How I did it?

I was recently asked a question about how my illustrations come into being.

So I thought it might be interesting to show you an example (based on the illustration from my previous post) how the illustration looks like BEFORE it is being worked on. These are the rough drawings that were sent to the editor so that they could decide if that is what they want.

In the end a pose with some loose hair won and went into the colouring and background adding stage.

All elements are drawn by hand, then scanned and then coloured in the computer:

Oh, I could SO use some of that!

I am just back from an extensive trip to Poland and I have already managed to loose my Polish mobile card! What a nuissance, let's update the blog with the latest work (published this month in Twoj Styl magazine) and chant ommmmmmmmmm instead.....

Facial Yoga

Have you heard about facial yoga? I was really surprised when a beauty editor got in touch about illustrating a feature about these exercises. You are supposed to do lots of funny faces that are going to strenghten your muscles and stop your face from sagging.

Here are some asanas for your face that I prepared for this feature. I will be able to unveil the finished illustration in next couple of weeks.

Lady behind the wheel

The blog was very quiet for a while and unfotunately will have to stay that way for another while before I will be able to gradually dig myself out from under a pile of previously arranged work (mostly in photography which was recently published in The Financial Times, yay!). So watch this space and for the time being I am posting my latest illustration that has just been published in Twoj Styl magazine this Autumn.

The illustration is about a growing number of female drivers:

A profile of a lady

A quick post about some latest work that I was preparing recently for an editorial illustration:

Die Illustratorin

I have recently came accross this short film about Tina Berning's work. I have admired her (from afar of course) work for many years and I hope one day I will be able to achieve a similar quality in my work!

Meanwhile, have a look:

http://youtu.be/gCLei-Nmevc

Glitter thoughts

All house got covered in red glitter but I am very happy with the result of another mix of photography with some non photographic media:

End of procrastinating

And back to work again! It will be quite a full on week with a new comission and 3 photoshoots but at least summer sales have started so it is a good reason to avoid spending all my money when things can get even cheaper in next couple of days!

Here is the full illustration that you have seen in bits so far and I am off to look for an eyepatch and painting foil necessary for my tasks in next couple of days (do not ask...). I will better give the Harvey Nichols a wide berth today...

Procrastinating

I have spent the whole day catching up with my favourite blogs (for the first time in weeks I had the whole day free and without any stress of an imminent deadline!) and making some notes about what to get during upcoming summer sales!

Elizabeth

The brief for this editorial illustration was mentioning an English queen and I was hoping to be able to draw HM Elizabeth II with her floral dresses and quirky hats but it turned out that the editor ment the very first Elizabeth. And she is only featured in the background of the illustration anyway.

Here we are:

Out of the box

I think I have to start thinking out of the box - the deadline for this commission is approaching fast!

The diet plan - continuation

I hope you remember my illustration for a 'diet article' in this month issue of Twoj Styl magazine - here is the final version.

Meanwhile, inspired by my own work (ha!) I went for a jog yesterday (I am recovering today and it is raining heavily anyway) and now I am having some supertasty and healthy Spring food aka the green British asparagus with a fresh organic steamed salmon. So the idea of getting some more physical activity + a better diet is working for me so far!

Husband in a good company

My husband has two prints for sale at the prestigeous viennese West Licht Photographica Auction! The bidding finishes on 28th of May so go, have a look and buy!

P.S. I had to plaster the images with a watermark so that teenage girls would not post them all over their tumblrs without crediting the photographer, grrrrr...

I like when clients pay promptly

Proof in the images (paid household bills not displayed) :

- Marc's bag (I have managed to snatch the last one in red at Harvey Nichs)

- COS shirt that required a trip to Glasgow but was a perfect sartirial choice for an important client meeting

- Earl Grey tea from Mariage Freres - my favourite kind of black tea, with milk or without

Fairy tale with knobs on aka The Royal Wedding

India Knight in the Sunday Times News Review christened todays event as 'a fairytale with knobs on' and I am looking forward to see how Sarah Burton's design works on Princess Kate.

