Stephanie Unger’s instinctive illustrations use bright colours and simple shapes

Illustrator and artist Stephanie Unger’s fun use of colour and peppy icons is an approach that’s stuck with her since she first started drawing. “My big sister is also creative and we would spend hours copying VHS covers or making up our own comic books to show each other,” says Stephanie. “My style is made up of things that have influenced me over the years and what naturally comes out on paper. It is playful and is built up of bold colours and simple shapes.”

Within her work are simple portraits of profile faces and simple scenes of bedrooms and everyday objects like DelMonte pineapple slices and cans of Ting. Stephanie’s sketchbooks are just as vivid and exciting as her final illustrations with bright doodles and experiments littering the pages. “I’ll often begin [an illustration] just by grabbing a sketchbook and start drawing until I get an idea and then develop that until I’m happy,” explains Stephanie. “My favourite medium to work with is Posca pens, they are immediate and there is no need to get a water pot and paint palette out, you can just go for it and get a bold, solid colour down.”

This instinctive approach to colour and subject matter is a key part of Stephanie’s illustrations: “Using vibrant colours has always been very important to me when producing work. For me it’s not just about putting good looking colour combinations together but making sure the colours set the right feeling to my images.”