Whether you're new to digital art or a pro at digital artwork, these artists spanning character design, game art, fantasy art and more will inspire you.
If you’re new to the online digital art community but keen to dive in, I’ve compiled this list of some of our favourite artists to make it easy for you. Following them on social media will help you to quickly find your footing within a thriving online community of digital artwork creators who will inspire and motivate you.
If you're new to digital art and love the work in my list then read our guide to the best digital art software, some is free and it's easy to get started. If you have an iPad read our list of Procreate tutorials some impressive artists on how to start, and get more from, this app. Picking up one of the best drawing tablets can help you start your digital art career and hobby too, and they don't cost a fortune for a good one.
If you want more digital artwork inspiration then read our list of the best 3D art and artists, or visit portfolio sites like ArtStation (and create your own account to show your work). Also, one of the most buzzing online art communities today can be found on Cara, an anti-genAI platform especially for artists. It’s a relatively new site with a much smaller user-base than the traditional social media platforms, so it still has the friendly atmosphere that exists within new online communities before the masses turn up.
Immersing yourself in the online art scene will expose you to new ideas, styles and techniques, and you’ll find artists of all levels who will encourage you and help you develop. If you’re interested in a particular type of art, I’ve divided my list into categories so you can jump straight to those genres. And we’ll be regularly updating this article with more artists throughout the year - so be sure to check back.
The best digital art: contact us
If you want to feature in our list of inspiring digital art and artists, contact us via email at: contact@creativebloq.com. Send us your portfolio links, new projects and tell us all about them.
Many of the artists on my list have featured in our sister magazine ImagineFX; subscribe to ImagineFX or get in touch at fxpose@imaginefx.com to be in print.
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Character art
01. Deborah Saez
(Image credit: Deborah Saez)
Growing up, Deborah Saez was inspired by everything from cartoons to games and anime. But it was Fumi Ishikawa’s work on Suikoden II that sparked her love of character design. “Her female designs were ahead of their time,” says Deborah.
The artist's clients include EA and Games Workshop amongst others and she creates digital art, 2D animation and 3D animation.
Of the above image, 'Who's in control?', she says: “I wanted to create a horror character that’s more than it appears. I began with silhouettes, then painted in greyscale and finished by adding colour and details.”
02. Zara H
(Image credit: Zara H)
Zara H is a freelance illustrator, MTG artist and book cover designer. She began drawing to bring the characters in her head to life, and is hugely inspired by games, horror and fantasy. She designs characters through the lens of Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA) people and culture.
Her piece above titled 'Vampire' is a contemporary take on the archetypal blood thirsty fiend. “As vampires are a huge inspiration, I created this original character in 2020 as an attempt at a vampire who didn’t adhere to the old legends and myths,” Zara explains.
03. Haiyang
(Image credit: Haiyang)
Haiyang is a concept artist from Beijing, China with a love for mysterious cultures. Curiosity for the world around him is his main inspiration, while he also likes to use elements of history in his magical worlds to make them more realistic.
Above is his piece 'Ashiya Returns'. "Ashiya is the main character of my personal universe. She’s an Onmyoji from Harima,” Haiyang explains. “In the ancient East, the legendary nine-tailed fox is well known, and seems to have lived for nearly 1,000 years. Here Ashiya meets the fox for the first time, with a battle on the horizon.”
Loish is a digital artist who has been drawing her whole life. Based in The Netherlands, Lois van Baarle does character design work for clients across the world. "When I was 15, I discovered digital art," she explains on her website.
"We had a trial version of Photoshop which I liked to experiment with, and I also discovered Oekaki, a kind of online drawing program similar to Paint. I spent all my free time drawing and when I was in my senior year of high school, I had to face the fact that I loved drawing too much not to pursue it as a career."
Heraldo Ortega is an illustrator, graphic designer and musician. The Chilean artist uses Photoshop, Procreate, and Clip Studio Paint to create his art. From a young age he has painted using traditional media, but now works digitally, too. “I’m inspired by fantasy and try to create little stories,” he says.