So before I am off to celebrate our extra free day (and my husband goes to get himself a royal wedding sick bag) I am posting this illustration that I did a while ago for the royal engagement. As usual please click on the image to see it much bigger:

Spring dieting

The Spring has arrived and it is time to do some dieting. I must confess that I have gained a bit of weight over the Scottish Winter and I have even started a gentle running regime to lose the flabby bits that suddenly appeared around my waist. However I still would eat anything what my character has on her 'red list' over what I have included on her 'green' one...


The illustrations were prepared for an article about changing our dieting habits so that to loose weight for good. I would be interested in Tracy Anderson's routine that British press is recommending to speed one's slimming down process but so far a circle around the Meadows will have to do.

As usual - please click on the images to enlarge them:

...and a bit about the decision making

Please click on the images to see all the details!

A bit about the stage fright

So far I was doing just pretty illustrations for Twoj Styl for their beauty section but to break this 'vanity spell' the picture editor commissioned a set of illustrations for their new 'self-help' feature. The first set is the version of the illustrations that is published with the text about decision-making skills and the current one is about...the stage fright!

It was a very interesting text to read and a very interesting task to illustrate the fear of public speaking. In both cases the illustrations show two stages - before and after:

Breathing excercises in print

My illustrations were published in the current issue of Twoj Styl magazine - the next issue contains some more of my drawings in their 'self help / psychology' section:

I would love to feel like that...

And this is how you would feel after making a right decision:

Decisions decisions

I am rubbish at decisions making.

For example last week I went to spend some of my hard earned cash on some shoes ( a girl always need shoes, right?), I decided to buy them within 2 minutes of wearing them in the shop. Came back home and then decided that well, I do not like them that much after all. And they do not go with any of my skirts ( a classic case of too slim legs combined with too sturdy shoes, I looked like I have stolen them from an older brother that I do not have!). Well, to my disappointment the shop protects itself from such undecided shoppers like me and it turned out that I am not able to get my cash back when returning the shoes, I will get a store credit.

So now I do not have anything nice to wear this early Spring and all my cash is locked in some stupid shop's store credit!

No wonder that when Twoj Styl comissioned me with illustration an article about decision making I knew too well how to prepare the drawings! These are some of the proposals for this commission. Stage one (I seem to be permanently in that stage with my decisions...):

Slimming down

The latest illustration for Twoj Styl's beauty section comes bang on time - I have to confess that I have gained some weight over Christmass and from size 8-10 now I have to look into size 10-12. I hope to start some much needed (also for some relax purposes) exercising the moment when weather improves (I hate the gym threadmill and I am scared of all the germs that sweaty human beings leave on the gym equipment - weird, I know!) but this illustration depicts a special machine called Zeltiq, that actually freezes the fat off one's butt (and other flabby bits if necessary)! Looks like some monster from a science fiction movie but apparently it works.

Here are some trial versions I did and soon I will publish the version that the editor has chosen:

Breath in, breath out

I was hoping to post my new illustration (for an article about breathing exercises) for Twoj Styl a bit earlier but a sudden bout of flu stopped me in my tracks. So let's breath in deeply and have a look:

New new new!

I am back in Edinburgh after my annual trip to Poland.

This year I have failed to buy ANYTHING at the sales though I usually find Polish brands to be very exciting and well priced (hello Simple, hello Solar). Even though my shopping was nonexistant, my stay in Warsaw was pleasant and as usual I have sent out some promos to several Polish magazines - busy bee.

Some editors have already got back to me so we will see how our cooperation is going to be like in 2011! I am extremely excited and about to send out some nice promos to the British mags as well.

Here is a sneak peak of what went into the orange envelopes:

Welcome in 2011!

There are big changes coming up during this first week of January 2011 - The Illustrious Illustrator has a new website! Finally, a proper, grown up version of my online portfolio showing my work to it's best. Let's hope that art directors and picture editors will notice...

And after a long while my old header had to be exchanged for a new goggie, but let's not forget the old one which I am posting here -it (kind of) has a sentimental value: