Harry W. Campbell III, a successful illustrator and writer who was an adjunct faculty member at the Maryland Institute College of Art, died from cancer Aug. 24 at his Roland Park home. He was 61.

“His work is marvelous, and he has deep concepts. He thinks sideways, and he’s able to conceptualize text and translate it into illustrations,” said Ann Feild, a former Baltimore Sun graphic artist.

“When you start doing New Yorker covers, well, that’s the crème de la crème. His work is extremely crisp, clean and provocative. His art is universal,” Feild said.

“He tried a variety of styles and did them very well, and that by itself is not an easy thing to do,” Kevin O’Malley, Mr. Campbell’s brother-in-law, said. “He settled on a style that pleased me to no end — graphic, clean, and clever.”

Harry Woodruff Campbell III, son of Harry W. Campbell II, a lawyer, and Helen Nicklay Campbell, a registered nurse, was born in Red Bank, New Jersey, and raised in Middletown, New Jersey, where he graduated from Middletown High School.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in illustration from MICA in 1986, he opened a screen-printing company and then moved to New York City, where he worked for a garment manufacturing company drawing characters that were printed on clothing.

In 1990, he married Melissa R. Platt, a graphic designer whom he met when both were students at MICA.

After working in package design for Warner Brothers, his big break came when he began illustrating for Nickelodeon and Entertainment Weekly.

After winning several awards from the Society of Illustrators and Communication Arts, Mr. Campbell, who had turned 40, suddenly became noticed and compiled a list of major clients.

“I could never figure out how he drew such sensual lines with a computer,” said Victor Juhasz, a New Jersey illustrator and longtime friend.

“He had a beautiful mind, and the way he looked at the world and how he contemplated it he shared through his artwork,” said Peter M. Jackson, a longtime friend.

Mr. Campbell, his wife and their three sons moved to Roland Park in 1999, where he continued his freelance career. At his death, he was still working and writing a graphic memoir, his wife said.

An avid biker, Mr. Campbell, who was diagnosed with cancer a decade ago, became an active volunteer with Moveable Feast, which helps supply people suffering from life-threatening illnesses with food.

Campbell was the co-founder of Rebels With a Cause, which rode in the Moveable Feast annual Ride for the Feast fundraiser.

“When I’m in the doom spiral, I look for handholds to pull myself back out,” Mr. Campbell had written on his blog. “The handholds are everywhere—they are my children, my wife, soft sun through the windows, fresh air on my face, making plans, dreaming of plans … the act of drawing is still my escape.”

A celebration of life will be held at 5 p.m. on Oct. 13 at Gertrude’s, 10 Art Museum Drive, Baltimore.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by his three sons, Ian M. Campbell and Evan R. Campbell, both of Charles Village, and Rowan W.H. Campbell of Boston; a brother, Michael Campbell of Pennsylvania; and a sister, Michelle Campbell, of New Jersey.