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InspirationIllustration

Vincent Mahé and his bold and colourful vector illustrations

Vincent Mahé is an illustrator based over in Paris who's work has been picked up by the New York Times, Canadian Business and Grand Seigneur magazine, amongst many others.

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Illustration of a stylish woman in a red suit entering a teal-coloured boutique with suited figures and clothing displays visible inside and outside the storefront

His distinct style is bold and contemporary using vector illustrations to tell us different stories behind the characters he produces. Working with a limited colour palette, Vincent works a lot on the composition, sometimes with an isometric perspective or more flat theatrical sets.

As he explained: "I like the contrast between bare and abundant scenes. I like to observe the little cracks and weaknesses of our contemporaries, the absurdities of our time. Ultimately, my work is quite realistic. I'm not depicting a fantasy world. There's already too much to describe in this one."

I personally can imagine being whisked back to another time when the ad execs on Madison Avenue were still drinking whiskey for breakfast because his work has got that kind of retro feel. But how did he get started? Well, Vincent studied Animation at Les Gobelins back in 2005, then worked in the feature films business for a while – working predominantly in animation. He later moved into Illustration in 2011 and went full-time freelance last January.

He's one of seven artists to create a studio called Messieurs Dame. You can see more of Vincent's work on his blog or portfolio.

Three men in suits converse around a fireplace beneath mounted animal skulls and horns on the wall
Stylised illustration of a figure in red jacket and blue trousers holding a rope on a boat's deck, with the word ENVY above a modern building facade in the background
Vibrant vector illustration depicting Russian Orthodox churches, onion domes, and figures in traditional dress arranged in a theatrical, layered composition with bold reds, golds and blues
Bright isometric illustration of a yellow and blue building corner with red accents, showing people in red uniforms and casual clothes gathered inside and outside a storefront with "MACARONS" signage
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