Seb Agresti's stripped back, vibrant illustrations inspired by underground cartoonists

"It made for a refreshing and informative read during a time when debates can get so heated and black and white," Seb told Creative Boom. "Having always considered myself an atheist (in contrast to my parents) I have always been interested in science and the cosmos, fantasising about our origins and the universe itself. This particular project ended up being a sort of self-portrait and was really fun to draw."

An illustrator and designer based in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, Seb tends to use outlines and vibrant colours, inspired by underground cartoonists like Daniel Clowes and Bernard Krigstein. "I always like to strip down objects to their most basic appearance and to organise them into an easy to read illustration, everything that is unnecessary gets thrown out."

Seb only went freelance several years ago but has since worked for the likes of Apple, Google, New York Times and, of course, The New Yorker. "It’s such a good magazine with a rich historic past when it comes to illustrators. I’m a big fan of artists from a past era like Saul Steinberg, H.O Hofman and Otto Soglow, and to work for the same magazine as they once contributed always gets me extra fired up," Seb added. "Coincidentally, the people at the New Yorker are some of the kindest and most professional I have ever worked with."

Chatting about the highs and lows of freelancing, Seb admitted that he doesn't allow any frustrations to get the better of him: "I feel fortunate to do what I love for a living and would rather spend my energy on bringing the project to a satisfying end result."