Brett Helquist

Brett Helquist is an American illustrator who works primarily on children's books and graphic novels, although recently he has delved into the realms of comic books too.
Perhaps most famously he illustrated the popular book series 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' by Lemony Snickett.

'The Grim Grotto' image credit to www.bretthelquist.com

The above book cover for the eleventh book, The Grim Grotto, I feel has a distinctive style and the style fits the series well. I've admired Brett's quirky illustrative style for years now and I can really appreciate the way the images perfectly narrate the book contents. His use of colour is usually quite sophisticated with a complimentary palette- for example The Grim Grotto features plenty of harmonious greens and blues, perfect for the sea-based book.

              

'Climbing the rope' pencil illustration. Photo credit to www.bretthelquist.com

The illustrations inside the books are usually pencil sketches like Climbing the Rope. I really like the way Brett uses cross hatching and other pencil marks to suggest texture and tone. I also like how sharp his images are- they're mostly neat with lots of textured detail which makes for an interesting illustration with lots of eye catching focal points.