5 female illustrators who've drawn our interest with their fantastic work

1. MARIA LEBEDEVA

Existing mostly in the children's realm, Maria Lebedeva's content is whimsical and fun with overt hand-drawn qualities. There's fantasy, folk tale and fine detail ... a tendency she admits she can't shake.

Born in Moscow and living in Pretoria, she looks to fellow children's book illustrators like Olivier Tallec, Isabelle Arsenault and Shaun Tan for inspiration and remembers creating her own illustrated books at the age of four or five.

Her 2014 book Mu's Wolf Problem remains one of her best-loved projects, followed by an Alice in Wonderland-themed poster for Exclusive Books.

"I feel illustration has a relatable quality to it - it's not intimidating and people engage with it easily, making it an effective storytelling tool. Illustration can help create a connection to unfamiliar or difficult subject matter and can also be quite evocative and emotive."

See her work at "Kiss Me Quick and Go, My Honey" currently showing at the Tina Skukan Gallery, Pretoria

2. KIRSTEN BEETS

No stranger to art lovers, Kirsten Beet's work has been widely exhibited and she has just completed her fourth solo show with Salon 91. She works largely by hand, often penning her observations of humans in nature.

"My work is quite detailed and is rooted in realism; it sits comfortably between art and illustration," she explains. Kirsten has her sights set on illustrating for something "more physical" like textiles, but right now she's working on a collab with a Dutch tile company.

Of all the career achievements she's most proud of are making the covers of American Short Fiction magazine and ArtMaze Magazine and two residencies in Venice and the Netherlands. 

3. FRAN LABUSCHAGNE

This nomadic illustrator describes her style as "sophisticated with a playful twist and a feminine touch". Given that some of her clients include British Airways, The Telegraph, Lonely Planet and Honest Chocolate, she's very humble.

Ever the perfectionist, Fran Labuschagne produces most of her work digitally using Adobe Illustrator. "Hand-crafted for me is always a bit frustrating and messy, so I'm happy with the undo button that the digital platform provides," she quips.

There's a light-heartedness to her work that often cues a chuckle from viewers. Other markers of her aesthetic include people, geometry and the colour pink, which she uses in abundance.

While she's currently busy with illustration for animation, chocolate packaging and editorials, she dreams of illustrating a Christmas window display. 

4. TRACEY LEA BUCHLER

With abundant consciousness and a love of the spiritual, Tracey Lea Buchler does custom lettering and illustration and runs an online store called Spellbound Gypsy which will woo you with its beautiful crystals.

Weaving her magic with words, Tracey brings life and meaning to the letters she crafts. "Lines do many great things: they connect us, they create boundaries and they tangle to form bonds," she says.

Tracey's an advocate of hand-crafted first and foremost, using brush and ink on cotton to produce logos, artworks and custom scripts, but she also creates content digitally.

Give her some words or a phrase that means something to you and she will make art. "Words are powerful to people for reasons seeded in the deepest, quietest parts of the heart. To me, every project is a reminder to breathe." 

5. MEGAN BIRD

All Things Natural should be Megan Bird's brand slogan. This Pretoria-based illustrator has put her hands to work on a wide range of projects featuring the natural world, be it birds, ocean life, trees or dinosaurs. So it comes as no surprise that one of the items on her wish list is to "illustrate the interpretive panels for a zoo, museum or dinosaur park".

Using a MacBook, Huion Tablet, pen and paper, she creates works that are characteristically jewel-toned and abundant and which combine digital colour with finer line work using felt-tip pens or markers.

"I think of illustration as the super hero of the graphics game. It can broaden the mind and educate, make political statements, influence and inspire. But most importantly, it's accessible and understandable to anyone that can see it," she says. Look out for her third and latest book, The Brave Turtle.