Tracy Turnbull - Contemporary Fashion & Commercial Illustrator, UK

Fashion and beauty illustrator Tracy Turnbull continually evolves and changes her style, adapting it to the changing trends in fashion and keeping it fresh and contemporary. Having worked as a clothing designer, she has an in-depth understanding of the garments she depicts and the industry as a whole. Highly adaptable, her work covers not just fashion but lifestyle and consumer projects, always rendered in an exciting and unique way.

Based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tracy is influenced by quirky and colorful clothing by designers like Marni, Jil Sander and Phoebe Philo. She graduated from Newcastle Polytechnic (now Northumbria University) with a BA Hons in Fashion Design, and now teaches Fashion and Fashion Marketing at the same institution.

Approach

Initial drawings are done either on paper, or on screen using her Wacom Cintiq. Tracy then colors her work digitally using Photoshop.

Styles

Tracy’s style frequently changes, influenced by what’s current in illustration as well as what’s on the catwalk. When she gets bored with one style, she experiments and adapts. However, strong female characters with unusual features are a constant in her work, as is her understanding of clothing construction, proportion and how fabrics look over the human form.

Client list

Some of Tracy’s clients include L’Oreal, WGSN, Pro Hair and Beauty magazine, Harper Collins, Seventeen, Readers Digest, The Knot and People.

Tracy has illustrated a few books for us and she is truly a pleasure to work with. She works quickly, answers our requests, and her work is absolutely lovely.

Susan Van Horn, Perseus Books

Tracy has been a dream to work with, I squealed with delight when I opened the emails to find her beautiful black and white sketches, and the transition from the first designs to the end product was amazing. Her attention to detail was exquisite, and the way she uses texture within her illustrations is amazing. She is super flexible and easy to work with

Katie May Atkinson - Senior Editor, WGSN

Working with Tracy was so easy and efficient, and my team and I are so pleased with how the illustrations that she worked on for The Knot Magazine turned out. Tracy was thoughtful in her execution, closely following the creative brief, and was happy to send through sketches as needed before she dug in and completed the project, to make sure that I was happy with the result. Tracy was communicative and kept to deadline, which in the world of editorial, was so appreciated. Her professional and kind email exchanges made her an absolute joy to work with, and I look forward to the next time I can collaborate with her on a project.

Katelyn Baker, The Knot Magazine

It was a pleasure working with Tracy, she met the brief and was happy to work in stages from rough concept to finished art, she’s prompt, friendly and a delight to work with. I’d definitely recommend her without hesitation and I look forward to working with her again

Robert Bertagni - Art Director, Hardy Grant Australia/Jet Star Magazine

I receive loads of email promotions (20-40 per day!) and I usually hit delete after viewing but the image of the girl with the freckles and the glasses was a show stopper. I LOVED IT. I pulled it for my swipe pile and when they thought of this section I knew you were perfect. You are fast and the likenesses are dead on. Your style is so modern and refreshing. A pleasure to work with.

Marti Golon, Readers Digest

Thank you so much. Tracy did a wonderful job, I'm so happy with the results.

Harriet Grant - Art Director Fashion Club, Fashion Institute of Design & Marketing

Working with Tracy was an absolute delight. We sought her out for her unmistakable style and the working relationship couldn’t have been better. She was sensitive to the client’s requests and extremely attentive to detail; happy to make revisions and tweaks until both she and the client were happy. I cannot say enough to highlight the overall experience, which was both pleasant and always professional.

Anthony Carson - Senior Account Supervisor, AIR PARIS NEW YORK