Illustrator Tommy Brentnall gets his hands stuck in to make work that’s a little bit wonky

Recently, the illustrator and designer Tommy Brentnall found himself hitting a wall with the digital side of his practice. Like many in this hyper-online world, he was trying to advance his computer skills, learning 3D software and pushing his style in a more digital direction. But, as time went on, he found this direction more and more “unfulfilling”. And so, to remedy this, he’s been making a concerted effort to spend less time on his screen and return to what he knows best – drawing and making with his hands. “I love things where you can almost see the hands that made it,” he says.

While gravitating more toward illustration, Tommy also dabbles in design, working across an array of media including print and physical media, like Risograph, and some of his best pieces occur when the two poles of his work collide. Alongside his practice, Tommy also works as an artist facilitator with children’s group The Hundred Club, an experimental creative space that uses art and play to explore social justice issues, often designing and producing print material and newspapers with the kids.

Here at It’s Nice That, we’re particularly fond of Tommy’s characters; robots that look like they’ve been crossed with knights in shining armour, or run-of-the-mill machines that seem to have just come to life. They’re a perfect mishmash of Tommy’s broad array of influences, from sci-fi and fantasy books and films and fanzines, to kids books, cartoons and anime, as well as a tense game of Dungeons and Dragons played with friends. Anything, in Tommy’s words, that feels “a little DIY, wonky or off kilter”.