“I created this warrior, who’s capable of creating fire with the single movement of his sword, for my personal portfolio," says Ortega about his painting The Lord of Fire (above). The juxtaposition of the rain and fire is a nice way to highlight the conflict teased in the painting.
Małgorzata Kmiec is a freelance artist based in Berlin, who specialises in stylised and colourful portraits. She believes anyone who thinks magic doesn’t exist has never heard of art, and aims to put a bit of magic into all her work.
“I’m often inspired by seasons and nature, and this painting is a tribute to early spring,” she says of Spring Spirit (above). “I wanted to surround my character with warm colours that reflect the spirit of the season.”
"I’ve had a passion for art since I was a child," says digital artist and illustrator Rachel Walpole. "I whisk myself away to huge floating desert islands, angels with a questionable amount of wings, and creatures larger than countries."
The above painting appeared to Le Vye almost fully realised in her mind, and she began working on it before planning a concept or narrative. “As I painted it, the piercing eyes of the boy kept bringing to mind Peter Pan,” she says. “I imagined this ageless child living away from reality in his own world, kept company by natural wonders and his own shadow.”
No, not that one. Originally hailing from Sydney, Australia, Simon Cowell first explored fantasy art in the original Half-Life’s world editor. Since then he’s tinkered in 3D and traditional art, and is now a freelance concept artist.
"From an early age I was fascinated with creating. As I grew I experimented with many means of creativity, ranging from sculpting and drawing to digital animation and graphic design," Cowell says.
"I’d wanted to make a forest-style monster for a long time," he says of Swamp Thing (above). "I imagined something perhaps created from the woods and foliage, and held together by magic."
Vanessa Morales is an illustrator who loves painting whimsical scenes inspired by nature, and as well as working digitally Vanessa also creates using traditional techniques like gouache, watercolour and pen marker. She plays with the energy of colour on dark backgrounds, inspired by the phrase ‘the rainbow looks better at night’.
Her piece 'Crimson Spring' (above) is inspired by the fleeting seasons and the flora it brings. "Every time the seasons change, inspiration flows again. In this case, as the name suggests, I was heavily inspired by tropical flowers.”
As a lead artist at Cooperativa Creativa, Dan Volbert has been driven to reach a harmony of colours and shapes ever since he entered the industry. “It’s a spectacular ride,” he exclaims.
There's more ancient monsters in the work 'Dragon Rock'. He says: “This is a piece of unused marketing art for a Viking tabletop game, which was illustrated in Photoshop.”
Jakob Eirich has long been inspired by Japanese and Western media, and their themes and styles can be seen in his work. From fantasy to sci-fi and stylised to realistic, Jakob sees beauty in all artistic approaches.
His piece Knightfisher (above) is a stunning example of his detailed art style. "This is one of the many paintings I’ve been happy to make for Magic: The Gathering. Here I’m blending stylised and semi-realistic rendering to make the focal point stand out,” Jakob explains.
Alayna Danner (formerly Alayna Lemmer) is a digital artist based in Seattle, Washington, who works mainly on video games, board games and CCGs.
"My favourite thing to paint is environments," she says. "I love to draw people and characters too, but there is just something about painting wispy clouds and mountains. I am lucky enough to live in the Seattle area, which is surrounded by gorgeous mountains and the Puget Sound, so there is inspiration all around me."
Lim Chuan Shin is now a successful freelance illustrator and concept artist, and regularly creates fantasy and sci-fi book covers and concept artwork for game companies. However, growing up in Malaysia in the '90s meant art initially wasn’t a career option him. After several years as a pharmaceutical rep, he decided to take the plunge and chase his digital art dreams. “It’s been a tough fight but it’s all been worth it,” he says.
Mech Bay (above) was created using interesting silhouettes in a flat black. Shin changed the tone of the shapes to create the illusion of depth of field.
Alyn Spiller is a concept artist and illustrator who specialises in environment art. He’s been in the digital art industry for over six years, during which time he has worked with clients such as Cryptozoic Entertainment and Fantasy Flight Games.
