covid reality with innovation and productivity. Despite cabin fever, they remain a positive, motivated and connected international network of contemporary practitioners. Our rapidly changing world really needs these agile creatives whose illustrations can effectively articulate and visualise evershifting ’new normals’ and uncertain futuresʺ.
LISA RICHARDSON
If viewing digitally, feel free to make use of the hyperlinks to directly access the graduates’ Instagram profiles, as well as websites and email.
ANDY KENNETH EDWARDS APISARA KANTASUT BEN DRAPER CHOU RUNG SHENG CLAIRE FLEXEN ELLIE KITE ELLIE WILSDEN JACK COWLEY JIALE GUO JIACHEN CYAN LIN LEAH BRIDEAUX MARIANA CANELAS OWEN MORGAN ROBYN DEASY ROSE GRUNDY SHUANGYIZHEN HU YANQIAN ZHAO YIYANG LI YUJIA CAO YUNA KIM ZHIGANG ZHANG
@andykennethedwardsillustration www.andykennethedwards.com andykennethedwards@gmail.com
ANDY KENNETH EDWARDS I’m Andy, a UK based illustrator originally born in Wolverhampton, a land of hopes, dreams and the first place to introduce the automatic traffic light. I am passionate about creating images using dynamic colour palettes and flowing shapes in my work to form a wide range of imagery, from dabbling in animation to intricate portraits and a whole host of things in-between. A big part of my practice is portraiture and I have developed my skills over the years to get to a level where I can create a good likeness of anyone in my work. I largely target the editorial and commercial industry and am always on the lookout for new opportunities to work with people.
APISARA KANTASUT I am an illustrator from Thailand with a background of Graphic Design and Product Design. I am a collector of the objects, experiences, feelings and landscapes that emerge from my travels and daily life. I like sharing my stories and experiences with others. Through my passion for colour, I want my illustrations to be joyful, playful and full of energy.
@jeepiyo.illustration www.jeepiyospace.com apisarajeep@gmail.com
My constructed travel diaries take me back to these journeys - returning me to happy moments. Hopefully the viewer can experience something of this too. Going beyond my comfort zone, I learn through traveling and engaging with other cultures or societies.
@bendraperdesigns www.bendraper.wixsite.com/bendraperportfolio www.artstation.com/bendraperdesign bendraper@hotmail.co.uk
BEN DRAPER I am an Illustrator currently based in Bournemouth. I have a degree in Computer Animation Arts from Bournemouth University. This degree sparked a passion for story-telling and narrative that I have expanded upon through the MA. I love to depict new worlds, where fantastical themes are explored. Beginning with sketching thumbnails, I design characters to inhabit these fictional and often apocalyptic lands. I am a huge fan of the entertainment industry, specifically films and video games. It is my dream to work as an illustrator / concept artist within the creative industries.
CHOU RUNG SHENG
@rungsheng.illustration
I am an illustrator from Taiwan. I have been making work about feminism and my final project explores unisex and gender neutral imagery. I use the idea of ‘coming out’ to show what is being hidden inside people’s inner closet. People are probably afraid of exposing the secrets of loving cross-dressing or being a man who likes makeup, etc. These are the things which are still not widely accepted in my country. Therefore, my final project tries to raise awareness and understanding of such things. I am planning to do further research into different aspects of gender issues and hope that there will be less and less gender discrimination in the future.
CLAIRE FLEXEN
@claireflexen8908 cflexen@ntlworld.com
I am an Illustrator and Surface Pattern Designer working out of a design studio in Poole. My practice involves the use and experimentation of a diverse range of materials and methods. A sensitivity to colour underpins collage, print and photograms. Shadows, reflections, and kaleidoscope imagery are incorporated within drawn and collaged layers to create imaginary scenes and creatures. The qualities of refracted light and shadow and their interplay on different surfaces are explored, with analogue and digital methods giving the work a contemporary aesthetic. Subject-matter is driven by a curiosity for folklore, local culture and landscapes from both the natural and man-made environment. Currently exploring Curio​ us Folk Tales of Dorset, my work investigates historical and urban mythological contexts, and the stories derived from past histories or mythologies. The visual and textual tales that result offer 21st century audiences shifting realities and new perspectives.
ELLIE KITE
@ellie_kite www.elliekite.co.uk kiteellie@gmail.com
Ellie Kite is a Bournemouth based illustrator who specialises in painting. Watercolour, gouache, acrylic or ink - anything with a brush! She also dabbles in collage and embroidery. Ellie’s subject matter ranges from her home life with her retired parents (and their shenanigans) to plants, animals, and imaginary places. Having been an art school assistant for 2 years and a youth leader for 3, Ellie has a passion for the youth of today, their wellbeing and creativity.
