Launch Recite Me assistive technology
An illustration of a person with short black hair lying on a red surface, wearing a pale green dress. They hold a small brown dog aloft in their arms.

Let Jillian Tamaki's gorgeously inked illustrations sweep you off your feet

—
Date
30 August 2012

If you’re not familiar with Jillian Tamaki’s work then we suggest you stop what you’re doing and get acquainted pretty damn quick. The Alberta native has been making huge waves in the illustration industry for a good six or seven years now and we feel we’ve probably let you all down by not showing her work here previously.

In Jillian’s portfolio the brush is king and her exquisite inked lines demonstrate a skilled draftsmanship that’s not seen often enough among regularly commissioned illustrators. Thematically she’s as varied as her clients, though every image she creates maintains a playful sense of intangibility; even when grounded firmly in a rainy city her characters seem to be elsewhere. She also draws animals like an absolute pro.

Now a teacher at the prestigious School of Visual Arts in New York she still finds time to pack in a mammoth amount of editorial commissions as well as various ongoing graphic novel projects with her cousin Mariko Tamaki. Impressive stuff!

An illustration in blue and white of a person holding a croquet mallet. They stand among oversized flowers and a penguin, with a small figure and a cat nearby. Text at the bottom reads “The 16th Annual Croquet Ball”, noting it benefits “The Penfield Children’s Center” on “September 24, 2011”.
Above

Jillian Tamaki: Croquet Ball

A black and white illustration of a person’s head in profile, rendered as a solid black silhouette. Behind them, a chaotic scene features a tank and swirling clouds of smoke and fire.
Above

Jillian Tamaki: The Muslim Brotherhood

An illustration of a person standing in heavy rain, holding a red umbrella and reading a yellow book. They wear a long pink coat and stand before a dark, sketched city building.
Above

Jillian Tamaki: Atlantic Best Books

An ink illustration of various animals on a white background. It features a leaping tiger, a close-up of a tiger’s face, two butterflies, a fish and a pangolin.
Above

Jillian Tamaki: National Geographic

An ink wash illustration of various animals and a piece of coral on a white background. The collection includes two parrots, a snake, a chimpanzee and a crocodile.
Above

Jillian Tamaki: National Geographic

An ink illustration of five animals rendered in black and grey washes on a white background. The composition includes a tiger, a fish, a bird of prey, a coiled snake and a monitor lizard.
Above

Jillian Tamaki: National Geographic

An illustration of a person in a pale green dress lying on a red floor. They hold a brown dog up in the air, while loose papers and a small pot scatter around them.
Above

Jillian Tamaki: Tanuki

An illustration of a white horse leaping from a dark, swirling mass of ink and lines. Below, a small figure falls through a pale void towards a jagged, black rock formation.
Above

Jillian Tamaki: Irish Myths and Legends

An illustration of a surreal, towering creature with a large white head and a mass of dark, swirling hair. A small person crouches before it, dwarfed by the creature’s scale and tangled limbs.
Above

Jillian Tamaki: Irish Myths and Legends

Share Article

About the Author

James Cartwright

—

James started out as an intern in 2011 and came back in summer of 2012 to work online and latterly as Print Editor, before leaving in May 2015.

It's Nice That Newsletters

Fancy a bit of It's Nice That in your inbox? Sign up to our newsletters and we'll keep you in the loop with everything good going on in the creative world.