Daniel Zender’s atmospheric editorial illustrations have a sinister edge 

There’s a darkness and sinister air to New York-based Daniel Zender’s editorial illustrations, which is emphasised by their menacing colour palette of red and black. We featured Daniel’s textural paintings two years ago and they were equally as nightmarish in tone. In his latest works, Daniel’s progressed his style and it feels more refined with smoother gradients and defined shapes.

The illustrator’s client list is still as impressive with commissions from The New Yorker, New Republic, LA Times, Boston Globe, Bloomberg Businessweek and MIT Technology Review. Daniel’s approach is consistent and lends itself well to the often unsettling content of the stories he’s illustrating whether its terrorism, gun violence or police brutality. His figures are simply put together with little detail yet the imposing silhouette-like forms manage to convey a moody atmosphere.