From Market to Cover

From Market to Cover is a curated series of hand-drawn digital illustrations exploring globally sourced fruits, vegetables, and seafood.
Originally inspired by a commissioned magazine cover for the National Museum of Australia, this project expands on the study of raw ingredients as primary visual subjects.
Presented across two large-scale compositions (A-M and N-Z), the series highlights texture, colour and cultural identity — demonstrating how individual ingredients can become powerful editorial visuals.
This body of work reflects my approach to food illustration for magazine covers, cultural publications, posters and hospitality branding.

Illustration of various animals and fruits, including a crab, a fish, a spider crab, a pineapple, a durian, a dragon fruit, a seedling, a strawberry, a sea urchin, a pufferfish, a sea cucumber, a chordate, a shell, and a sea worm.

A-M includes: Abalone, Blue Swimmer Crab, Cherimoya, Delicata Squash, Eel, Fig, Gac Fruit, Herring, Indian Fig, Japanese Sea Urchin, Kiwano, Longsat, Malabar Spinach

Diagram of various fruits, vegetables, herbs, and seafood labeled with letters, including an oyster mushroom, pine cone, bell pepper, broccoli, onion, turmeric root, raspberry, tomato, strawberry, peach, orange, apple, fish, and other produce.

N-Z includes: Needle Fish, Oca, Purslana, Quandong, Romanesco, Salak, Taro, Ugli Fruit, Velvet Apple, Wasabi Root, Xoconostle, Yellow Tail, Zizphus Jujuba

Drawing of a fish with shiny blue and silver scales, facing left, on a plain light background.

Colorful illustration of a spiky, oval-shaped pufferfish with a bright orange body and blue eyes, against a plain white background.

Closer look:

Illustration of a green leafy plant with a reddish stem.

Digital artwork of a yellow-orange pepino melon with a black and green stem on a plain white background.

Process:

The series began with ingredient research and compositional studies, exploring how a scattered layout could feel both organic and editorial. Early sketches focused on balancing scale, colour, texture and negative space across two canvases.

Hand-drawn sketch of various fruits and vegetables with labeled notes. The sketches include strawberries, durian, figs, and other produce, with some color accents on the right side.

Sketches of various fruits, vegetables, and plants, with handwritten labels and a color illustration of produce on the right side, including tomatoes, lettuce, strawberries, and garlic.

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