Why Ben O’Brien is as enthusiastic as ever about illustration

The leading British illustrator on how he’s adapting to the new realities of the creative scene while keeping it fresh at every turn.

It was the mid-noughties when Ben O’Brien – AKA Ben the Illustrator – first sauntered onto the creative scene. The creative magazines loved him and so did clients, from national newspapers to cutting-edge car brands. He was one of the first vector graphics illustrators to break away from the cold perfection of the aesthetic and use the technology to bring out the warmth, humour and humanity in whatever he illustrated.

Now, 21 years later, he’s still capitalising on this aspect of his creativity. During that time, he’s seen illustrators become a little bit like rock stars and then fall from grace, somewhat at least, with the rise of AI that mimics their skills.

“I do believe the industry is struggling,” he says. “We’ve gone through a real heyday in the past decade or two. Illustrators have gone from a credit at the bottom of a page to household names, often moving from books and magazines to respected galleries and big brand collaborations where the illustrator’s name is front and centre.”

Alongside this, a whole industry has grown around illustration, with excellent courses, ever-improving creative software, platforms for illustrators to build their own audiences and a market always looking for the next big thing. And then the crash…

Ben continues: “In maybe just two years, social media became a far less positive place, and then AI happened. Software that can literally do our job for us, without us.”

But this isn’t the end, says Ben. AI might have mopped up the kind of jobs you may have lost to a client’s teenage cousin anyway – cheap icons and logos, for example. More importantly, many businesses and their customers now consciously seek the human touch. The industry might have become a bit more conservative, with many sizable clients working through agencies rather than reaching out directly. However, there are still so many visual concepts that only a human illustrator can develop. There is much hope and, perhaps, room for optimism.

Ben himself has adapted remarkably well to the anxious state of limbo many creatives have found themselves in since COVID-19. Alongside his Ben the Illustrator style, which still uses the perfect shapes, colours and gradients of Adobe Illustrator, he has developed a hand-drawn, line-based style called Ben Draws.

“Around four or five years ago, I did a little experiment for a creative director friend of mine, working in a completely different illustration style. It started as development for a project he was on, and not only was it used in that project – Wavy Wonders seafood snacks – I decided to play with it more, and within a year it grew into a full portfolio,” says Ben.

However, this new style, based on expressive, cursive lines, languished amongst Ben’s vector work for a few years. It wasn’t until he joined an online workshop for mid-career illustrators, run by the Association of Illustrators, that he realised he should separate this new style and give it a brand of its own. Ben the Illustrator now sits alongside Ben Draws – two clear, coherent portfolios – helping clients understand Ben’s potential for their projects.

“I’ve been quite busy with Ben Draws commissions recently, working on a new packaging design for a super fun coffee roastery. I can’t share any of that,” he says. “And then I’ve been back working with The Guardian, one of my first editorial clients 20 years ago, and it’s still an absolute pleasure to work with. The illustration industry is going through some real ups and downs, but it is always reassuring to know that publications like The Guardian are still commissioning old and new illustrators, week after week.”

He remains as passionate as ever about personal projects, keeping his creativity nimble and his portfolios fresh. “The most dominant one for me is creating art prints, or sets of prints even. They don’t always sell, but when they do, I get such a kick that a random afternoon’s creativity has led to a little income! I’ve also used side projects to show what I can do. For example, I recently had an oddball idea for a coffee-and-cake-focused sub-brand for Adidas. A quirky idea, perhaps, but it’s enabled me to push my animation in the Ben Draws style,” he explains.

And there are always new areas he’d like to explore. Creating the imagery for an entire book is one ambition, and he’d love to start illustrating interiors. Imagine boutiques, cafes, recording studios, stages, perhaps even contemporary homes – all emblazoned with Ben the Illustrator graphics.

“I also want to push the work I do at Kendall Calling, drawing bands, into animation, to be able to create a fully drawn music video, like A-Ha’s Take On Me, but in my own graphic style. That would be so fun to work on,” he says.

And we can’t wait to watch it, when it arrives…