Daring deeds in dazzling drawings by Thomas Colligan

If I were to draw my own picture of Thomas Colligan (having never met the talented chap) I’d attach a little funnel to his back, because the man is a veritable illustration engine, churning out heaps of great work just this year. This impression also owes something to the plethora of cars and factories and engines puffing out plumes of smoke in the busy worlds of his illustrations, where a population of Flat Stanley-like characters tootle about. Alternating between gouache and coloured pencils, Thomas creates scenes with grass as green as the Swiss hillsides he hails from, and balaclava-clad bank robbers as gutsy as those in the movies set in his new home of New York.

He’s also made a clever story called L’Ordre et l’Ours about a fireman and a polar bear, in which the edge of each illustration matches the previous one but creates a new picture. It’s tricky to explain, so check it out on his website!