Figures & Faces: 50 emerging & established illustrators to follow on Instagram

It's a dilemma. How do we discover fresh talent? Sure, we can use Instagram's handy search facility or click on the "suggestions for you", and this works quite well, to an extent. But what about all those we might be missing? This is where it's good to ask an expert.

We called upon award-winning illustrator Niki Groom, aka Miss Magpie, to see if she could offer any suggestions. She happily obliged, and offered 50 of her favourite artists and illustrators to follow on Instagram, starting with those with the lowest follower count and ending with the most popular. As you'll see, she explains why she loves each one, and throws in a few examples of her favourite images.

We made sure she added her own Instagram account as it's a real joy to scroll through her work. Niki, it's over to you...

1. Joshua Osborn (531)

I love Josh's work so much that I bought something from his Instagram feed a couple of years ago to hang on my wall. His inky lines are beautiful.

2. Jo Thomas (1,293)

Jo's digital work is incredible. I especially love the coloured backgrounds and focus on prints and details. Deserves many many more followers.

View this post on InstagramA photo posted by Jo Thomas (@jothomasina) on Sep 19, 2016 at 10:44am PDT

3. Nina Fuga (1,440)

Multi coloured crayon work.

4. Marcellus Hall (1,815)

I love the watercolour and dry brush captures of people on the move.

5. Alexa Coe (2,086)

Simple and beautiful line work.

6. Tracy Turnbull (2,122)

Tracy's clean, realistic and super detailed work is stunning.

7. Lyicn (2,910)

Gorgeous old school glamour, captured in ink.

View this post on InstagramA photo posted by lyicn (@lyicn) on Oct 25, 2015 at 11:34pm PDT

8. Willa Gebbie (2,932)

Beautiful clean lines and subtle colours.

9. Lyndon Hayes (4,523)

Linear observational sketchbook work.

10. Peter Turner (5,608)

I love Peter's hand-drawn pencil work.

View this post on InstagramA photo posted by Peter Turner (@peterturnerdraws) on Jan 17, 2017 at 8:59am PST

11. Stephen Doherty (5,803)

Stephen's feed is a stunning mixture of watercolour flowers and linear figure illustrations.

12. Miss Magpie Spy (7,050)

A hand-painted illustrated collage featuring fashion and beauty.

View this post on InstagramA photo posted by miss_magpie_spy (@miss_magpie_spy) on Feb 8, 2017 at 12:14am PST

13. Lauren Tamaki (8,358)

Lauren is someone who makes it look so easy! A splash of watercolour here, a few lines of ink here...and voila, something completely beautiful. I could lose hours on her website, so do have a look.

14. Sally Faye (8,360)

Lovely beauty illustrations.

15. Jason Brooks (9,164)

My hero when I was studying in the '90s. Beautiful feline girls.

View this post on InstagramA photo posted by JASON BROOKS (@jasonbrooksart) on Feb 3, 2017 at 12:15pm PST

16. Scott W Mason (9,591)

I love Scott's bold black lines and flashes of colour. I like the way he shows his work alongside photos of the outfits he's illustrated.

17. Amelie Hegardt (10,100)

Subtle faces and amazing use of ink.

View this post on InstagramA photo posted by Amelie Hegardt (@amelie.hegardt) on Jan 26, 2017 at 5:06am PST

18. Astrid Vos (14.6k)

All of the awesome faces.

19. Raymond Lo (16.6k)

Raymond's Instagram feed is full of drawings and paintings of faces. I love his ultra delicate pencil lines, and images of his oils in progress.

20. Dorian Vallejo (18k)

I love Dorian's art, he captures such relaxed and beautiful poses with his build up of line. I especially enjoy the videos of him creating.

View this post on InstagramA photo posted by Dorian Vallejo (@dorian_vallejo_art) on Jan 9, 2017 at 7:33am PST

21. Judith van den Hoek (18.1k)

Judith is an illustrator and photographer, so her feed is a mix of both. Her bold colours and simple lines are beautiful.

22. Stina Persson (23.5k)

Stina's videos of her working with ink are hypnotic, watching her paintings come to life is a joy.

23. Lisa Smirnova (28.6k)

Incredible illustrations and embroidery.

