Acryla gouache is an amazing medium that gives paintings an opaque and matt finish, but it also has a textured quality. The same is true for Posca pens and paint markers.

Both media lend themselves wonderfully to creating illustrations and patterns.

Digitally, I tend to draw in two slightly different styles. I either go for a more textured and scratchy pencil-like look or for a combination of shapes & clean lines, which gives illustrations a smoother and cleaner look.

Brush pens and markers create fascinating stripy textures and give an authentic handmade feel to illustrations. Those qualities, together with a natural playful vibe of the brush pens, help any image stand out in the current illustration scene. I’m betting that brush pens will be the new black.