Nowadays, it can be hard to discover new top illustrators on social media because it’s such an incredible amount of them. It’s absolutely a good thing for the creative industry now it’s much easier to connect but it can be quite overwhelming at least to find a new illustrator you love.
Did you peep the list of top illustrators to follow in 2022? Well, we’re back with a whole new cohort for 2023! With 4 different designers, we have created this list of 23 of our favorite illustrators at the moment, ranging from all kinds of styles.
Illustration and art are without a doubt one of the most subjective topics in terms of taste so to avoid a one-person perspective, we each picked our own favorites and started the conversation with each other from there.
This resulted in a beautiful list of 23 different top illustrators that are either already veterans in the field or upcoming talents that are at the start of their creative careers.
1. Simon Bailly
Simon Bailly is a French illustrator that mainly works on editorial projects for several newspapers. Being a commercial illustrator for a specific type of client makes it possible for Simon to really lean into his own unique style of illustration and storytelling.
Next to newspapers, Simon also works for several events, some children's books, and even has time to do some exhibitions in different galleries in between. The New Yorker, Hermès, and the Los Angeles Times are some of his recent collaborations.
Instagram:
Website:
2. Leonie Bos
When an illustrator is backed by the infamous agency Handsome Frank, you already know you’re in for a treat. This UK-based illustration agency is the home of some of the best illustrators in the world and Leonie is definitely in the right place. Leonie is a digital artist influenced by traditional techniques.
This mix produces her characteristic style and she’s been praised and recognized for it which has put her on this list of top illustrators. While living and working from Amsterdam, she operates globally for clients such as Wall Street Journal, Monocle, and New York Times.
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Website:
3. Martin Kazanietz
Some artists have such a unique and original style that you’ll instantly recognize their work. Martin Kazanietz is an illustrator from Argentina and mainly focuses on all the aspects that are part of football culture. With his paintings, he is able to create settings that are full of life and drags you in to follow to complete story of that painting.
The images he creates are almost like modern renaissance paintings filled with football drama and give you an idea of the love and importance the Argentines feel for this sport. It’s much more than “just a game” for them. Martin sells his paintings on Artsy and focuses more on physical collaborations instead of the usual client projects.
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Website:
4. María Jesús Contreras
María is an illustrator from Chile and is currently working as a freelancer for clients from all around the world. She is definitely one of those “famous illustrators” who is already working with the biggest clients. New York Times, The Atlantic, and WeTransfer to name a few of them.
Her style is something truly amazing and special with her recognizable color palettes, use of textures, and hand-drawn linework. The scenes she creates are unexpected and make you look a little bit longer to unravel the story behind them.
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/mariajesuscontreras
Website:
5. Raxenne Maniquiz
Raxenne Maniquiz is an amazing graphic designer and illustrator from the Philippines. Much of her work is built around flora and fauna, mostly based on the local nature of her country. Her hand-created illustrations are full of color and textures which brings her paintings to life and appear in brand campaigns, product packaging, apparel design, stationery, and other published materials.
She has worked on projects for Adobe, Bloomberg, Dr. Martens, Jordan, and Stefan Sagmeister to name a few. Back in 2021, she won the prestigious Young Gun award, an international competition that identifies and celebrates today’s best illustration artists and creatives in general.
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Website:
6. Brecht Vandenbroucke
Brecht Vandenbroucke is a visual artist from Belgium. He mainly makes hand-painted drawings, a mix between comic and illustration, often with references to pop culture. He is inspired by both Disney cartoons and pop art and these influences are seen throughout most of this work.
His best-known work, White Cube, was published in 2014, in which he comments on the art world. This work has already appeared in 5 countries. These complex, highly detailed drawings and paintings depict apocalyptic scenes as well as everyday life, and this results in amazing compositions. His style is so unique that he needed to be a part of our list of top illustrators to follow in 2023, and long after that of course.
Vandenbroucke's illustrations regularly appear in national and international magazines and newspapers, such as the New York Times and Wired.
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/brechtvandenbroucke
Website:
brechtvandenbroucke.blogspot.com
7. Polina Jakimova
Polina Jakimova is a German illustrator based in Hanover, who is loved for her vintage-inspired illustrations, pastel color palettes, and bold minimal shapes. Colorful portraits, food illustrations, and all things vintage are part of her incredible portfolio.
While she is fairly new to the world of illustration, the quality and quantity of her work tell otherwise. As she shares herself she used to be an editor at a publishing house but now lives her dream of being a full-time illustrator. We surely will see her name a whole lot more in the next few years as she is claiming her spot among the top illustrators in the game.
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Website:
8. Nico189
Nicola Laurora, also known as Nico189, is an Italian freelance illustrator based in the beautiful city of Milan. As Nicola states: “My minimalist style is influenced by a background of graffiti writer, characterized by clean-cut lines and geometric shapes. The principal focus of my work are illustrations for magazines and international brands.”
