Warning: do not continue to scroll if you currently have an empty stomach.
We’ve shared the top five food photographers in the past, and today’s top five are just as delicious. There’s a unique niche of illustrators in the art world that share their love of food by sketching tasty, mouth-watering treats.
Whether it be juicy fruits and vegetables or sparkling, glazed donuts, the one thing that these illustrators have in common is the innate ability to make you salivate without seeing something actually edible. Scroll on down to discover the art of food illustration, and may your life forever be improved.
Marianna Fierro | @mnnfrr
Originally, Marianna is from Italy, which happens to be where her passion for food originates too. While she’s also an art director at the design and technology studio known as Use All Five, she spends a lot of her time illustrating drool-worthy foods focusing on fruits and vegetables. Her color palettes are often bright and cheerful, so even if you’re not a huge vegetable consumer, you might change your mind after viewing Marianna’s illustrations. We happen to have an interview with Marianna coming soon to the website, so stay tuned to learn more about her!
Han Dang | @_hann.studio
Based in Australia, Han Dang’s illustrations focus both on food and the packaging they come inside. One of the things I love most about Han’s account is the sharing of work in progress. Primarily created through an iPad, it’s fascinating watching a piece go from a rough outline to a flawlessly finished piece. If I had to pick one post on Han’s entire feed that I most appreciate, I think it would have to be the mini meat series. Showcasing raw meats within their plastic packaging makes you realize how everything can be seen as art if you pay enough attention to the details, and Han’s work is proof.
Laura Balcerek | @laurab_design
Graphic designer and illustrator Laura Balcerek is based in Glasgow and is currently a student at Glasgow School of Art. If I had to choose one word to describe Laura’s work, it would easily be “whimsical.” Each of her posts on Instagram comes filled with playful characteristics, bright colors, and cheeky details. While she’s not explicitly a food illustrator, of her posts on Instagram, I’m mainly drawn to her food pieces because they feel so intimate, almost as if they were precisely what she consumed while she was creating the actual work. Not to mention, her illustrations look as though she dreamed them up with crayons and pencils on paper, but often they’re created digitally, which I find charming.
Tomoko Kuboi | @tomokokuboi
If there were a menu that featured no text, just solely Tomoko Kuboi’s food illustrations, I would order every single item on the menu. Tomoko is based in Tokyo and graduated from the Tsuji Institute of Patisserie and Tokyo Design Academy. The thing about her illustrations are the intricately detailed textures found on every piece; her ice cream post, for example, showcases the details of the treat flawlessly yet has a simplistic quality. This balance of simplicity with accuracy is not nearly as easy as it looks, especially for food illustrations. If your stomach isn’t growling after looking at Tomoko’s account, you must’ve just eaten.
Deb Choi | @sunnydays978
Not only is Deb Choi a food illustrator, but she also teaches a SkillShare class, training students to paint watercolor fruit in a vibrant style. There’s a sense of nostalgia paired with Deb’s illustrations that I think have something to do with the fact that they’re almost storybook-like in appearance. Each image is simple, often on a white background, but the food item gets created with precision and beautiful color detailing. I’m not even a huge sweet potato pie lover, but a recent post showcases this fall treat, and it makes me want to reach into my screen to taste a bite. Talented doesn’t even begin to describe Deb’s work.
