2019's rising stars of illustration

Whether you're working as an illustrator or commissioning illustrations, it's important to keep an eye out for emerging talent. If you're the former, it's always useful to see what others are up to and pick up a little inspiration to help prevent yourself from getting stuck in a rut, while if you're the latter then you simply need to keep your finger on the pulse in order to publish work that excites rather than bores your audience.

Every year the illustration market expands with a new crop of illustrators, many of them bringing exciting new drawing techniques, aesthetics and fresh ideas with them. Here are eight talented illustrators that have caught our eye this year, each of whom we expect to see much more of in the future.

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Jim McCauley

Jim McCauley is a writer, performer and cat-wrangler who started writing professionally way back in 1995 on PC Format magazine, and has been covering technology-related subjects ever since, whether it's hardware, software or videogames. A chance call in 2005 led to Jim taking charge of Computer Arts' website and developing an interest in the world of graphic design, and eventually led to a move over to the freshly-launched Creative Bloq in 2012. Jim now works as a freelance writer for sites including Creative Bloq, T3 and PetsRadar, specialising in design, technology, wellness and cats, while doing the occasional pantomime and street performance in Bath and designing posters for a local drama group on the side.

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