Ariel Stater is an art student whose colorful compositions are a unique-minded combination of portraiture, myth and geometry. Stater's characters are strong, heavy-lidded fantasies studded with extra eyes, jewels, flowers, skulls, disembodied creatures and fascinating pattern-work. Stater's series of these purple-and-blush tinted works is cohesive and exotic, exhibiting her personal style with strength.  

In 2009 American artist R. Crumb was commissioned by W Magazine to offer his take on the history of women, from buxom cave dwellers to Playboy Playmates. For this project Crumb drew from life, photographs, imagination, and memory, as well as from his own high school yearbook, depicting schoolgirls he once knew as classmates. The result is a funny, sardonic, and oddly sweet albeit off-beat portrayal of women through the ages. 

BMD Design is a one-man hand lettering and illustration operation located in Bordeaux, France. Specializing in apparel graphics and logotype, BMD brings an old school French graphic style to his hand crafted and digitally adjusted designs, a rustic sensibility that is both vintage and very contemporary. His eye-catching artisanal work is in high demand, and his client list has grown to include an impressive array of companies and brands, including Levi's, Quiksilver, Audi, and Nike.  

Bridging the gap between typography, calligraphy, graffiti, and fine art, the work of Dutch artist Niels Shoe Meulman (also known as 'Shoe') is effectively a new art form for the twenty-first century, a contemporary expression of writing and design by hand in a predominantly digital age. Calling it 'Calligraffiti,' Meulman launched his cutting-edge art movement in 2007 with a successful solo exhibition in Amsterdam, and he has continued his success with various international exhibitions and museum acquisitions of his images.

Jessica Hische is an award-winning and highly regarded letterer and illustrator, who also describes herself as a "crazy cat lady known for her silly side projects and occasional foul mouth."  Hische's innate exuberance and passion for design is apparent with every her every stroke and curve, and her cleanly decorative yet indie-inspired style has landed her work with such notable publications and institutions as Penguin Books, Barnes and Noble Classics, ICON magazine, Tiffany's, Target, and National Public Radio, to name a few.

David McLeod's incredible mastery of three-dimensional form and texture is readily apparent in his impressive portfolio of typographic work. Born in Australia and currently living in NYC, the graphic designer and illustrator fearlessly tackles complex structures and materials, constantly experimenting with new ways of molding unusual substances into recognizable typographic designs while losing none of the substances' chaotic and spontaneous essence. 

Stefan Glerum’s style is like a melting pot of illustration heritage. While its subconscious familiarity has universal appeal, his work is also a study point for those with knowledge of graphic design history. His work is inspired by early 20th Century movements such as Art Deco, Bauhaus...

James Unsworth's illustrations feature a no-holds-barred graphic sensibility that is undeniably as disturbing as it is awesome. Unsworth uses scratchy, informal linework to depict his dripping, goopy, twisted goblin characters as they engage in all kinds of inexplicable activities. Unsworth's work has a latent sense of morbid humor. We love artwork that makes you laugh uncomfortably, and Unsworth is the right guy for this kind of art-viewing experience.  

Opening today in Brighton, UK at Boxbird Gallery as part of the Brighton Fringe Festival: ThreeD' will bring together three of the most exciting and prolific illustrators currently working in the UK, Tom Frost, Helen Musselwhite & Graham Carter. These much-revered artists will be bringing 2D illustration into the third dimension with a new and exclusive collection of sculptures, papercuts and boxed art.

Andy Paerels is an artist and illustrator based in Philadelphia, PA. Her illustrations play to a young, graphic sensibility, depicting stylish characters in a flux of monochromatic linework. We've shown Paerels' work in our erotica section, and her illustrations all have a kind of sexual charge, capturing a youthful dynamism in these fresh graphics.