Illustrator Thibaud Herem is recognized for his incredibly detailed architectural drawings, all hand-drawn. Each of his pieces is made using a careful process of line-making and sometimes coloring, with his more iconic pieces including a recreation of the Grand Budapest and the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
Born in France and currently based in London, Herem is actually trained in graphic design rather than architecture or illustration. “I always wanted to be on the illustration side of things rather than the design side,” he admitted in an interview with Uncube Magazine. “I’m very interested in the aesthetic aspect of architecture and I find that graphic design allows me to learn about this through the construction of images of buildings. In this way I learn about the history of buildings too.”
After establishing himself as a freelance illustrator, Herem published his first book, titled Know Your Rodent, which according to him has further developed his love of illustrating buildings. He had since collaborated with brands and companies, including Soho House, Liberty, Samsung, and Herman Miller.
“For each drawing I find that there is something special about the building that drives me,” he says. “For ‘the Grand Budapest’ it was the symbolism, what the film’s story represented for me, and the great respect that I have for the director. Drawing ‘fiction’ was a first for my practice and something that I enjoyed a lot. I spent 600 hours alone on the drawing before adding the watercolour, during which I felt wholly within Wes Anderson’s universe! So it was the fictional aspect of the building that felt most present to me when I was working on it.”
Take a look at some of his incredible creations.