A lot to love about Nishant

Many art forms are enhanced by a measured degree of serendipity, the happy accidents that take a piece of work in a new direction and perhaps even steer your entire visual language. Nishant is very much of this school of thought. "I always encourage ideas to transform and evolve organically. However, I sometimes have to be mindful not to let go of the initial concept, as I have a client and a brief to answer after all!”

Brighton is well known for its creative population and Nishant works in a studio surrounded by other illustrators and designers and he’s not alone in considering drawing a critical form exercise. "I've noticed that if I take more than a weekend off from drawing, I need a whole day to warm up again. To stay in practice, I always keep a personal project or commission on the go, ensuring I draw every day, recently attempting to illustrate the poems of Leonard Cohen."

"I would also love the opportunity to travel to different countries and create a series of drawings, similar to Ronald Searle's work for Holiday magazine. Although I’ve got stiff competition at home, my wife once stayed with a tribe in the Amazon jungle and learned an entirely different way of life, unfamiliar to the West—a place that inspires an adrenaline rush and a desire to express it through work."

The only artist, he’s an odd one out in his family. His grandfather was the one who first noticed his talent and encouraged him, at just 12 years old, to reach out to newspapers and comics asking for work! Well, fast forward to his grown up grandson who has worked for so many publishing institutions including The Guardian, Vanity Fair and New Yorker, we reckon the old man knew what he was talking about!

Further inspiration came from discovering the work of Tomi Ungerer in college. "Continuously evolving, I use the cartooning language to explore various subjects, with satire at its core. I embrace change and continuously explore diverse approaches to working with clients and briefs. But seeing Tomi’s work in those early years really cemented my desire to be an illustrator."

"As a British Indian, my cultural heritage has only subtly influenced my work. I've predominantly been inspired by British and American cartoonists of the early 20th century."

Recent favourite projects include creating graphics for an ethical clothing brand, capturing the brand’s story in a single design being a particularly exciting challenge. Another was for The Guardian Long Reads magazine, where h illustrated a woman on the cover enjoying the magazine through a series of sequential drawings.

Looking forward to seeing what he does next! Take a look at all things Nishant here. 

Next story