May van Millingen — Lifestyle Illustrator, London

London-based artist May Van Millingen combines digital processes and hand drawing techniques including inks, crayon and paint to create unique illustrations for a wide range of leading worldwide brands. Her drawing approach making products and concepts interesting and approachable for brands in publishing, editorial, homewear, advertising and more.

May's unique, detailed work has strong historical references and is applied in advertising, print, online, packaging design, interiors projects and more. Taking inspiration from both daily life, both real and imagined, she’s a specialist when it comes to drawing collections of items and creating patterns. From dogs to burgers, and from insects to shoes, each set of images is something to marvel at. Using ink, pencil and watercolour, May creates illustrations for many international brands. She also runs drawing workshops and exhibits her work in London.

Approach

May combines hand drawing with digital processes, and uses ink, pencil and watercolours to create her work. Her process usually combines mark-making, strong graphic lines, crosshatched shading and a bold use of colour.

Style

Colourful, observational and diverse, May’s work always has just the right amount of detail to entice the viewer. Among other things, her style has been influenced by old botanical and scientific drawings.

Client list

Nike, Topshop, The Washington Post, Google, Uniqlo, Samsung, Michael Kors, Kettle Chips, Condé Nast, Marks & Spencer, Stylist, Haper Collins, Penguin.