BA Illustration

‘Love in Full Bloom’

Emily Ashbrook is an illustrator, who enjoys responding to a range of themes such as Valentines, The Kitsch, and Springtime and creates designs for package design and tattoos. Currently, she is focused on a project featuring designs inspired by Valentine's Day and the Spring season, which she is transforming into products like bookmarks, posters, and temporary tattoos. These concepts originated as bold, hand-drawn sketches that she has since digitally refined and further developed.

Ashbrook aims to grow her presence as an illustrator and eventually launch a shop to sell her creations. She envisions her store to be a lively, colourful space filled with eye-catching displays of her artwork, showcasing her designs in a way that reflects her sense of fun and nostalgia.

‘Through The Trees’

Angela Stott is a York-based artist. Her practice reflects a deep love of trees, forests and woodlands. Angela is interested in our human connections with the natural world and finds inspiration from spending time in woods and forests listening to what trees teach us. Trees are a gateway into a world where language and agency do not belong solely to humans. Angela explores how deep observation and creativity can lead us through the trees to a place where we can hear what the non-human world crucially needs to teach us.

‘Waterlillies’

Amina Kulane is a Yorkshire-based multi-disciplinary illustrator with an interest in sustainable fashion and design. In previous projects, she has explored creativity in upcycled clothing, through comics and illustrations. In Waterlilies, Kulane exhibits her first Spring/Summer outfit collection featuring both digitally and screen-printed fabric with her own bright kaleidoscopic paisley designs, with the theme of a ‘fantasy pond’. The customised fabric is then cut to a pattern and constructed; the collection includes a halter neck top, long flared sleeves, a wrap skirt, denim Mary Jane shoes, and a scarf headpiece.

‘Experience Driving’

Ben France is an Illustrator who is inspired by his experiencing of driving. Ideas around cars and nostalgia and the “personalities” of cars inform his ideas around his Illustration Practice.

He mostly works digitally but recently has chosen to develop some ideas into physical and interactive pieces as he wants to provide a more immersive and memorable experience than he could with a flat image. This exhibition showcases new skills he has acquired, such as 3D modelling and printing, his aim is to aid the accuracy and realism of his recreation of a car’s interior. Considering previous work where he has already attempted 3-dimensional projects, the most recent being cut-and-stick, colour-in cars for children, it is evident that he truly values the joy that driving and cars can provide.

‘The Nurse’

Based in Yorkshire, Rawnsley’s work is rooted in fantasy and science fiction. Her recent work has been inspired by Isaac Asimov’s ‘I, Robot’ and speculative science fiction. Within this work, Rawnsley is interested in how technology, specifically robots, are used and how their use is influenced by their environment. Following her previous work, Rawnsley focuses on the non-human character titled ‘The Nurse’. In her short comic, Rawnsley introduces the idea of robotic nurses stationed in WW1 trenches. Within this comic, it explores how a robotic nurse is used and how much the world would change if robots were to exist in a later period; for instance, how would warfare change. 

‘PYGMACHIA’

Jack Hollick is a visual artist from the West Midlands, currently based in York. Underlying influences of masculinity, and narrative, bleed together through the surreal to form the foundation of his exploration within Illustration Practice. Within his work, multiple mediums are utilised creating a wide visual net of projects. Primarily though, his strength lies in the use of traditional pencil and ink along with Adobe programs, often times spliced together, walking a line between both analogue and digital techniques. Currently his work centres around the creation of a graphic novel, PYGMACHIA.

In a tight 28 pages, PYGMACHIA uses the of art of boxing as a narrative vessel to explore the relationship modern masculinity has with not only inexpression, but also the violence it projects externally onto others, but also internally onto the self.

‘Mariana’

Sprung from the coarse seed-bearing earth of west Yorkshire, blessed with the purple hue of heather, Benn Mordecai stumbled confusedly into a world without glamour. Benn is an artist who primarily works in watercolour and gauche, he is especially interested in creating art that has a hand rendered quality. He creates pieces that make use of characters and locations derived from various sources such as literature, film, theatre and folklore, with a specific interest in British 19th century literature. His final year project is a short film created in the silent film style with Tennyson's Mariana as its subject. Benn’s chosen project attempts to addresses feelings of loneliness and social isolation, emotions that continue to remain universal. It remains true that artwork that deals with these themes head on will always provide comfort and understanding to those who feel perceived, like a friendly pat on the back from centuries past. 

