Chris Gilleard

Overview

Making people smile is what Brighton-based illustrator Chris Gilleard excels at, constantly creating quirky and colourful characters that get up to mischief in a variety of locations for his clients. Using the simplest shapes and a lively colour palette, he can find the fun in any theme, making it uplifting, informative and engaging to the viewer.

Doodling has always been part of Chris’s life, and he has a true talent for expressing ideas and emotions in just a few lines and shapes. Originally from the Yorkshire town of Beverley, he studied Illustration at Loughborough University where he swapped his pens and pencils for a Mac with its vector graphics. He loves creating characters and worlds, and his influences include Oliver Jeffers, Tom Gauld, Owen Davey, Charles Huettner and Jon Klassen.

Approach

Drawing with vectors really suits Chris’s approach to art. He likes using flat, bold colours and strong, simple shapes with clean edges. Each element is meticulously constructed from smaller pieces of geometry, brought together to form anything from a five-eyed space worm to a yoga practitioner.

Style

Chris’s work is fun, playful and a little bit zany. It’s always colourful and a little absurd. While his characters might have bandy limbs he has an underlying love of geometry, which is strong in the composition of his illustrations.

Client List

• Chris has been commissioned by clients including Pepsi, Microsoft, Samsung, Sky, Costa Coffee, The Daily Telegraph, Radio Times, The Science Museum and Migros.