Kate Snell

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Animals

Architecture

Children

Food & Drink

Maps

People

Vector

Sushi platter with nigiri and various maki rolls by Kate Snell

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Illustrated coastal island map with buildings, trees, and boats by Kate Snell

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London landmarks and icons illustrated in purple and grey by Kate Snell

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Illustrated Central London map with landmarks and streets by Kate Snell

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Illustrated map of central London with landmarks and transport stops by Kate Snell

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Illustrated map of London landmarks by the Thames with buildings and street details by Kate Snell

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Colorful illustrated map of Canary Wharf London by Kate Snell

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Kate arbeitet digital, vielseitig und detailorientiert, mit einem Gespür für visuelle Klarheit und modulare Bildsysteme.

Von Hundenasen bis Hausfassaden – flexible Illustration für starke visuelle Identitäten.

This versatility is what clients love about Kate. It also makes her a great choice for visual identity projects or any campaign that requires a wide range of consistent imagery across several illustration categories. Kate’s inspiration goes all the way back to watching Art Attack on British TV. Later, she took her skills to professional level with a degree in Illustration from Falmouth University, graduating in 2013. Some of her favourite influences include block and screen printing, tropical plants, Mid-Century Modern patterns and interiors, and the illustrator Charley Harper.

Approach

“All of my work is digital, beginning in Procreate and ending in Illustrator. I always begin by establishing the most important visual cues that will make what I’m drawing instantly identifiable. This could be the entrance of a building or the shape of a dog’s nose,” says Kate.

Styles

Flexibility is Kate’s key strength – she adapts her style to each brief, shifting between looks that are detailed and textured to more graphic-based compositions depending on the project. However, touches of playfulness can be seen across her portfolio.

Impressions

Interview

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Interview

What led you to become an illustrator?Drawing has been a big part of my life since I was really young, and was definitely my favourite subject at school where I was lucky enough to have some great art teachers. At 18 I applied for an Art Foundation course in the hopes of finding a bit of direction. Sure enough, during my interview for the course the tutor said he thought my style was illustrative, and that was it. That tutor was Tony Preston at Tor Bridge High in Plymouth, who sadly died in 2017. He was a big inspiration and led me where I am today which I’ll always be grateful for. Did you study illustration in college? Yes - following Tony’s advice, I went on to get my degree at Falmouth University. This turned out to be a great decision and I loved every minute of my 3 years there.Where did you grow up? Just up the road from university in sunny Plymouth.Where do you live now and what drew you there? I’ve recently moved to Dorking, a small town in Surrey. After renting in London for 6 years I was ready for a bit more space and fresh air, but most importantly to eventually fulfill my dream of owning a dog. Describe your studio for us I’m currently living with friends while we have some work done on our house, so my studio is a temporary one at the moment! The plan is to build an office in the garden in a year or two, so I’ll have a mini commute which I’m very excited about. And hopefully my future dog will be a great colleague.If you could collaborate with another artist or creative of any genre, living or dead, who would it be?Illustrator Charley Harper, if he were still around today I’ll love to learn from him. I bought a book of his artwork called ‘An Illustrated Life’ by Todd Oldham on a school trip to London as a teenager, and still look at it every time I need to feel inspired. What was your favourite assignment ever? Before I went free-lance full time, I used to get asked by friends and family to draw portraits of their dogs which I really loved. Seeing how much this meant to people was hugely rewarding and encouraged me to pursue illustration as my full time career. If you look closely at my maps you’ll always spot at least one dog, and my clients seem to appreciate them too which makes me really happy. What’s your favourite way to spend a day off?Go for a nice walk, cook a nice dinner, then make some nice cocktails.What is your go-to comfort food?My current favourite thing is slow roasting tomatoes with garlic and chilli, whizzing it up, mixing with some linguine and balancing half a burrata on top. I only make it on Friday nights and it really gets me through the week.What movie can you watch over and over?Interstellar, again and again.What is the last show you binged?The Bear. Intense at times and made me cry a lot, but it’s one of the best TV shows I’ve watched for a long time. If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go?I’d love to see the places where some of my favourite films and TV shows were made. Too many to mention and maybe this isn’t the coolest example but Mrs Doubtfire’s house in San Francisco is right up there.How do you separate your work life from your home life?I keep this pretty simple by setting myself regular working hours, trying not to exceed those unless there’s something really urgent to be done, and not looking at my work emails in my free time. This wasn’t easy to stick to at first but I think I’ve worked out a good balance now, and love my job even more as a result.What do you listen to when you work?Almost non-stop true crime podcasts. Someone Knows Something, The Teacher’s Pet and Sweet Bobby are just a few brilliant ones I’d recommend.If you were not an illustrator, what would you be?It’s a toss-up between gardener and dog-groomer - or both!What career advice would you give your younger self?Don’t be despondent if you can’t find your dream job right away! The ‘wrong’ jobs can send you on the right path, just keep going until you get there.Do you have any tips/advice for other illustrators?Don’t try and be too perfect - odds are your first attempt is the best one!