Following the death of legendary musician David Bowie, illustrators and graphic designers are posting their images interpreting his iconic style and flamboyant fashion.

Bowie died yesterday aged 69 after a 18-month battle with cancer, sparking a global reaction on social media.

One of the most shared images is a gif by British illustrator Helen Green, which flicks through Bowie's style reinventions through the years as his head slowly turns.

The British musician's album covers are also being shared, particularly the portrait of Bowie as alter-ego Ziggy Stardust with a lightning bolt painted over his face for 1973 record Aladdin Sane.

Many illustrators have created variations of the picture, including Von who abstracted the image a watercolour of just the painted area of Bowie's face.

The lightning bolt also features in The Guardian deputy creative director Chris Clarke's tribute, which simply reads "RIP" against a turquoise background, and Gemma Correll's tongue-in-cheek Glam Rock cartoon.

Bowie had a huge influence on style and popular culture since his self-titled debut album was released in 1967. During the 1970s, his androgynous appearance became particularly iconic.

In 2013, London's V&A museum hosted The David Bowie Is... exhibition of original costumes, set designs, photographs, instruments and other objects from his personal archive.

Craig & Karl, based in London and New York, have combined some of Bowie's most recognisable outfits into a geometric cartoon for their tribute. Meanwhile, London designer Rich Fairhead has drawn the singer as a blonde.

French illustrator Jean Jullien, whose Peace for Paris drawing became the symbol of last year's terrorist attacks in the city, posted a simple graphic of the musician's different-coloured eyes and a single tear.

In the age of Instagram, illustration is becoming an important tool for disseminating news and reactions to global events.

Cartoonists and graphic designers, including Jullien, from around the world used their mediums to respond to the attack on French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo last year.