Historically, illustration has not been considered fine art. The blockchain and digital art have opened up an entirely new method for illustrators to share their work. No longer are illustrators required to create visuals to support content such as comics, books, or editorials; now, they can prioritize and promote their artistic visions.
In physical form, illustrators can work with pencil, pen, ink, watercolor, gouache, acrylic, and markers. With the move to digital, illustrators typically use programs like Adobe Illustrator and Procreate.
Exchange Art has been proud to champion this medium. The artworks highlighted below only partially represent the variety of exciting illustration on Exchange Art.
- Artifex, Believer
Believer by Artifex is an otherworldly piece. The levitating, graceful figure is highlighted by the soft blue circle as the rocks come apart below.
2. AWAG, "BETTER_TOGETHER.jpg"
This brightly colored piece contains so much energy and enthusiasm! I love the repetition of geometric shapes with squares, circles, and rectangles and the hand in AWAG’s signature style holding a bouquet of smiling flowers.
3. Ben Bauchau, He reached out to her / She reached out to him
Ben Bauchau creates strange, surreal, and otherworldly pieces that hint at a larger storyline. Although technically these are two distinct pieces, I like to think of them as a diptych, with the figures reaching out to each other. The tonal ranges of the pieces beautifully complement each other.
4. Laura El, Mother of Lines #002
New York City-based digital illustrator Laura El is renowned for her signature curving lines and unique aesthetic. In this portrait, Laura showcases meandering, squiggly lines, only incorporating a slight use of color so that the focus remains on the line work.
5. Hyblinxx, Blinxx #003
An artist with a vibrant and whimsical aesthetic, Hyblinxx is creating Becoming Blinxx, a highly personal series exploring mental health and emotional intelligence. Blinxx #003 deals with the complex feelings of social embarrassment and shame. This piece is created at the perfect dimensions for a screen.
6. John Lê, IODA: Death to All Robots
John Lê is a trailblazing artist and figure in the 1/1 Solana digital art space. This exciting edition, IODA: Death To All Robots, functions as a collector's pass to his first comic book IP on-chain.
7. Andrew LyKo, Discombobulated Edition Vol. 001
In The Discombobulated series, Lyko takes characters from nostalgic cartoons and imagines how they would look coming out of a black hole. This edition depicts all of the characters floating through space in their strange poses.
8. SCUM, MM #03
SCUM explores Chicanafuturism in the Maquina Muertes series. In this piece, a figure rides through a desert landscape lined with cacti and purple mountains, a Mayan temple in the distance.
9. Tony Tafuro, I Can’t Wait
In the series, Notes from the Setai, Tony Tafuro continues a long history of artists using hotel paper as the support for the artwork, directly linking artwork with a place. With this piece, Tafuro uses black marker and ink to create a smiling sun wearing sunglasses. He even incorporates the Setai hotel logo, two palm trees, into his signature.
10. Merve Yigit, Cowgirls on the Way.
Merve Yigit creates brightly colored, imaginative drawings with distinctive figures represented in silhouette with extremely small heads. This Western-inspired piece focuses on two cowgirls riding oddly-shaped horses through town.
