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Mark Conlan moved to Australia just shy of a year ago. He’s Irish, and spent the last five years living in London, before moving across the equator to call Melbourne home. Mark is a trained UI (user interface) designer, but recently made the switch to illustration. ‘It has been my best move yet!’ he explains.
Mark studied classical and computer animation at the Irish School of Animation in Dublin, before trying his hand at graphic design. He has worked across several digital agencies in London and also in Melbourne, but has always found himself returning to his sketchbooks after work, jotting out his ideas in visual form, or doing quick sketches of things he has noticed during the day.
‘I’m very traditional in this aspect. I am a very avid sketchbook keeper, it always comes everywhere with me – just in case!’ explains Mark. These visual notebooks inform Mark’s illustration practice. When developing a new idea, he will rifle through his quick sketches, and transfer these hand drawn illustrations onto his computer to refine further, drawing on his tech-based former training.
Much of Mark’s illustrative work is character-based, he delights in capturing idle scenes and depicting the everyday. He describes his style as ‘colourful compositions, injected with as much happiness as I possibly can fit into the scene.’ We think so too.
To see more of Mark Conlan’s wonderful work, visit his website here.
