Peter de Seve

Peter de Seve is a world-renowned illustrator. Even if you’ve never heard of him, I can guarantee you’ve seen his work. He is unique in the fact that a good amount of his drawings are converted into animations for films, television and advertising. He’s done the character designs for numerous blockbuster hits, such as Finding Nemo, Mulan, A Bug’s Life, Tarzan, and Ice Age. He’s done numerous covers for the New Yorker and has also worked on a variety of children’s books.

One of the things I love about de Seve’s work is his ability to maintain a level of accurate realism while still generating characters that have their own unique persona.

Just looking at his work, especially with his animal illustrations, you can see how purposeful he is with certain details, like the spikes on a puffer fish. It’s obvious that he studies from life. However, while his illustrations are instantly recognizable, he still manages to transform the subjects from simple renderings to actual characters, full of life, emotion, and personality. Most of his illustrations also have a certain comical flair or humor to them. What I like about this though, is that he does it subtlety, he’s not overly obvious about it. He’s able to create a picture that’s funny without hitting the audience over the head with it.

There’s a certain calm relaxed element in his work that makes each piece seem so natural. There’s good flow to all his drawings and even the simplest sketches show his thoughtfulness and unique perspective. I love the way he thinks and the idea’s he comes up with. I believe that’s one of the reasons he’s so popular, his ability to create visual art that is stimulating and entertaining for audiences of all kinds.