Sam Peet’s illustrations are character-driven. Based in Camberwell, London, he mainly works within editorial illustration – a task that requires translating content in an engaging and direct way. With an illustration degree from the Cambridge School of Art, his style has developed through time and much effort.
“My work used to be very different and I was unhappy with the level it was at,” he admitted in an interview with Lecture in Progress. “The turning point for me was creating screen and Risograph prints back in 2012. It was then I started to use Adobe Illustrator and producing more direct and graphic work. Without going through this process, I don’t think I would be anywhere near where I would want to be creatively.”
Growing up, Peet knew he wanted to draw for a living. Either that, or become a professional skateboarder. “I grew up in a place called Nettlestead, just outside Ipswich where my brother and I would spend most of our time skateboarding,” he says. “I loved the graphics and illustrations on a deck.”
“My parents have always been supportive of anything I decided to do,” he adds. “I owe a lot of my success, if not all, to them. My dad was a self-employed carpenter, so I saw that working for yourself was an option. My mum wrote maths books, taught maths, was a headteacher and worked really hard all her life. She also owns most of my prints too, which pretty much sums it up!”
Take a look at some of his delightful illustrations:
