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1. Tell us more about your background and journey.
So I am currently a 22-year-old illustrator and artist working independently with musicians, authors and magazines to create surreal dystopian illustrations as per their requirements. I am heavily influenced by the surrealism movement in art history.
I draw a lot of inspiration from quotes in films or lyrics in a song, music is one of my biggest influences and thus helps me work well with musicians as well. I also work as an art director and content creator on various projects. I am drawn to all things visual, art and film are my two biggest interests and I hope to make my own animated film someday.
2. When did you decide you wanted to be an illustrator?
Ever since I was a child, I was always drawn towards creating art. I used to scribble on walls and in my school notebooks all the time. I even got in trouble for most of it. After 10th grade, I stopped pursuing art even as a hobby and focused more on my education. Two years down the line I found myself in college doing a course that simply wasn't my cup of tea.
In 2017, after much courage and research, I decided to quit the course I was doing and moved back home. It was a very difficult time having to deal with the comments from people I knew, extended family or even my neighbours. At the time I didn't even know what I was going to pursue or where I was going next.
I decided to spend my time wisely and began learning graphic design through youtube tutorials and trial and error practice. Eventually, I began freelancing as a graphic designer. Fast forward a year and I was doing well in the industry, with a happy clientele and a versatile portfolio to show off.
Eventually, I found out about the market for illustrators and how much scope the career path has if you just play your cards right. I immediately applied for an internship at a renowned design agency in Bangalore so I could learn more about how illustrators work in the industry, what kind of projects they get and just to get a clearer idea of the entire profession.
I also began posting illustrations on my Instagram account which eventually gained me a lot of attraction and built a solid following, people keep coming back to me to tell me that my illustrations really change their lives. It's a beautiful feeling honestly and it inspires me to keep going.
3. Is it a financially stable career?
Like I said before, it is if you play your cards right. To get paid well for doing something you love is a boon. There are numerous ways in which an illustrator can make a good amount of money monthly, from doing commissions to selling your art, there are a lot of viable options available and with social media progressing into a more visual space with the popularity of platforms like Instagram and TikTok, the need for more visual content is increasing among brands and people.
The inflow of money is a bit fluctuating, especially as a freelancer. You're going to want to save up when you get paid well and really budget your finances. It is very much a stable career right now, you just need to be a bit responsible about the way you're spending because if you end up with no upcoming projects one month, you're going to be in a pickle.
4. Who is your favourite illustrator and why?
My favourite illustrator would be Victo Ngai, she is an award-winning illustrator from HongKong. I love her work because of the level of intricacy and how well she tells a story through just one visual. Her work was very essential in helping me find my own personal art style and define a genre and theme that I was going to associate my art with.
5. Where do you get inspired to create art?
Most of my inspiration comes from my state of mind and state of being. I believe my art to be very emotional and a reflection of my state of mind at that given point. While I do delve in many surreal concepts, I love the idea of metaphorically representing abstract concepts like emotions, ideas, feelings etc.
I do not, however, endorse the idea that you need to be sad or a struggling person to create good art. I believe being in a good mental state is what is going to aid you to create with proper clarity. Yes, we all have bad days and yes, we're all going to resonate with sad painful art, but while we do we must keep in check whether we're overriding some serious mental health issues by normalising pain and sadness.
I think it's very important to establish the difference between sad art and depressing art. If you're going through something you should definitely seek professional help. My art is a form of venting, my everyday emotions. Sometimes my best works of art are made on my worst days and I think that speaks something.
I've also conducted a few workshops on learning to translate your feelings into artworks, I am a very empathetic person and this forms a huge part of my identity as an artist.
6. What does your typical day look like?
A typical day, now especially during the pandemic, is actually filled entirely with work. Since I work as a freelancer I tend to take up 3-4 projects at a time. So I wake up early around 6 am and get in some exercise, I do yoga and pilates to keep my mind and body in good shape. I usually get to work around 9 or 10 and this goes on until 5 or 6 in the evening.
This work could range from conceptualising shoots, ad creatives, illustrating commissions or even working on personal projects. Post 6 I try to give time to my other interests, I have vocal classes on some days, some days I try to learn something or watch a film and somedays I honestly just laze around and spend the rest of the day doing nothing.
7. What piece of advice would you like to give to future aspiring illustrators?
Don't ever give up. In the field of illustration especially with the existence of social media, it's so easy for us to look at others and compare ourselves to them. It's so easy to get overwhelmed by the number of likes and engagement, at some point you are going to get sucked into it.
It's important to maintain a level head and always make sure that as an artist you are doing what you need to and what you want to. At every stage in your career ask yourself if these artworks are ethical if they reflect your morals if you are putting a part of yourself into this piece of art.
There is also an increased pressure to follow trends, stay relevant and the worst of all; find an art style. Its almost like due to the incredibly high number of illustrator accounts online its almost impossible to set yourself apart if you don't have a distinct style going on.
I'm here to tell any future/current illustrators that might be going through this that it is completely okay to not have a style set in right. It comes with time and practice and noticing subconscious patterns or visual elements that you are personally drawn to creating. It is completely okay to take your time to climb the ladder, as long as you don't remain stagnant and are climbing upward.
8. Which is your favourite book and why?
I'm not an avid reader so I don't really have a favourite book per se. I do really love this one picture book called Hope for the Flowers by Trina Paulus. It talks about the story of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly and the amount of anxiety and self-doubt he goes through before finally deciding to take the leap of faith into the unknown.
Interview by - Shamayla
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