The geometric foundation of his illustrations in combination with his own style of characters make his work very recognizable and loved by clients all around the world. In the last few years, he has worked for brands like Adidas, Apple, Fortune, HP, Ikea, Samsung, and so many others.
Instagram:
Website:
9. Bernardo Henning
Bernardo is an Argentinian artist who mixes illustration and photography to create these amazing collages that are full of life and color. Bernardo really had to be on this list of top illustrators as has made his mark for many years now. He describes his work as “fun, meticulous, and representative of the chaos of his home country”.
Next to his personal illustration work, he is also the co-founder of the design studio Hola Bosque, which over the years has collaborated with some of the biggest brands including Coca-Cola, WeTransfer, Lego, MTV, and Spotify.
Instagram:
Website:
www.thedifferentfolk.com/illustrators/bernardo-henning
10. Jordy van den Nieuwendijk
Jordy van den Nieuwendijk is one of the top illustrators from the Netherlands while currently living and working in Melbourne, Australia. Through painting, he explores the fundamental objects of everyday life. Working with primary color palettes and simplified shapes, he has a talent for examining his subjects in series that result in beautiful collections of work.
His colorful, and simplistic style are loved by clients from all over the world and over the years he has collaborated with brands such as Apple, American Express, Dropbox, Hermés, Jacquemus, The New York Times, Rimowa, Vogue, and WeTransfer. Quite the list, isn’t it?
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/jvdnieuwendijk
Website:
11. Luke McConkey
Luke McConkey is an illustrator from Liverpool, UK. His work focuses on bright colors, bold lines, and fun characters. His work draws inspiration from games, music, cartoons, food, and just about anything around him that has an influence on him.
Over the years he has worked on several editorial work, design projects, branding, and logo design projects as well as album artwork, murals, and social content. Backed by illustration agency Handsome Frank, he collaborates with some of the biggest clients out there on different types of projects and we’re always thrilled to see new work from his being released.
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/lukemcconkey
Website:
12. Rakhmat Jaka Perkasa
Sometimes you stumble upon an illustrator you haven’t heard about before and suddenly you land in a collection of such beautiful work. Rakhmat Jaka Perkasa is an illustrator and designer from Martapura, Indonesia, and has created a unique style for himself. His compositions are truly something special and with the short amount of time being an illustrator, Rakhmat will definitely claim his spot among the top illustrators. We’re excited to see how his style will evolve over the years and definitely in combination with his combination of motion design bring these compositions to life.
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/rakhmatjaka
Behance:
13. Lisa Marie
We’ve been following Lisa for quite some time now and she always knows how to impress. Her list of clients is nothing but amazing with brands such as Patagonia, Carhartt, Kawasaki, Adobe, and the Chicago Bears and she definitely belongs to the top illustrators at the moment.
Since 2015, she worked as a full-time freelance Illustrator and Graphic Designer working on several types of projects like merchandise and apparel design, animated illustrations for social media, designing logos, and teaching at live events and workshops. Her style can be described as bright, dynamic, positive, and personal. It’s rare to find a perfectly straight line as all her work really shows the handmade process behind it.
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/madebylisamarie
Website:
14. Marisa Schoen
Marisa Schoen, also known as @sunrise_motel on Instagram, is a graphic designer and illustrator working and living in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Next to her client work, she runs her own Etsy shop called Sunrise Motel, where she turns her beautiful artwork into physical goods.
Her handmade and natural style works beautifully on packaging design among many other applications. While being relatively new to working full-time in the world of illustration, she already has plenty of experience in client projects.
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/sunrise_motel
Website:
15. Simone Noronha
Simone Noronha is an illustrator and Art Director based in Brooklyn, New York. Her work is truly something else and as described: “She enjoys telling subtle stories, weaving narratives into her imagery with saturated palettes and the moody lightning that has become her signature style.”
The airbrush-inspired illustrations are beautifully crafted and the level of textures and details in her work are eye pleasing. The depth she manages to create with her digital brushes is very impressive and she always manages to push boundaries. She’s moving in the highest circles of clients with The New York Times, Warner Music, Spotify, Nike, Apple, WIRED, Google, and YouTube to name a few.
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/simonenoronha
Website:
16. Daryl Rainbow
Born in the Philippines and raised in London, Daryl Rainbow is a designer and illustrator who is loved for his vibrant, often humorous work for several types of clients and topics. Daryl is definitely one of our top illustrators for the coming years as his work only gets better.
Sports, politics, lifestyle, and entertainment, Daryl always knows how to give his own edge to it and create something that’s perfect for editorial purposes among many other applications.
The use of textures and analog elements brings his illustrations to life and set the vibe of the beautiful scenes he creates. His clients include The Times, Famous Grouse, Adidas, Netflix, BBC, Chelsea FC among many others.
