Look at your own feelings and experiences rather than your Instagram feed.
Tell us about yourself (Name, where do you live, what do you do for a living)?
My name’s Radostina and I’m an independent illustrator and designer with a newly found passion for jewelry making. I grew up in a small Bulgarian town next to the Black Sea coast but moved to Sofia (the capital city) to kick off my design and illustration journey.
What type of art do you feel most connected to?
All of it! Art is all around us and I try to appreciate and acknowledge it as much as possible, no matter if it’s visual art, a quality movie, theatre, dance, music, or a delicious meal.
How long have you been drawing or illustrating?
For fun - since I was a kid. Professionally - for 3 years.
What inspires you most to illustrate?
I find inspiration in the process itself, in collaborating with like-minded people, and in getting feedback. Scrolling through Instagram or Pinterest never really did the trick for me. If I can’t think of anything to draw I start writing random words until an interesting metaphor or concept pops up in my mind.
Do you remember your first-ever illustration? What was it?
Well, not the first but I definitely remember the first piece that got me in trouble. The 6-year-old me really thought some doodles would make the wallpaper in the living room stand out and be more unique. My mom and I had very different opinions about my wall art.
Describe your creative illustration process
For commissions, I follow a strict process to make sure I end up with a working solution. First I dive deep into the brief and ask questions that help me understand the goals of the project. Once I have everything I need, I collect a few different mood boards and together with the client discuss which art direction in which art matches their expectations the best.
With the right references in hand, I start sketching the concepts and defining the storytelling. If I’m stuck, I write keywords and collect images associated with the topic I’m illustrating. That helps me come up with interesting and simple metaphors for otherwise complicated topics.
I use the first approved sketches to experiment with colors, textures, and brushes and define a style that fits the goals of the project. This usually involves a couple of feedback sessions to polish the direction and make sure that we have a flexible style that works in different use cases.
Once I have the first approved illustrations, I go on with the rest following a simple process: concepts → sketches → feedback → illustrating → feedback → final visual.
For my personal work, I do whatever feels right. Sometimes I start with keywords or random sketches and sometimes I jump directly into drawing with colorful splashes.
Where do you see yourself in the future?
Nowadays it’s so easy to connect and create together with people from all over the world. I love that and I hope in the future I continue to expand my network and work on more interesting projects. Hopefully, the future will be much better at time management and planning.
What three things would you tell others to get inspired to make art during Covid-19?
Think of art as if you’re a kid and drop the expectations.
Look at your own feelings and experiences rather than your Instagram feed.
Don’t wait for inspiration and don’t try too hard to find it outside your own mind. Just draw some random lines, write some words, and start playing with your thoughts.
Which tools do you use to illustrate? Which one do you use the most?
Since I got my iPad, Procreate is my favorite illustration app for personal work and small commissions. I use Adobe Illustrator when I’m going for a minimalistic style, and Photoshop when I want to achieve a more textured and hand-drawn look (Kyle’s brushes are irreplaceable for me).
How can others find your work or connect with you?
For regular updates and work in progress, you can follow me on Instagram. From time to time I write and upload case studies on my website. Still figuring out how twitter works but I’d be happy to connect there as well.
