Opie is a British artist born in London in 1958. He is most well known for his portraits and animated walking figures rendered with minimal detail in black line drawing; hallmarks of the artist’s style.

Opie graduated from Goldsmiths, University of London in 1983, where he was taught by conceptual artist and painter Michael Craig-Martin. Opie emerged as an influential figure in the British art scene of the 1980s after producing a series of painted metal sculptures that humorously combined loosely painted imagery with steel shapes. His themes have been described as "engagement with art history, use of new technology, obsession with the human body" and "work with one idea across different media". When asked to describe his approach, Opie said "I often feel that trying to make something realistic is the one criterion I can feel fairly sure of. Another one I sometimes use is, would I like to have it in my room? And I occasionally use the idea, if God allowed you to show Him one [portrait] to judge you by, would this really be it?"

Opie's graphic portrait style and his use of computer aided design has enabled him to move between the fields of contemporary art and commercial design: in 2000, he was commissioned to design an album cover for British pop band Blur, and in 2006, he created an LED projection for U2's Vertigo world tour.

Opie has exhibited nationally and internationally at major institutions and galleries. Solo exhibitions have included the Sakshi Gallery (Mumbai, 2012), the Lisson Gallery (Milan, 2011); Institut Valencià d' Art Modern (Valencia, 2010), Museum of Applied Arts (Vienna, 2008), City Hall Park (New York, (2004), and the Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, (Munich, 1999). His work was included in group shows at City Public Art Space in London (2012); Kunstmuseum in Wolfsburg, Germany (2011–2012), the Barbican (London, 2011), and the Shanghai Expo (China, 2010).

Six of Opie's portraits are in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London: four portraits of the band members of Blur executed in colour print on paper, one of inventor and engineer Sir James Dyson rendered by inkjet on canvas, and a self-portrait, Julian with t-shirt, executed on an LCD screen with computer software. More than two dozen of Opie's portraits, landscapes, and other works are in the collection of the Tate and six works are in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York.