Chris King — Comic & Figurative Illustrator, UK

Chris King is a Leeds-based illustrator with an impactful figurative style based on strong line work and the comic art that influenced his early career. Innovating with colour and line weight, he’s broadened his style to include elegant and atmospheric landscape imagery, using narrative in his images to give his client’s message extra resonance with the audience.

Photography, film-making, animation, fine art, painting and sculpture are all areas this multi-talented artist has worked in, but the feeling he gets from putting a pencil to paper is like no other and it has driven his successful illustration career, working for leading media outlets, publishing houses and consumer brands. Chris studied Media Production at the University of Northumbria in Newcastle, and key influences include Akira, Beano and Asterix.

Approach

An artwork usually begins traditionally with pen or pencil on paper. The drawings are scanned and coloured digitally, with textures imported and layered over the line work, before he tweaks the image until he gets the result he’s looking for.

Style

Chris applies his figurative, line-based style in many contexts, from editorial through to advertising and online. It’s something he’s always developing, both in terms of technique used and the overall look, with his new vector style emerging with less emphasis on line and more on colour and form.

Client list

Chris has been commissioned by clients including The Guardian Guide, Men’s Fitness, Tiger Beer, Konami, Philips, Image Comics, Oxford University Press, Variety, Dorling Kindersley, Kawasaki and more.