Hi! I'm Sam Gilbey, and I've been drawing for as long as I can remember, and illustrating professionally since 2004. My distinctive painterly illustrations have been featured in books, magazines, comics and exhibitions worldwide, and also on television.
Click the image below to visit/sign up to my Domestika course on painting digital pop culture portraits in Photoshop.
Over the years I've created artwork for a wide range of clients either directly or indirectly including Adidas, Activision, Apple, Audi, BBC, British Airways, CollegeHumor, Disney, Edgar Wright, Empire Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Esquire, GQ, Gymshark, Hasbro, HBO, The Hollywood Reporter, The Guardian, Lucasfilm, Manga UK, Marvel Studios, Paramount Pictures, Picturehouse Cinemas, Playstation, Rian Johnson, 20th Century Fox, SciFiNow, Sony Pictures, Spotify, Steven Soderbergh, STUDIOCANAL, Total Film, Twitter, Virgin Atlantic, Walt Disney Studios, Wired and Working Title.
I've produced officially licensed pop culture artwork for properties including Alien, The Avengers, Batman, Bob's Burgers, Bojack Horseman, David Bowie, Call of Duty, Captain Marvel, Die Hard, Flash Gordon, Ghostbusters, Masters of the Universe, Monty Python, Rocky, The Muppets, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Godfather, The Karate Kid, Trainspotting, Transformers, Scarface, Spider-Man, Universal Studios (Back to the Future, E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, Hellboy, Jaws, Jurassic Park and Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg's 'Blood and Ice Cream' trilogy), WALL-E and The Warriors.
I've also contributed to more than 60 pop culture group exhibitions in the UK and US, and have been invited to talk about my work at various events and venues, including the MCM London Comic Con and both the Regent Street and Covent Garden Apple Stores in London.
Drop me an email and/or follow me on Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Instagram , Behance and LinkedIn.
I'm represented in the UK, France, Australia and Norway by Central Illustration Agency. I'm a Poster Posse Pro in the US and I'm also a Domestika Teacher.
It was amazing to be able to present Edgar Wright with my officially licensed 'Cornetto trilogy' prints (produced in collaboration with Iron Gut Publishing), and for Edgar to post a photo of Simon Pegg with them on social media.
"#SensationalSam"
Mark Hamill
"Bravo."
Pedro Pascal
"Dude this is fantastic! Perfect. So good!!"
Rian Johnson
"That is so awesome."
Edgar Wright
"This is effing awesome!"
Simon Pegg
"Beautiful work."
Jonathan Ross
"Sam just has a knack for finding the emotional core of every subject in his portraiture."
Adam Martin, owner, Hero Complex Gallery, Los Angeles
"Few people do a better job of capturing not just an actor, but the essence of a performance than British illustrator Sam Gilbey."
Cineplex Magazine
PRODUCTS
Officially licensed prints and enamel pin badges are available periodically from my store.
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- Considering Art, interview, Feb 2021
- Poster Posse Palooza, live drawing panel, Oct 2020
- AMPjam, creative process demo and interview, Sep 2020
- Adobe Live, portrait demo and interview, Aug 2020
- Flixwatcher, discussing Back to the Future Part II, Feb 2020
- Flixwatcher, discussing The Thing, Oct 2019
EVENTS
Hosting a talk and live art workshop at the Covent Garden Apple Store, May 2019.
Hosting a talk and live art workshop at the Regent Street Apple Store, January 2018.
Speaking about my work at the Covent Garden Apple Store, March 2016.
My full BLAB talk, Band on the Wall, Manchester, February 2014.
I've spoken at Apple, Behance and Blab events, and taken part in several live drawing events and panel discussions. Please get in touch if you'd like to book me for an event.
- AMPjam Online Poster Convention, live demonstration, September 2020
- Portrait Painting, Adobe Live, August 2020
- Lunch and Learn, online workshop, Perspective Pictures, May 2020
- Thought Bubble, Harrogate Comic Art Festival, September 2019
- MCM London Comic Con, October 2019
- Official Stranger Things art book signing, Forbidden Planet London Megastore, October 2019
- MCM Manchester Comic Con, July 2019
- MCM London Comic Con, May 2019
- Apple Covent Garden talk and workshop, May 2019
- Guest artist at Nottingham Comic Con, May 2019
- MCM London Comic Con, October 2018
- Thought Bubble, Leeds Comic Art Festival, September 2018
- MCM London Comic Con, May 2018
- Two panels on movie poster creation with The Poster Posse, MCM Birmingham Comic Con, March 2018
- Regent Street Apple Store talk and workshop, January 2018
- Wacom-sponsored panel on poster creation with Poster Spy, MCM London Comic Con, October 2017
- Brighton Illustration Fair, October 2017
- Thought Bubble, Leeds Comic Art Festival, September 2017
- Behance 'creative portfolio powerup' event (talk and discussion leader), Google Campus London, May 2016
- Covent Garden Apple Store talk, March 2016
- Hastings Illustration Festival (HiFest), December 2015
- Brighton Illustration Fair, May 2015
- Hastings Illustration Festival (HiFest) – including participation in panel discussion, December 2014
- BLAB speaker, Band on the Wall, Manchester, February 2014. Video above
- Official Movember Gala Party artist, The Roundhouse, London, November 2013
- Adidas Yamamoto F50 boot launch, October 2013
- Ninja Scroll poster signing, The Hackney Picturehouse, London, November 2012
- Glug 'Beautiful Summer' live artist, Cargo, London, May 2012
EXHIBITIONS
At the opening of Hero Complex Gallery's official Marvel Avengers: Age of Ultron exhibition, May 2015.