He took inspiration from the Northern Lights when creating the colour scheme for his Northern Kingdom painting (above). "The sky lanterns were a late addition – I think they create a nice contrast of warm and cool colours,” he says.
Video game art
15. Lei Chu
(Image credit: Lei Chu)
Lei Chu is a freelance game artist with an interest in travel, which can be seen in his story about a magician who visits different places and sees amazing things. He likes to use simple techniques in his work and predominantly works in Photoshop and Blender.
The piece above is Lei's original artwork titled 'Mr Hama'. "The magician was travelling in the mountains, where he found the toad priest boiling medicine. I used Blender to make sure the shapes were correct, and then started to draw the lines and colours,” he explains.
Pascal Blanché is a French Canadian artist and art director who has been creating digital art for over 25 years. He works as Senior Art director at game developer Behaviour Interactive, and as a freelancer he creates work that blends 3D and 2D elements.
Environment art
17. Sophia Du
(Image credit: Sophia Du)
Sophia Du is a background and visual development artist from the San Francisco Bay Area. She's currently freelance but her clients include TItmouse and Netflix as well as interning at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Sophia has a passion for using colour, light, and design to capture mood in her digital paintings.
Using a mixture of Procreate and Photoshop, Sophia creates softly beautiful art work that perfectly evokes a sense of emotion and place.
Of the above image, Catwoman's Escape, Sophia says: "Catwoman in her element, surrounded by a chaotic city and evading pursuit. The tilted angle and tight framing are intended to evoke a feeling of excitement and uncertainty.”
Comic and narrative art
18. Kauê Daiprai
(Image credit: Kauê Daiprai)
Kauê is a Brazilian artist and teacher driven by a sense of wonder for the natural world and the landscape of imagination. Working predominantly in Photoshop, ZBrush and Blender, Kauê is developing his own comic and gets his inspiration from artists such as Moebius, Paul Felix and Claire Wendling.
The artist tells us that the above image, 'Regression', is “inspired by a regressive experience where I imagined myself as a wounded warrior aided by a river faerie".
Manga
19. Esteban Guzman
(Image credit: Esteban Guzman)
Esteban Guzman is a self-taught digital artist who switched from traditional art in 2020. He’s fascinated by dark fantasy and finds inspiration in games such as Elden Ring and Bloodborne. His work is a hybrid of comics and manga.
The image above is called 'Ranni the witch'. Esteban says: it's “a reimagining of an Elden Ring character in her prime, way before the events of the game”.
Mixed media and traditional art
20. Darko Stojanovic
(Image credit: Darko Stojanovic)
Darko Stojanovic is a painter of mighty heroes and epic scenes with a particular love of painting portraits and fearsome knights in armour. He also finds a lot of enjoyment in painting faces, fur, and anything that features shiny metal.
Painting in oils and pencil, Darko began drawing at the age of six, inspired by Star Wars and The Hobbit. He also works digitally. His clients now include some of the biggest around, such as HarperCollins, Renegade Game Studios / Paradox Interactive and Paizo Publishing.
21. COTOH
(Image credit: COTOH)
COTOH (aka Cotoh Sumi) has been an illustrator since 2017 and transitioned into contemporary art after collaborating with musicians and apparel companies. By using mass production techniques, COTOH challenges the traditional perception of commercial art in Japan.
COTOH uses a mixture of oils and acrylic paints to create their striking portraits.
Of the above image, NO.1499, the artist says: “Does she wear her accessory without discomfort, is it forced upon her, or is it a part of her head that she’s born with and dislikes? Exploring the blurred lines between reality, the digital world, and the two-dimensional to question transformation and identity.”
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Tanya is a writer covering art, design, and visual effects. She has 16 years of experience as a magazine journalist and has written for numerous publications including ImagineFX, 3D World, 3D Artist, Computer Arts, net magazine, and Creative Bloq. For Creative Bloq, she mostly writes about digital art and VFX.
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