Donough O'Malley

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Cartoon & Humour

Children

Conceptual

Food & Drink

People

Retro

Illustration of a girl playing bowling with pins and a red ball

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Illustration of man setting bowling pins with machine mechanism

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Illustration of a woman in traditional Irish dress holding a ball

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The Great Irish Book of Gaelic Games book illustration

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Unerring graphics in perfect haptics

The bold, graphic style of Irish illustrator Donough O'Malley stands out from the rest with its quirky humor and the delightful texture of old prints and papers.

Training

After completing a foundation in Art and Design at the University of the West of England, Donough went on to do a BA in Illustration at the same institution. Then he attended Brighton University where he received an MA in Narrative and Sequential Design.

Approach

When a project kicks off, Donough first makes sure he has a thorough understanding of the brief. Then he grabs his pencils and sketchpad and explores some ideas, making notes and working out a composition. The composition is the key and when he’s nailed that he moves on to the execution and colour choices. His pencil rough is brought into Photoshop and fine-tuned using handmade textures he’s collected over the years.

Styles

Typically, Donough’s images have a graphic and retro feel to them, with colours, shapes and textures all brought together with the aim of generating a sense of fun. And he likes to have fun when he’s creating his images. Donough’s graphical style lends itself well to screenprinting, which he’s into at the moment, but he’s equally happy creating more traditional-style illustrations to be used in children’s books, for instance.

Impressions

Interview

Website

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Interview

What led you to become an illustrator? A chance meeting with some people studying illustration when I was in my late teens. Drawing had always been a big part of my life, but until then I never even considered it could be something to make a living and a career out of.Did you study illustration in college? I had a pretty raw skill set so studying was the best option for me, so I moved to Bristol in the UK to do an illustration degree, then a masters in Brighton and topped off with a postgrad in design at University of the Arts London.Where did you grow up? I grew up in rural Ireland, right beside the border with Northern Ireland. It’s a very very agricultural place, so great for green fields but was a bit scarce for visual arts.Do you have a childhood memory relating to drawing/art that you hold dear? I just constantly had a pencil in my hand, in fact nearly my entire family did. My mother was a dressmaker so I think we might have got some creativity from her. I just remember trying to copy artwork from old classic British war comics of the seventies. When my sister brought me back some Tintin books from a trip to London, they absolutely blew me away so I started trying to copy them too.Where do you live now and what drew you there? I live in sunny Brighton on the south coast of England. I studied here many years ago and would constantly come back to visit friends. It’s a great small city, easily my favourite part of the UK, so I made the decision to move back about five years ago when I met my girlfriend here. Describe your studio for us I’m in a block of studios smack bang in the centre, about two minutes walk from the famous North Laines, and a ten minute walk to the beach. It’s also a two minute walk from my apartment which is very handy. There are over twenty illustrators and designers in the building, and I share the ground floor with four other illustrators. My studio space is a complete mess with tons of sketchbooks and paper everywhere. I always say I’m going to tidy it up but I’m usually too busy working.Do you have a studio pet?I bring my dog in with me everyday. She’s called RB (which is short for RatBag) and she’s a fifteen year old sprocker spaniel. She would prefer it if we just stayed at home watching box sets all day, but she gets smothered with attention and biscuits when she comes in so that placates her.Who or What is your biggest inspiration? I get inspiration from pretty much everywhere, but a solid go to for me is any mid 20th century poster design. I also have a collection of books on Japanese posters and matchbox designs which I could quiet happily flick through for hours.How do you get your ideas? Ideas can come from anywhere, or not which is usually the case. Solid research is always necessary. Stepping away from the computer or sketchpad is always helpful, just to get the mind to go wandering. Mindless domestic chores are just as good as brisk sea walks, and also having a nap so the mind really wanders is great too.What are your interests outside of illustration? It used to be travel, but since I’ve been back in Brighton, a fifteen year old dog has kept me happily in one place. Apart from the usual movies and books etc. living by the beach is great for dog walks, and I love playing badminton, which really surprises people.What is the first record you bought? The Doors’ LA Woman. I bought the cassette on my first day trip to Dublin by myself. I don’t think I’ve listened to it in thirty years.What was your favourite assignment ever? There’s been a good few I’m lucky to say. A series of beer labels for a Canadian brewery have been real fun to do, and a poster for the Royal Birmingham Ballet Company too. Any posters and I’m in there straight away. I did a series for an Irish advertising agency, The Public House, and they always came out really really well.What would be your dream commission? Oh there’s too many to list. Any client that gets what you do and lets you go completely free with a brief is good enough for me. Also, if anyone wanted me to do a series of travel posters which would involve being sent abroad I wouldn’t object?How much of your work is hand drawn? It always starts with a pencil and a sketchpad. I don’t go anywhere near a computer until I have exactly what I want drawn down on a piece of paper.How do you envisage illustration evolving? Its popularity always ebbs and flows, but it seems stronger and more popular than ever. I think the boundaries between illustration, design and animation overlap so much now that a freelancer can be expected to cover all bases. Moving imagery for online use will definitely become more prevalent.If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go? I would go back to Argentina at the drop of a hat, as a brother lives there and it’s an amazing country. I also want to see much more of Europe, places like Alsace Lorraine and the Black Forest.Have you any hidden talents? I can talk a lot of nonsense over a pint in a pub.How would someone who knows you well describe you? Tall, very Irish, and can talk a lot of nonsense over a pint in a pub.If you could travel back in time, who would be the one person you would want to meet and why? There’s a few members of my family I never got to meet, so I think I would just hang out with them. I’m not bothered about meeting famous people, the best craic is always with friends and family.What movie can you watch over and over? I was obsessed with James Bond when I was a kid, so I can still watch any of them no matter how bad. What do you do when you have creative block?Get away form the desk, walk the dog, do the washing up, have a nap.What is your favourite way to fill free time? Any hobbies?At the moment its meeting friends for a beer as it seems such a luxury after nearly a year in lockdown. And walking RB with my girlfriend on the beach.What is your go-to karaoke song? I’ve only even done karaoke once in a seedy bar in Osaka Japan where the barmaid was dressed liked Flavor Flav from Public Enemy. We were all incredibly drunk so it’s hard to remember but I think a lot of Beatles and Elvis songs were mauled.