Isabel Thoroughman

Isabel Thoroughman’s illustrations focus on the feminine and the magical. She grew up in Columbia, Missouri, and occupied her time with cartoons and comics, especially fantastical ones. She learned to draw by filling up sketchbooks recreating her favorite characters and trying to come up with her own. Now, she is getting her BFA in illustration at the Kansas City Art Institute. She does a lot of digital work, but also appreciates the flow and texture of ink and watercolor when working traditionally. Isabel’s work explores narrative through character and background design in sets of illustrations, short-form comics, or miniatures. She is inspired by folklore of witches, fairies, and shapeshifters. Isabel has fallen head over heels for art history and is often found haunting the Nelson-Atkins Museum (and interning in the European Curatorial department). Historical English and French fashion, paintings, and architecture have a big influence on her work, and are mixed in with her modern and fantasy twists. Isabel loves to destroy her sketchbook while exploring texture, collage, and new mediums, and sometimes splices her traditional sketchbook work into her finished pieces. Her preferred color palette is pinks and blues and all the purples in between, and she loves to keep her work sparkly and a little mysterious.

Instagram: @izisartsy