I've contributed to over 60 group pop culture exhibitions, including official Marvel, Bad Robot, Bob's Burgers, Edgar Wright and Joss Whedon shows. Directors and actors including Wes Anderson, Joe Cornish, Nick Frost, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Gareth Jones, Ralph Macchio, Simon Pegg, Quentin Tarantino, Colin Trevorrow, Edgar Wright and William Zabka own my work.
Remaining limited edition prints can be purchased directly from Gallery1988, Spoke Art and Hero Complex galleries.
2018
- Crazy 4 Cult, Gallery 1988, LA, December
- Official WWE exhibition, Gallery 1988, LA, November
- Official Wes Anderson's Isle of Dogs exhibition, Spoke Art, NYC, November
- Official Monty Python exhibition, Gallery 1988, LA, January
2017
- John McTiernan tribute exhibition, Hero Complex Gallery, LA, December
- Crazy4Cult XI, Gallery 1988, LA, November
- Miyazaki – second art show tribute, Spoke Art, NYC, October
- Official Bojack Horseman/Netflix exhibition, Gallery 1988, LA, September
- 30 Years Later, Gallery 1988, LA, July
- Blacklight, Hero Complex Gallery, LA, May
- Miyazaki – an art show tribute, Spoke Art, SF, February
2016
- Stars on Canvas 2016 (charity exhibition), London, November
- SEQUEL 2, iambit, LA, November
- Crazy4Cult X, Gallery 1988, LA, October
- 7th Annual Wes Anderson tribute, Spoke Art, NYC, October
- 20 Years Later, Gallery 1988, LA, July
- Lord of Thrones, Spoke Art, SF, June
- Cardistry, Hero Complex Gallery, LA, May
- Official 20th Century Fox Bob's Burgers exhibition, Gallery1988, LA, May
- 30 Years Later, Gallery 1988, LA, March
- Wondercon, exhibiting with Hero Complex Gallery, LA, March
- Zelda 30 year celebration, Hero Complex Gallery, LA, February
2015
- NYCC, exhibiting with Hero Complex Gallery, NYC, November
- Daft Punk 3, Gauntlet Gallery, SF, August
- 6th Annual Wes Anderson tribute, Spoke Art (at Joseph Gross gallery), NYC, August
- Both Sides: a show celebrating heroes and villains, Gallery 1988, LA, July
- Clue: an art show inspired by your favourite murder mystery, Gallery 1988, LA, June
- 10th Anniversary, iam8bit, LA, June
- Art show tribute to the works of Jeunet and Caro, Spoke Art, SF, May
- Official Marvel Avengers: Age of Ultron, Hero Complex Gallery, LA, April/May
- Is This Thing On? #4, Gallery 1988, LA, February
2014
- Crazy4Cult 8, Gallery1988, LA, December
- Stars on Canvas 2014 (charity exhibition), London, November
- Kung Fu Theatre, Hero Complex Gallery, LA, November
- Bad Dads V (Wes Anderson tribute), Spoke Art, SF, October/November
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 'Legend of the Yokai', House of Vans, London, October
- Joss Whedon official tribute show, Gallery 1988, LA, September
- Kubrick tribute show, Spoke Art, SF, September
- Quentin vs. Coen: art tribute to Tarantino & the Coen Brothers, Spoke Art, SF, July
- Kings of Cult: art tribute to Roger Corman & Joe Dante, Hero Complex Gallery, LA, May
- The Subtle Art of Pop Culture (10 year anniversary show), Gallery 1988, LA, April
- When The Lights Go Out 2 (glow in the dark show), Bottleneck Gallery, NYC, March
- King for a Day (Stephen King tribute), Hero Complex Gallery, LA, March
- In Dreams (David Lynch tribute), Spoke Art, SF, March
- It Came From 1984, Bottleneck Gallery, NYC, February
- Imagined Worlds, Hero Complex Gallery, LA, January
2013
- Crazy4Cult 7, Gallery 1988, NYC, December
- Bad Dads IV (Wes Anderson tribute), Spoke Art, SF, October/November
- Smile You Son of a Bitch! (Jaws tribute), Hero Complex Gallery, LA, November
- Crazy 4 Cult 'Say Hi To The Bad Guy', Gallery 1988, LA, October
- Art V Cancer (charity exhibition), 2022NQ, Manchester, August
- The Official Edgar Wright Art Show, Gallery 1988, LA, August
- RED (curated by Planet Pulp), Hero Complex Gallery, LA, July
- The Official Bad Robot Art Experience, Gallery 1988, LA, April/May
- Scorsese: an art show tribute (curated by Spoke Art), Bold Hype, NYC, April
- The Humorist (Woody Allen show), Gallery1988, LA, January
2012
- Stars on Canvas 2012 (charity exhibition), London, November
2011
- Raw 5, Manchester, September
2010
- Spacenite 2 (Bill Mantlo tribute), Portland, December
- Star on Canvas 2010 (charity exhibition), London, November
- Images 34 (Association of Illustrators exhibition), London, September
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost with the artwork I created for the test shoot of Paul, Shepperton Studios, 2008.
My artwork on a limited edition steelbook blu-ray cover of The Karate Kid. For Sony Pictures via Gallery1988.