View this post on InstagramA photo posted by Лиза Смирнова (@lisa_smirnova) on Dec 2, 2016 at 2:24am PST

24. Lucy MacLeod (29.9k)

I fall in love with the dreamy girls Lucy posts on a daily basis. I'm lucky enough to have an original on my wall.

View this post on InstagramA photo posted by Lucy MacLeod (@lucymacleodillustration) on Jan 31, 2017 at 6:20am PST

25. Caitlin McGauley (32.8k)

Caitlin draws just about everything, but when she illustrates women my heart sings.

26. PichiAvo (35.9k)

Amazing graffiti, I don't know how these guys do it. Only 90 posts on Instagram but each one is beautiful.

27. Emma Block (36.8k)

Cute and pretty illustrations.

28. Tina Berning (36.1k)

I love following Tina's artwork on Instagram. The women she paints are beautiful and haunting (and we have cat twins).

View this post on InstagramA photo posted by Tina Berning (@tina_berning) on Feb 1, 2017 at 8:36am PST

29. Sunflowerman (38.3k )

These menswear illustrations are brilliant. I frequently watch where Sunflowerman is (boy does he travel!) and what he's illustrating (man he's fast!) on Instagram Stories.

30. Bil Donovan (41.4k)

Brilliant use of negative space. Often lots of texture and contrast – stunning.

31. Tula Lotay (44.8k)

Comics and graphic art. Just incredible.

32. Richard Haines (48.7k)

Creative and brilliant. Richard seems to always be drawing on anything he can find.

33. Diana Kuksa (50.1k)

Looks as though Diana is able to use every medium. Beautiful realistic work.

View this post on InstagramA photo posted by diana kuksa (@diana_kuksa) on Oct 15, 2016 at 4:11am PDT

34. Todorovitch (51.6k)

Realistic oil paintings. The close-ups of faces are my personal favourite.

35. Manjit Thapp (53.5k)

Totally unique style. I especially love the recent posts, with rich colour and bold black lines. Great process videos.

View this post on InstagramA photo posted by Manjit (@manjitthapp) on Nov 28, 2016 at 11:18am PST

36. Clym Evernden (55.2k)

Inventive, creative and unique.

37. Viktorija Semjonova (59.4k)

Fun, colourful and quirky illustrations.

View this post on InstagramA photo posted by Viktorija Semjonova (@andsmilestudio) on Jan 27, 2017 at 12:28am PST

38. David Downton (65.9k)

The master.

39. Miss Led (73.5k)

Stunning line work.

40. Lena Ker (75.7k)

Gorgeous hand-painted fashion illustrations.

41. Damien Florébert Cuypers (76.8k)

Damien's feed is full of his hand-drawn figure work. My favourites are full of colour. The way he captures movement and personality is incredible.

View this post on InstagramA photo posted by Damien Florébert Cuypers (@flrbrt) on Oct 9, 2016 at 5:33am PDT

42. Gill Button (78.1k)

Gill is my ultimate hero, I find her feed totally captivating.

43. Kelly Beeman (83.8k)

I dream of hanging pieces by Kelly on my wall. I love her serene girls, her amazing use of colour and the tiny details.

44. Blair Breitenstein (93.1k)

Big lips and big hair...faces to die for.

45. Hsia-Ron Cheng (109k)

As it says in her bio "Photoshop is my kung-fu".

View this post on InstagramA photo posted by h s i a o - r o n c h e n g (@hsiaoroncheng) on Feb 14, 2015 at 6:20am PST

46. Julie Houts (132k)

Julie combines awesome pen skills with her razor sharp wit.

47. Meagan Morrison (140k)

Meagan travels, writes, draws....and posts outfit pics too. A really great person to follow on Instagram Stories.

48. Donald Robertson (183k)

Colourful, and fun. You never quite know what is going to be next!

49. Unskilledworker (234k)

The most hypnotic eyes you ever did see. Often on Instagram Live – I love watching her work.

View this post on InstagramA photo posted by Unskilledworker (@unskilledworker) on Jan 20, 2017 at 10:58am PST

50. Kelsey Beckett (463k)

I have a thing for half-finished oil paintings. I love seeing pencil lines and canvas against amazing intense oil colours. Kelsey's feed delivers me this and more. Just beautiful.

View this post on InstagramA photo posted by Kelsey Beckett (@kelseyjbeckett) on Dec 6, 2016 at 8:21am PST