The Irish Talent That Is…
This week I caught up with the Irish illustrator of the moment, Conor Merriman. I have been a huge fan of Conor’s work since he drew a quick illustration of me at an event in the Kildare Village back in July. It took him less than 5 minutes to draw this sketch of me. How amazing is it? #ConorRocks
Conor is a Dublin-based 20 year old illustrator, designer and artist. He is currently studying visual Communication in NCAD and will graduate with a BA in 2016.
He has worked within many disciplines for different companies and brands; whether it’s fashion illustration, brand identity, graphic design, advertising, portraiture, illustration along with storyboarding and event drawing to name a few.
Conor exhibited his artwork alongside many talented artists and designers in Temple Bar Gallery’s Peachy Exhibition, 2015.
To date, Conor has worked with established brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, H&M, Kildare Village, Dundrum Town Centre, OPSH, Photobox, Simply Zesty and The Naked Tour Guide. His work has been published in MFI Magazine, Tatler Magazine as well as Social and Personal Magazine. There’s more…he has also collaborated with many designers and bloggers such as Colin Horgan and Leanne Woodfull.
Aside from all of the above I am now hooked when it comes to Snapchat too. Do you follow him on Snapchat (conor_merriman)? Conor’s snap doodles are unreal. How he has the patience to do them on a phone screen I will never know. Check out some of my favourite snaps below. I did a quick interview with Conor and here is what he had to say:
How long have you been drawing?
I have been drawing since I was a small child! I was always known as the “arty one” throughout school although I have only done it professionally a year.
What inspires you most when you draw?
Everything inspires me! I would have to say people inspire me most though, along with film and other illustrators such as Rene Gruau.
Your Snapchat sketches are brill! How long do you spend on them?
Haha, thank you very much! They are only quick finger-illustrated doodles that I like to make in the hope that they make people have a less dull day. They only take about 10-20 minutes depending on the detail.
As a fashion illustrator, what is your ultimate goal?
My ultimate goal? I would love to illustrate a children’s book and perhaps the cover of a well-established magazine. That would be amazing if I had the opportunity.
What is the most exciting project you’ve worked on to date?
I would have to say the most exciting was illustrating at Tommy Hilfiger because it was my very first event to illustrate at. Having said that every project I get a chance to work on is exciting because each one is different. Meeting new people and working over different disciplines is very rewarding.
Who would you most like to ‘sketch live’?
Hmm… I don’t know if there is a certain person but I would love to illustrate the runways/behind the scenes of fashion weeks all over the world. I think that would be interesting to do.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
I have to say that I would love to continue doing what I am doing know but on a bigger scale. I would love to be illustrating global events, books, more magazines, more brand identities… in five years time I want to be the best version of myself and for my work to reflect that.
Make sure you check out Conor’s official Facebook and Twitter pages.
Oh and of course make sure you have a browse through his brand new (and seriously slick) website. For business enquiries contact Conor via: conor.merriman@gmail.com
Thanks for reading! <3
Until next time…
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