Christian Schubert's richly coloured, sex-obsessed and brilliantly bizarre illustrations

The weird and wonderful illustrations of Christian Schubert are a delight to peruse, especially if you’re after a sprinkling of the bizarre. With odd scenes including a glum king walking past a shoe shop and a Russian doll-like ginger man in a flasher coat that reveals miniature versions of himself, Christian’s originality and humour is something to be admired. The London-based illustrator says a lot of his ideas come from “watching vast amounts of comedy and listening to Howard Stern for nine hours every day while I’m working."

Having previously worked as a creative in advertising for two years, Christian jumped creative ship to pursue a career in illustration. But he hasn’t quite been able to resist his former ad-land way of working: “a lot of my time was spent on a comfy beanbag jotting down idea after idea until I came across a good one. It’s a habit I haven’t really gotten out of, so I usually spend the first hour of every day writing down anything and everything I think of,” he says. 

With their flat textures and rich colours, Christian’s illustrations have humble beginnings: “I usually start by drawing out my chosen image with a really old Rotring pen that my mum bought me when I was doing GCSE design… Once I’ve done that I put it into Photoshop and finish it off there,” he explains. “I find experimentation really important as it keeps my stuff fresh and most importantly my attitude towards my work fresh.”