Hollie is an illustrator whose practice develops decorative pieces for within the home using water-coloured and mixed- medium animals and florals for her patterns. Her work is inspired by colour, bringing bright and playful designs within a living space, she uses everyday objects and makes them her own.

Breathing new life into old through the art of mixed- media, Hollie embroiders into forgotten materials while preventing the stories woven into vintage textiles. She celebrates the beautify and complexity of everyday objects and bringing them new life by embroidering bold designs and colours and incorporating papers and other materials, reminding her audience that even the most ordinary objects can be transformed into works of art. Her work invites viewers to reconsider their relationship with the metical world and to appreciate the beauty and value of handcrafted objects.

‘So Matcha Teahouse’

Tia Johnston is a multi-disciplinary illustrator and graphic designer whose work fuses traditional drawing with contemporary design. Her practice utilises colour distinctive imagery to enhance everyday life in our community. Tia has recently extended her creative skills into advertising and editorial print. She is excited about creating engaging brand identities and campaigns for a variety of clients and their customers.

Tia has used the design of her fictional brand ‘So Matcha Teahouse’ to blend the rush of chain cafés with the traditional tranquillity of refreshing tea and deserts. This project focuses on the lack of inspired design she sees in everyday commuter-life. So Matcha Teahouse reminds us to stop and appreciate the present through its soothing and welcoming atmosphere, while also entertaining a livelier personality than traditional teahouses.

Tia has completed this project alongside external commissions for community events such as leaflets and flyers, and also a local newspaper. 

‘I Wanted to See…’

Rebecca Jackson is a children’s illustrator whose illustrations and stories often include a range of animals. Her artistic interests are routed in early years education, particularly the development of fundamental language and numeracy skills. The aim of Jackson’s work is to encourage young children to learn through interactive storytelling and play, a key element of this is her use of brightly coloured illustrations and repetitive language.

Jackson is a mix media illustrator who uses a range of mediums to create her illustrations, such as crayons, watercolour and collage techniques. An important element of Rebecca Jacksons illustrative practice is only using materials that are available to the young children, such as coloured craft paper.  

The project on display is a children’s board book that uses a trip to the zoo to help children learn to count to ten. This story is inspired by Jacksons own trip to the zoo where she saw children gathered together excitedly studying a caterpillar and completely ignoring the giraffes nearby.   

‘Country Zero’

Aiste Plieniute strives to create character sheets and short stories of her original characters to develop her understanding concept art. Her goal is to bring more light towards smaller countries, especially with Lithuanian culture. Her characters are inspired by her culture and unbringing which gives her motivation to keep on developing her stories for people to view. Country Zero was introduced and exhibited in 2nd year and Aiste decided to develop her fictional world by adding two additional characters who counterpart her main character, Vanya Tamosauskine. Nawojka and Remecha are the new characters that are seen as antagonists in Country Zero and they differ in knowledge and reasons which make them a perfect duo to try and rule the world. The dog tags give symbolism of each elements (Earth, Water, Wind and Fire) of their groups back in the military, showing their importance and hierarchy before the zombie apocalypse of Aiste’s fictional country, Dondolivia.  

‘The Magic of the Everyday’

Ruth’s practice concentrates on collage and hand-drawn pencil illustrations. She is inspired by everyday moments and their significance in shaping our perception of the world around us. The subject of Ruth’s work is determined by the importance of caring for our inner worlds by slowing down and approaching life with intentional creativity: mindfulness in place of mindlessness. Encouraging presence in the body, mind and surroundings of a person, Ruth investigates the ways in which connecting with the physical senses enables a deeper understanding of the world, the people in it, and the self.

 

Take a moment to pause, breathe, feel your feet on the ground beneath you. Notice what exists in the space alongside you. How can stillness and creative curiosity unfold the magic of the everyday?

‘The Jungle Book’

Emma Boyles is a Yorkshire and Cumbria based illustrator who has a passion for children’s book illustrating and creating her own line of products to sell. Within her practice she mainly explores themes around nature and animals through the lens of anthropomorphism. She specialises in watercolour and screen printing, which she uses to bring to life her characters and worlds in a bright and bold way.

