Connecting You to a World of Illustration
TrendX - our deep analysis of what's going on in the market
Welcome to the latest edition of TrendX – bringing together data and expert insight to explore the current and emerging trends in the world of illustration.
April 2026
There seems to be a lightness in the air as hopefulness in spring suggests positivity for summer 2026. Of course, you can never be sure where visual trends will head or what new directions the creative industries will turn in, but data gathered by our business with solid interpretation from our expert team of agents provide good indicators. There’s certainly a lighter, gentler, somewhat introspective sensibility in what we’ve seen over the first quarter.
The data we refer to is collected as our agency books work for a roster of over 220 artists. The IllustrationX website that attracts more than 100,000 visitors a month, and we are able to track visits to artists’ portfolio pages as well as our style pages, and measure enquiries that come via the site. This adds to the large volume of commissions from our established client network – relationships built up… well, all the way back to 1929 when the agency was founded.
The quantitative data compiled for January, February and March 2026 has been sifted through by our agenting team, who manage projects with clients and illustrators on a daily basis. Their interpretation helps us better understand the information and form an idea of what’s changing visually and thematically as the industries we work in respond to the realities they face.
Is gut feeling involved? For sure. However, we check what we believe is going on against the numbers to make sure TrendX is an accurate reflection of where the market is headed. This evidence-based approach has the overall aim of helping our clients make informed judgements when planning creative projects. If you have any questions or comments about what you see in the report for the quarter, talk to one of our agents. We’d love to hear your thoughts.
Trending: Bright, colourful and relaxed
- Our fourth and sixth busiest artists in the quarter work in this style
- Two of our top 20 earners work in this style
Artists working in a light, bright, colourful and relaxed style grew in popularity with clients in the first quarter of 2026. They received plenty of work and booked in some high-value commissions.
This is partly seasonal – meeting the needs of launches and campaigns that will land during the spring and summer seasons, across markets such as advertising; health and beauty; food, drink and travel; and the home and lifestyle sectors.
However, our artists have also responded to trends in publishing where young adult fiction for female readers is surging. Teen romance and gentle coming-of-age narratives catch the eye through jacket illustrations that perfectly convey the light, optimistic, fun-yet-hopeful tone of the manuscripts.
It’s a style that carries an element of escapism – or at least a desire to seek the positive, whether that’s through a holiday on the coast, the thrill of new relationship, a delicious slice of cake or an HEA… happily ever after.
Artists to watch
Trending: Real artists, real paint
- Two of our 10 busiest artists in the quarter work in this style
- Two of our top 20 earners for the quarter work in this style
- Two of our five busiest artists in January and February work in this style
- Our highest and third highest earners in March work in this style
From customer support chat bots to workflows and even decision-making, the business world is expecting AI to cut costs, improve efficiency and boost growth. But what consumers tend to see is a lot of cheaply produced AI imagery with poorly written text – artificial for sure yet lacking intelligence or true personality.
In response, organisations seeking to make an emotional connection with their audiences are choosing artwork crafted by human hands – and obviously so. Previously, we’ve reported on the surging interest in hand-crafted printing, such as etching and lino cut. In parallel, clients are gravitating to artists who use watercolour, acrylic, gouache and oil pastel.
The actual styles of our successful painterly illustrators are wonderfully diverse. Water-based washes can be soft and subtle or lurid and bright; rich wads of pastel thickly coated on textured paper; scratchy brushstrokes of half-dried acrylic – for example.
The finished artwork could look ultra realistic with viewers marvelling at the accuracy of the artist’s observational and technical skills. Or it can seem messy and haphazard – gestural, experimental, dependent perhaps on factors in the media that can be only partially controlled. How will the paper absorb the water and where will the pigment lie when it dries?
We remember painting as children, how it felt to create, and we sense the artist conveying real emotion through the work while understanding how hard that is to achieve. So hard that AI rarely manages to do so.
Artists to watch
Trending: Textures bring simple shapes to life
- One artist working in this style saw a 1100% increase in web portfolio visits
- Another experienced a 350% increase
- Two of our top 10 earners work in this style
- Our busiest artist in the quarter works in this style
As much as the previous trend supports nuance, complexity and emotional depth in an image, many briefs require a somewhat less subtle approach. Images composed of big, simple shapes – whether geometric or irregular – are an effective way of grabbing the viewer’s attention and getting an idea across quickly.
Artists whose compositions rely on basic shapes, with a little natural texturing for character, have been going from strength to strength in recent months. Their work is being applied in editorial and publishing – punchy, pleasing imagery that draws the viewer into the text. It’s perfect in social media activations that stop users from scrolling and get them tapping. And this type of work is always in demand in children’s publishing for early learners and in storytelling scenarios.
Graphical shapes on their own can feel flat and overly precise. The magic happens when the strong contrast between positive and negative space is softened with grain, shading or touches of pattern where edges meet. The viewer can enjoy the drama of the forms and colours interacting, with the tactility of a worn, slightly imperfect finish.
Artists to watch
Emerging: Celebration of the everyday
Reading our TrendX reports, it can seem that illustration styles are driven by commercial demand with artists responding to whatever brand managers request. However, that’s not always the case and often inspiration travels in the other direction. What’s in an artist’s portfolio often gives creative directors new ideas or influences their approach. The tone or content of a self-initiated piece may become the basis for a commission.
We’ve noted a growing number of young, talented illustrators whose creativity is stimulated by the everyday things they see around them. They sit in cafes or ride the underground and sketch the various characters who come and go. Slowing down and noticing the little things that happen in the kitchen, the garden or on a trip to the shops, they look for the extraordinary in the ordinary. One artist we recently encountered said they can find a whole universe in a quiet, cosy room.
Understanding the tiny facets that raise a smile or bring comfort helps us live in the moment. The world seems full of extremes – extreme wealth, extreme poverty, extreme weather and extreme politics. The news and social media tend to amplify these extremes, leading to a feeling of helplessness.
Letting all that go opens the opportunity for creativity. How does the light fall on the breakfast table in the morning? What life is emerging in the garden nature pond? Why does freshly cut papaya look so appealing? Celebrating the everyday brings endless inspiration.
Artists to watch
Trending: Enchanted nostalgia
- Our second busiest artist in the quarter works in this style
- An artist working in this style received the second most web enquiries
- One artist working in this style saw a 200% increase in web enquiries
Classic picturebook illustration makes a return as we see artists crafting mysterious worlds in gentle, earthy tones with shadowy corners here and there, the ideal concealment for mischievous little souls. It’s a look that harks back to the likes of Arthur Rackham, Edmund Dulac and Kay Neilsen, more erring towards goblins and fairies than fearsome dragons, berserk warriors or malevolent mages.
The natural colour palettes used can seem almost dull, with tea-stain effects suggestive of that blurry line between the line between fact and fiction. However, these delicate, mellow shades provide the opportunity for the artist to create a strong focal point – a burst of light or colour that’s full of life and feeling. It might even be haloed with a magical aura.
That sense of nostalgia can be juxtaposed with characters more contemporary than those Rackham and Dulac depicted, or some humour to warm the atmosphere of the image. Ultimately, enchanted nostalgia allows the imagination to roam in comfort, never straying too far into peril. It provides another way of escaping the unpredictability and conflicts of today’s society.
Artists to watch
Words by Garrick Webster
garrick webster
inspiration
agency news
creative industry
trendreport
trendx