ELLIE WILSDEN
@elliewilsdenart www.elliewilsdenart.com
Ellie Wilsden is a Dorset-based artist who explores humour, play, text and cut-out illustration. Her passion is to make a difference and to include us in her projects whether it’s starting a revolution about ‘growing up great’, getting us creating or even encouraging us to grow veg.
JACK COWLEY
@mrjboc www.jackcowley.co.uk jackcowley96@gmail.com
I am a UK illustrator operating between the fields of science communication and children’s literature. A background in marine biology and oceanography underpins my determination to address ecological issues. Shaped by personal experience and scientific knowledge of the natural world, my practice strives to communicate and raise awareness around conservation. I am analytical in my approach, forming visualisations driven by purpose and context. Transforming theories, techniques and strategies into creative visual solutions that deal with the increasing disconnect between humans and the environment. The cycles, patterns and processes occurring in nature are currently central as I seek to balance the communication of specific messages with a contemporary aesthetic. I would like to think that I tell stories that stimulate the kind of questioning leading to positive change.
JIALE GUO
@guojl_carolillustration www.guojialeillustration.com guojlcarol@gmail.com
I am a picture book illustrator, who mainly focuses on creating narrative illustrations. I am interested in creating picture books. My personal visual observations of the world inform my practice. I am inspired to create graphic illustrations that explore societal issues around global news, social media and conservation. My most recent book project considers the interconnected relationship between humans and animals. How can we live together in a peaceful world? How can we address the earth’s destruction and protect it’s ecological balance? These are the kinds of questions that motivate me.
JIACHEN CYAN LIN
@cyan_cha www.cyan-lin.com ljcxtc@gmail.com
Hi, I’m an illustrator from China. My illustrations focus on narratives inspired by the world around us. My work centres on the idea of ‘woman’. I draw from my own personal experience as a female designer. The characters in my illustrations have some traditional modality, involving vintage references. I am passionate about studying the relationship between people and society. My style and colour palettes are bright and warm. The resulting images are clean and fresh. The audience is engaged in a playful and lighthearted visual language developed through vibrant digital drawing. In this way, the people, animals, scenes and objects of everyday life are portrayed through characters that make the viewer smile.
@leahbrideauxillustration www.leahbrideauxillustration.myportfolio.com leahbrideaux@hotmail.co.uk
LEAH BRIDEAUX Hi there! I am an illustrator, currently based in South Wales, who combines both contemporary and vintage style to create nostalgic yet new feeling illustrations. My practice contains traditional methods by using a wide range of textures through collage and then further applying digital compositions and various colour palettes. I use this way of practice to produce illustrations for editorial, children’s picture books, product application, gift design, surface pattern and zines. I mainly focus on producing work through using inspiration from the world around me and influences from my daily life. I also like to experiment with my own handlettering in each piece of work so that it is incorporated into each illustration. I apply my practice to industry set briefs and my own personal projects. I believe my work is aesthetically pleasing to the eye with the use of complimentary colour palettes and varying textures. Combined together, this draws the audience into my lighthearted and humorous illustrations.
MARIANA CANELAS
aetherivsm@gmail.com
www.artstation.com/aetherivs
A small town Portuguese girl with big dreams, I hope to entertain the viewer with my magical characters and illustrations. My biggest goal is to one day work for the animation industry as a concept artist, or to illustrate many children’s books!
@owen_morgan_illustration www.owenmorganillustration.co.uk owenmorgan@owenmorganillustration.co.uk
OWEN MORGAN Alright, mate? My name is Owen, a UK based illustrator. I like to think of myself as a skilled draftsman, adept renderer, devastatingly charming gentleman and all-round top bloke. My work is full of character, combining horrific subjects with quirky humour complemented by a ridiculously a vibrant palette. I’m most confident with controlled mediums, creating colourful, meticulous and frankly warped illustrations. I value time, skill and patience when defining my practice, striving to produce work of ever-increasing quality. I am inspired by animal anatomy, strange ideologies and the concept of repulsion. My work discusses, circumvents, and tackles the ethical implication of imagery and language and provokes my audience to consider their morality and their boundaries. I’m fascinated with all strange subjects, ideally rabbit-holes that have deep historical or social roots and reimagining them with a quirky and more contemporary style. I believe my work to be a commentary and a counter to typical commercial illustration found within the industry. That is enough of that waffle! I really am just a bloke who will draw for money! Have a gander at my work and give us a shout if you have feedback or better yet, a commission! Cheers mate, be lucky!