Within her current project, she has combined both watercolour and screen printing to create her own illustrated version of Rudyard Kipling’s ‘The Jungle Book’ focusing on the lessons of Baloo.

‘Rivers, Canals and Lakes’

Molly Humphries is an artist based in York. Her work is about marine life and conservation, and spreading information through her illustrations. Molly works with a variety of materials, the main tool she uses to finalise her illustrations is Procreate. However, she also loves to work with fine liners and pencils, these help create texture within her illustrations and give character to her ideas. Molly loves to create illustrated versions of the marine life that she adores, she wants to show other people the beauty and vastness of the wildlife that lives in the waters around us.

For this exhibition, Molly has focused on local rivers, canals and lakes in Yorkshire. She wants to help spread awareness of these ecosystems as they provide clean drinking water and they support diverse ecosystems and wildlife. These waters are just as important to people as they are to wildlife and therefore, Molly wants to keep the connection between the two worlds so they can each

‘Greetings from Hedgehog Town’

Daisy Robson is a North Yorkshire based illustrator whose work creates a sense of comfort and nostalgia to the viewer through her work being reminiscent of classic children’s book illustrations such as the work of Beatrix Potter and E.H Shepard. In the past year she has developed a series of work based on a fictional ‘Hedgehog Town’ through zines, prints and cards.

Her latest work, ‘Greetings from Hedgehog Town’, started life late last year as a result of her experimentations with 3D papercrafts through pop ups, layering and tunnel books. Her exploration of tunnel books inspired her creation of the shop cards that are in this collection of work. Robson’s intent with this work, is for it to be a way to reduce the disposability of greetings cards by making them appropriate as home décor either through the invites and folded cards which can be used like art prints either being framed or just left as is or the shop tunnel cards which can be used on mantelpieces, shelves or bookshelves etc.

‘Fish A-Z’

Poppy Burr is an illustrator who works across varying mediums including clay, paint and collage. Using vibrant colours and playful, graphic designs, her work is inspired by themes of nature and pattern.

This collection of collages is made from painted paper, and celebrate a wide array of different fish. From the common carp to the deep-sea viperfish – a collaged alphabet brings a wide variety together in one colourful display. These works aim to show the unique shapes, colours and textures that can be found when you choose to look closely at something as simple as a fish.

These collages are the original works used to illustrate Poppy’s first children’s book, Fish A-Z.

‘Making Friends’

Max Bicknell is a mixed-media illustrator and designer whose colourful style is bold, eye-catching and youthful. He has a particular interest in advertising and branding.

Max’s recent work takes a fresh and playful approach to mental health. His project, Making Friends, uses monsters to represent anxiety. He depicts them as harmless, child-like friends at their best but – like children – they can descend into chaos if they don’t receive appropriate attention. Busy collages of monsters grappling for your attention symbolise anxiety taking over the life of someone who is trying to ignore it, a theme Max has drawn from his personal experiences. The project spans across illustration, sculpture, photography, animation and ceramics to create an immersive universe that portrays the takeover that anxiety is capable of.

For Max, the project has been an opportunity to express his own anxieties, and he hopes it encourages viewers to address the stress in their lives.

‘The Frontier’

My work explores the timeless imagery of western and cowboy culture through fine line tattoo design. Inspired by open landscapes, lone riders, wild horses, and classic western symbols, I focus on capturing the strength and simplicity of the frontier. I’m drawn to the way cowboy culture reflects ideas of freedom, resilience, and independence—qualities I aim to express through stripped-back, minimal designs. Working in a fine line style allows me to highlight small details while keeping the overall composition clean and understated. I believe simplicity can speak powerfully, and my designs aim to honour tradition while feeling modern and personal. Each piece is carefully considered, whether it’s a cowboy hat, a mustang in motion, or a pair of worn boots. My goal is to create tattoos that feel calm, clear, and lasting—designs that are easy to carry, easy to connect with, and rooted in the quiet strength of western identity.

‘Portrayal of Evil’

Fenton’s practice stems from a fascination with the ’dark and strange’. He mainly works in black and white to portray ominous and eerie imagery. His work evolves around sinister themes and uses dark mediums to reinforce them. His portrayal of evil is personified through character design.