Patrik Mollwing’s illustrations and wigglegrams depict a cast of colourful characters

Date
21 August 2017

Patrik Mollwing is an illustrator and art director, and his personal mission is to make work that looks and feels easy and accessible, in his own words “like Paul Rand’s handwriting”.

“Growing up I loved the style of Ole Lund Kirkegaard, Don Martin, John Kricfalusi to mention a few," Patrik says. "Still love those guys. And I guess all of them make it look very easy,” explains Stockholm-based Patrik. “However, there’s a difference in easy and fast. At least for me, and it’s something I’ve been struggling with in the past, taking my time with a piece. Not rushing it.”

Patrik’s style feels loose and wibbly with characters made up of long limbs and soft-edged shapes. He depicts a colourful cast of forms including bendy wrestlers, norse mythology figures and sweaty runners. Recently he’s been broadening his practice by creating gifs and wigglegrams, which suit his style perfectly, with the movement making his work feel even more fluid.

Colour plays an important role in the illustrator’s vibrant images in conveying the mood of a piece: “It’s like clear skies versus cloudy. Rain versus sunshine… It plays a major part and can either destroy or improve a drawing, which obviously can make it very nerve-wracking.”

It’s the process of creating that Patrik enjoys most. “I love being in the midst of a picture you find interesting… but getting to that sweet spot of consciousness isn’t always easy,” explains the illustrator. “With personal work I often find myself questioning how a particular idea will benefit my work in the long run. When doing commercial work, it’s easy. There’s an inquiry that defines the why, there’s a task.”

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Patrik Mollwing

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Patrik Mollwing

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Patrik Mollwing

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Patrik Mollwing

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Patrik Mollwing

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Patrik Mollwing

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Patrik Mollwing

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Patrik Mollwing

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Patrik Mollwing

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About the Author

Rebecca Fulleylove

Rebecca Fulleylove is a freelance writer and editor specialising in art, design and culture. She is also senior writer at Creative Review, having previously worked at Elephant, Google Arts & Culture, and It’s Nice That.

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