TrendX - October 2024

At IllustrationX we always want to offer our clients as much support as possible, and to play a positive role in the creative industries. At the beginning of 2024, we started a new project called TrendX – a regular report investigating current and emerging trends in illustration. October 2024 sees the arrival of our third report, which contains some interesting findings. 

This latest edition covers the period from July to September 2024. It’s been a turbulent period with two wars going on. An election has been held in the UK; another looms in the US; we’ve seen a cost-of-living crisis; and the climate crisis is on-going. Some or all of these factors may be affecting public tastes in imagery and the illustration market, but what we do know is that our artists are continuing to create vibrant and fascinating imagery.

To try and understand where things have been heading, we’ve analysed a range of data resources including traffic to our website style galleries and artist portfolios; online enquiry figures; resulting commissions; artists’ revenues and more. In consultation with our agents around the world, we’ve cross referenced the numbers against the styles our busiest artists are working in. We’ve also factored in the latest anecdotal evidence about what clients are requesting and the imagery emerging artists are submitting.

With one of the most visited illustration sites on the internet, and a stable of over 200 artists, our agency has a large resource of data to interpret – with a very experienced agenting team to do so. We hope our findings will be both helpful and inspiring as we head towards a new year of creativity in 2025.

 

​​Trending: Dreamlike surrealism

• The artist with the 4th most commissions works in this style
• The artist with the most web enquiries in July and August 2024 works in this style
• Two of our 25 most-commissioned artists work in the style

Artwork we class as ‘dreamlike surrealism’ is incredibly appealing in the current market. It begins with a comic- or graphic novel-like look –figurative, with fairly delicate line work and sometimes an interesting use of perspective. However, it’s the conceptual side that makes an impact. The inner state of a character – their thoughts, feelings and dreams – is expressed all around them and in the background. During the last quarter, and going back to 2023, interest in this style has grown and grown.

Clouds of colour, magical effects, unusual objects and even other characters float within the imagery, merging with other elements, to evoke an atmosphere and an emotion. All of these things look real, and perhaps they are part of a character’s reality, but are they really there? Either way, these elements convey the meaning and storytelling of the piece.

It takes a skilled illustrator to create a sense of dreamlike surrealism – particularly when an artwork is informed by a brief to communicate a specific message. Imagination, a certain amount of bravery and the openness to collaborate are all required. Not to mention the techniques needed to engage the viewer with something that might not actually exist.

Artists to watch

Carolina Rodriguez Fuenmayor

Weston Wei

Xinyan Wang

​​Trending: A passion for pastiche

• Two of our 10 highest-earning artists work in this style
• Three of our 12 most-commissioned artists create pastiche and traditional imagery
• Artists in the top five for enquiries in both July and August work in this style

Pastiche illustrators aren’t exactly what you’d call ‘trendy’. Quite the opposite, in fact. They use their creative skills to delve into the history of art and replicate the styles of the past. The Renaissance. The Dutch Masters. Impressionism. Rockwell Realism. Pop Art… Pastiche artists have it covered, and in the last quarter they’ve been busy bringing art history to life in our clients’ projects. 

In some cases, the intention is straight-up pastiche – to amuse the viewer and engage them through humour. In others, there’s a sincere desire to honour the past. Whatever the intention, whatever the style used, a traditional look and feel is something audiences find comforting. At a time of economic and political instability, it can aid a project to commission artwork in styles people recognise and can relate to, rather than challenging them with the latest concept.

In tandem with this sentiment, brands can capitalise on delving into their heritage. In areas such as food and drink, homeware and clothing, many consumers are looking for local products, made the old way. From whisky to footwear, traditional thinking is driving traditional brands, which require artwork to suit, and we anticipate continued success in this area.

Artists to watch

Martin Hargreaves

Bob Venables

Diego Abreu

​​Trending: Individuality in book covers

• Enquiries about book covers are up 41% so far in 2024
• Book covers was our leading category for enquiries in September

Book jacket illustration is seeing a renaissance in 2024. A cover always needs to make an impact, however because book publishers rely so heavily on online sales for revenue, cover designs are often reduced to what will look good as a thumbnail in search results. Now, we are seeing a shift towards cover artwork commissioned to express the author’s intent in a deeper and more artful way.

Detail has become important once again, and more complex imagery is being used as a way of drawing the reader in when they pick up a book and examine it in the bookshop. In many cases, books are being approached by designers as objets d’art – to be read, and to be picked up again in the future to appreciate, enjoy and share with others. Nuanced illustration can be part of that experience, helping to give the author’s work the individuality it deserves.

Among thrillers, perhaps there will always be rückenfigur covers, with a silhouetted main character facing away towards a cityscape or mysterious forest background, and the title and author’s name in large type. However, we regularly work with clients who want something more memorable and we’re seeing greater demand for book cover illustration in 2024 than at any time in the last three years.

Artists to watch

Yogi Fahmi Riandito

Svetlana Molodchenko

Mallory Heyer

​​Trending:  Maps to amuse

• Enquiries about map illustration are up 51%
• Our second most-commissioned artist in the quarter is a map illustrator
• The artist with the 4th highest revenue in the quarter is a map illustrator

Editorial and publishing clients are hooked on maps at the moment – particularly maps that tell the story of a place. For example, maps that accompany travel articles may not be cartographically accurate, but they will give a sense of where things are while emphasising the unique flavours, landmarks and culture of the setting. The artwork may also convey the sense of discovery and enjoyment travel brings.

For art directors, illustrated maps provide a flexible alternative to choosing between lots of photographs from the location. The artwork can combine some of the geography with numerous elements from the text depicted in a style that captures the feeling of the country, region or city in question. If pagination is limited, illustration offers an economical solution.

Like book covers, maps are a bread-and-butter area for us. There is always demand but the interest we’ve witnessed in the last quarter and in 2024 generally is a surprise. Post-COVID, there has been a renewed interest in travel, and this appears to be increasing as consumers grow ever more adventurous. One of our artists even has a book of map-related work on the way.

Artists to watch

Ayang Cempaka

Claire Rollet

Debora Islas

Emerging: Slightly Spooky

Children’s illustration is an area we specialise in and within this field we’re anticipating an increase in demand for artwork intended for middle-grade audiences – in particular imagery that conveys a spooky, mysterious or supernatural edge. Tastes vary a great deal among children aged between eight and 12, and while the intention is never to terrorise the viewer with a full-on horror approach, the artwork does require greater peril and a more nuanced overall meaning than fairytales tend to offer.

Artists popular for their skills in this area might move away from the bright colours of children’s illustration, limiting their palettes and playing with light and shadow to build a sense of mystery and the unknown. Sometimes, monochrome palettes and vintage vignette techniques help to make the story feel old and distant from the safety of the here and now.

Young readers will soon be pushing their way into the adult world, and likewise some of the young characters depicted will challenge and even outsmart adults, which is a risk in itself. They may find themselves caught between forms of trouble they understand, and scarier ones they have yet to discover. With Halloween approaching at the time of writing, this emerging trend could be considered an October phenomenon, but we expect it to last all year round.

Artists to watch

Helen Brady

Rohan Eason

Turine Tran

Written by Garrick Webster