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/daryl_rainbow
Website:
17. Phil Hackett
Phil has been on our radar for many years now and we’ve been following his journey on Instagram since the very start. His series of putting skateboards on literally anything you can think of has made us chuckle time and time again and is one of our top illustrators to follow in 2023. Phil has been working as a freelance Illustrator since 2007 and already has an impressive amount of experience in the field.
His clients include The BBC, The Guardian, The Financial Times, Sky, and GQ. Between projects, he still keeps this skateboard series alive and kicking by consistently sharing new work on this Instagram, if you haven’t had a look at it yet then you’re in for a treat. Our favorite has to be the “Pianosegrind”.
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/hackettillustration
Website:
18. Josep Puy
Josep Puy is a Creative Director at Folch Studio and an illustrator from Barcelona, Spain. His illustrative work is mainly built on one-colored line illustrations. Often displays his smiling characters while creating fun and positive scenes.
His Kindfull project for Target is definitely one of our favorites by creating a beautiful family of dogs and cats to be used on their packaging system. Kindfull is a Target brand that develops all kinds of pet food and care products and his set of illustrations works perfectly in this minimalistic and cute style of design.
Instagram:
Website:
19. Marte
Martina Galarza, also known as Marte, is a Latin American graphic designer, illustrator, and lettering artist working mainly in the music and entertainment industry. As she describes it herself: “I specialize in conceptualizing and creating unique visual experiences combining illustration, lettering, graphic design, muralism, and branding.”
Her style can be described as vibrant, colorful, positive, and definitely striking. The posters she creates are well-designed and thought out and when you look at the overall aesthetic, it won’t come as a surprise that her clients include Paul McCartney, Pussy Riot, Odd Future, Red Hot Chili Peppers, YouTube, and Adidas.
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/Marte_______
Website:
20. Lorenzo Milito
Lorenzo Milito is an Amsterdam-based Art Director and Illustrator and is currently working at the infamous Dutch agency Media Monks. Since 2018 he has also been painting commissioned murals for offices and private houses in New York, London, and Amsterdam.
His work is known to be very detailed and extensive. From large sceneries to characters, he always manages to bring his own recognizable style to the mix, making clients such as Google, FIAT, IBM, Adidas, Ikea, Nickelodeon, Fanta, and KFC to working with him on various projects.
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/lorenzo_milito
Website:
21. Eline van Dam
Eline van Dam, also known as Zeloot, is a Dutch illustrator based in The Hague. Most of her client work is for editorial purposes, working for a variety of international newspapers. While Eline already has a relatively big name in the industry, a lot of people probably haven’t come across her work yet (algorithms, am I right?).
Next to her illustration career, she teaches a drawing class at the Bachelor Graphic Design program of the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague (KABK).
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/zelootillustrations
Website:
22. Lesley Barnes
Lesley Barnes is an award-winning illustrator and animator based in Glasgow, Scotland. Backed by the home of several famous illustrators, Handsome Frank, Lesley is known for her bright and joyful work for clients in music, fashion, film, children’s books, and product design.
Her style works amazing for storytelling by creating these magical sceneries and beautiful use of textures and added patterns.
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/lesley_barnes
Website:
23. Aart-Jan Venema
Aart-Jan Venema is an illustrator working and living in The Hague, Netherlands. He’s currently working with different types of clients and is loved for his original, unique style of illustrating. His clients include Google, The Guardian, Red Bull Music Academy, The Wallstreet Journal, and the New York Times.
With endless scrolling filled with amazing artwork, you’re in for a treat when you give him a follow. His colorful, highly detailed illustrations shared on a consistent basis will definitely brighten up your feed.
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/aartjanvenema
Website:
It’s a wrap
There it is! 23 top illustrators to follow in 2023.
Hopefully, you have found some new illustrators to follow their journey. Whether you’re an illustrator yourself looking to get inspired or a business that’s in need of an illustrator to work on a project, you might have found your next “illustrator crush”.
If you haven’t had a look at our top illustrators to follow in 2022 just yet, make sure to check that out as well. Illustration has become bigger and bigger over the years and trend reports expect this to only become more popular over the next few years.
If you’re a designer yourself, consider illustration to become a bigger part of certain projects as it can play a big role in brand identities. While uniquely branded photography is a bit harder to do, having a recognizable brand illustration style is such a strong factor for a brand to have. These lists of top illustrators can definitely spark some inspiration in you for your next project.
Make sure to have a look at the biggest graphic design trends for 2023 to get ahead of the curve and know what’s trending in the industry.
When you’re not a professional designer yourself and don’t have the budget to commission a designer or illustrator yourself, the Jukebox Editor is the perfect match for you. With this online tool, you’re able to design and order your own business cards, greeting cards, custom stickers, wrapping paper, wedding invitations and so much more.
Find more design inspiration on the Jukebox blog.
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