ROBYN DEASY
@robynmdeasy www.robyndeasy.com robyndeasy14@gmail.com
Robyn Deasy is a contemporary illustrator and artist. Working predominantly in ink she aims to explore the tentative yet palpable quintessence of the female condition. Women’s history, narratives and myths assist her in creating imaginative patterns that revolve around the female body and psyche.
ROSE GRUNDY A tropical soul in a rainy place. Rose is an Illustrator with a background in Graphic Design and Marketing. Working between Brazil and the United Kingdom, she is now based in the South of England. Her primary interest is exploring what it means to be a human being in the search for more positive futures.
@rosegrundyillustrator www.rosegrundy.com hey@rosegrundy.com
Her illustrations often combine drawing with mono-printing, or colourful mixed media with digital assemblage. She tends to use black ink on white ground for the most dramatic scenes. The images that arise are populated with the faces of many individuals from different cultures and social backgrounds, creating a plural world that serves a variety of contexts in editorial, publishing, advertising and surface design. Rose’s curiosity and fruitful imagination drive her creative fever.
SHUANGYIZHEN HU I am an illustrator creating picture books, comics, editorial works, and other narrative combinations of image and text. My starting points are sketches of everyday environments, people, events, and spaces that I observe in the UK, China, and on my travels. Reflecting on these, I develop sequential works that tell simple stories for young people.
@sinkagelala www.hsyzlala.weebly.com sinkagelala@gmail.com
I like creating images that combine mixed media and digital techniques. In my final project, I am producing a children’s picture book called What A Small World about a doll and her little friend adventuring between the miniature and the human world.
YANQIAN ZHAO
@zhao_yqian www.yanqianzhao.wordpress.com 1550576159@qq.com
I am an illustrator based in China. My development direction is adult picture books. Even when already grown-up, we can still be childlike. Eager to visualise, communicate and interact with the world as a means of understanding it. We express our thoughts in witty and interesting ways. This series is called “My Hundred Ways to Die� and questions the spiraling thoughts and emotions that come to the fore when tired.
YIYANG LI Hello! I am Yiyang Li, an illustrator from Beijing, China, interested in telling stories and designing characters. I am fascinated in how humans communicate and interact. My working process combines both traditional and digital techniques.
@yiyiz2828 yiyiz2828@gmail.com
Most recently, I have been developing a children’s picture book. I enjoy experimenting with flat colour in my characters and environments. I am inspired by everyday life and situations. I like to draw and think about the different ways that people live and act.
YUJIA CAO I am an illustrator from China. In my work, I like to draw the human face and fragmented body. I enjoy using strong colour, pattern and abstraction. Through my illustration I observe and record the small things in life. By exploring emotions and psychological states, I aim to express something about the human condition in my illustrations, moving image and GIFs.
@kamizi_ga caoyujia1016@gmail.com
I am inspired by graphic novels and in particular, Japanese horror comics. Currently, I am working on a short animation, consciously integrating a sense of movement and flow.
YUNA KIM
@artistyunakim www.artistyunakim.com oexit@hotmail.co.uk
I am an illustrator and an author working in the picture book industry. Focused on narrative illustrations, I like to share interesting stories about love and life through my drawings. Rendered through hand-based processes using diverse line-weights, colours or roughly drawn forms, the characters I create live ordinary and sometimes harsh existences. I entertain the thought that normal, seemingly unremarkable people have their own special stories and are heroes in their own ways. To show this idea in my practice effectively, my drawings involve average individuals playing unusual roles. My works mostly deal with philosophical themes such as fear, challenge and finding one’s identity. These imaginative, courageous stories are told through combining daily life with extraordinary moments. Reflecting this, traditional techniques using oil pastel and watercolour are integrated with digital methods. My narrative illustrations look fun and innocent, but engage both children and adults and encourage them to be daring adventurers as they navigate life’s encounters.
ZHIGANG ZHANG
@z_zhigang www.zhigangart.com zhigangart@gmail.com
Hello! I am Zhang. I am an illustrator from China and currently working out of the UK. I like to capture the moments and narratives occurring around me as I am most interested in real life. Handdrawn observational images are combined with the digital in depicting landscapes, architecture, animals, food and humans, both individually and in crowds.
Ellie Wilsden.(2020). The Fever Manifesto