By Cansu Peker

Kelly McMahon is a Melbourne-based illustrator and graphic designer celebrated for her bold, minimalist aesthetic, marked by precise vector forms, striking color palettes, and a flair for visual storytelling. Drawing from pop culture, fashion, and childhood nostalgia, her work moves fluidly between commercial illustration, graphic design, and passion-driven personal projects. She has collaborated with high-profile names including Clerks III, Lego Ninjago at Skybound, and Kid Cudi’s Moon Man, and her pieces have been exhibited at Gallery 1988 and Hero Complex Gallery in Los Angeles.

After training in communication design and working in boutique studios, Kelly reignited her creative spark by illustrating fan art in her spare time, eventually building an online following and a thriving freelance practice. Her self-initiated playing card projects Imperium and Bad Blood have earned critical acclaim, with Bad Blood winning Best Extras at the 2025 Deck of the Year Awards. Today, Kelly continues to balance her commercial and artistic work, always chasing the sweet spot between design discipline and expressive creativity.

We asked Kelly about her art, creative process, and inspirations.

Can you tell us about your background as a digital artist? How did you get started in this field?

Art has always been a huge part of my life, I feel it’s one of few things I’m truly good at. All throughout school, art and design were my top classes and the projects I poured the most love into– being creative was where I thrived and felt truly happy. However, ‘art’ never felt like a viable career path until my mum suggested graphic design to me. She worked with a number of designers and took me to meet them. As a 14 year old, seeing that you could be creative in a corporate environment blew my mind– I immediately decided that this was the job for me.

I went on to study communication design and later took a job at a boutique studio in Melbourne, Australia. I learned very quickly that clients don’t always have the best taste, but they do pay the bills and that can sometimes mean compromising good design for the sake of the client relationship, a skill I became better at as the years passed but one that chipped away at my passion for the job. I found myself seeking creative hobbies outside of work and dusted off my vector illustration skills, bringing to life my favourite anime characters and childhood heroes. A tragically wonky start, but it lit a creative spark that I hadn’t felt in a long time. I poured myself into my art, found a community online and all of a sudden people started to email me about commissions– I wasn't exactly sure what I had stumbled upon, but I knew I wanted to cultivate it.

Excited to share my new found passion, I signed up to my first convention in 2017, opened an Etsy store and started to look at this passion project as more of a business. Over the next two years I slowly transitioned from a studio designer to a freelance illustrator and designer.

Can you tell us about some of your favorite pieces or a past or upcoming project? What makes them special to you?

Most of my favourite pieces are the ones that have challenged me or helped me to find a new stride in style and skill. There is a sense of accomplishment when you have pushed yourself and it all comes together. I recently finished a series of comic covers for Image Comics’ C.O.W.L. 1964 series that I’m very proud of. They mimic a bold Saul Bass 60’s aesthetic and I worked hard on conveying the important character details in very few shapes– It really tested my shape language and colour theory!

Can you tell us about Imperium and Bad Blood – what inspired you to bring storytelling into the world of playing cards?

I’m a big people watcher— one of my favourite pastimes is sitting at a cafe thinking up stories about the people who wander in and out— and as I gathered research for Imperium the curiosity of other people's motivations and quirks helped shape the project. The project quickly evolved from card design into true character design. I had 14 cards to create and as I started the process, I quickly realised that 14 different hair styles wasn’t going to cut it. To deliver the best designs each card needed a purpose and a back story. Who are these ladies? What motivates them? What makes them curious? Where do they live? I began jotting down little notes about who each card could be and I realized that I had unintentionally started building a little world for each of these characters to live in. My friend Rachelle Heger was the one who pointed out that I had the beginnings of my own universe and that I should develop it out more. After plotting down a rough concept I asked Rachelel if she would write some short stories to help build it out. We published the stories in the Imperium Art book. At the time I didn't realise how meaningful this would be, a number of people reached out and told me how much they enjoyed playing with the deck because each card had a story. The more I thought about it, the more I realised it was a shame that the narrative and the cards didn't interact more, thus the concept for Bad Blood came to life– playing cards with a murder mystery game.

Color plays a huge role in your work — how do you go about building a palette for a new piece or project?

Colour is the essence of my work, and my favourite part of the process. Colour is a huge narrative component of any piece, I build palettes around the theme and mood I’m aiming to convey. I’ll create a block out of the piece with a rough colour palette as a first draft and once the layout is in place I'll refine the colour palette and build out the piece from there. The palette develops slightly as I get into the second draft, having a lineless style I rely on colour to create definition in my work and sometimes I’ll need to add in one or two more colours or variations to create better distinction between shapes or give more defined depth of field.

With so many collaborations under your belt, what kind of briefs or clients get you the most excited these days?

I spend so much time working by myself these days that any project that allows a collaborative process gets me excited. Nothing enhances the creative process like a good team, having other people to bounce ideas off of or help refine your vision only makes the project stronger.

Looking back, what was a turning point in your career where you thought, ‘This is it — I’m doing what I love’?

Over the years there have been a number of moments that have given me this feeling, one of the most memorable was opening my comps from my very first variant cover, Radiant Pink issue #1. I was leaving the house to meet my Dad for a coffee and the postie met me half way up the drive and handed me an oddly shaped mailer, with an address in the top left hand corner I didn't recognize. I cracked it open to find comic comps I didn’t even know I was getting, I remember sitting on the front steps staring at them in awe. I’ve sent SO many things to print over the years but never has my name been credited on the back of something that is internationally distributed. Also in the mailer was the B cover design by Tom Whalen, a true master of his craft– someones who work I was honored to be next to. I was late for my coffee, I think I sat there for about 10 minutes just taking it in, so thankful for the opportunity.

For illustrators trying to build their own visual language and stand out, what’s one piece of advice you wish you had earlier on?

Building your own visual language takes time, and a lot of trial and error– I think it took me almost 3 years to confidently know what my style was, and it’s always evolving. Early on I felt the pressure to only make art that was perfect, everything needed to be a social media post so I couldn't waste an illustration on simply trying something new. Which is ridiculous, it's ok to have folders of ‘failed’ drafts and finished images that the only purpose is to refine or try a new technique. Keep practicing, practice is the only way you refine your skills and find your visual language.

What is a fun fact about you?

My holiday speciality is Baileys Tiramisu!

What else fills your time when you’re not creating art?

I try my hardest to use my time away from the computer as a recharge, when you work for yourself burn out comes easy. Nothing pleases me more than soaking up the sunshine, be it a long walk, reading in the park, drinks with friends or a day at Disneyland. I’m a big ‘experiences girl’ so I love getting out of the house and trying and seeing new things.