Illustration: Toby Neilan is a graphic artist with a terrific handle on colour

Date
12 September 2013

There are times when the colours used within an image make it difficult to resist (something like what those Skittles adverts do to our child-like brains), and artists who are able to create this effect successfully, capturing the tone of an environment simply through the representative colour palette, are often hard to come by.

Toby Neilan is once such graphic artist, however. Often beginning with his own photography, Toby often implements hand-drawn elements, geometric forms and graphic line work to reduce life-like images to abstract representations, with fantastic colour choices. We were particularly taken by his unique fashion illustrations. The clothes he draws onto simple grey backgrounds are brought to life by the strange, wiggle-like forms which appear to wear them, and Toby somehow manages to create a translucent fabric which looks almost lifelike with only a few shapes and some shading.

The effect is similar in his images of the facades of buildings – we can’t wait to see him broach new ground and apply his digital paintbrush to a wider landscape.

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Toby Neilan: Showtime 13, Y-3

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Toby Neilan: Showtime 13, Oswald Boateng

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Toby Neilan: Façades

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Toby Neilan: Façades

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Toby Neilan: Issey Miyake Window Installation

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Toby Neilan: Issey Miyake Window Installation

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About the Author

Maisie Skidmore

Maisie joined It’s Nice That fresh out of university in the summer of 2013 as an intern before joining full time as an Assistant Editor. Maisie left It’s Nice That in July 2015.

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