- Tell us a bit about yourself. What drew you to illustration and what inspires you to create?
I am not one of those people that has been drawing since learning how to speak or to hold a pen in my hand, although I would have liked to have had an artistic soul in my family to have handed me that pen. I drew now and then, as most normal kids do, but nothing more than that. It wasn’t until high school that I began to draw a lot more. During my teenage years, I always felt like an outcast and spend most of the time on my own, and so I figured I’d make something useful out of it by drawing. At first, I used only pencils and markers, drawing some mysterious things that lurked my mind, using a lot of black ink and supernatural powers to keep those drawings away from anyone to see. But still today, illustrating is where I feel most comfortable. I find inspiration in little things, and I love creating my own interpretations of everyday events or subjects, but I just translate them into cute characters.
2. Did you study illustration or are you self taught? What are your opinions on art education?
I studied multimedia and some of the elements of graphic design, photography and lettering, but funny enough, illustration is the only class I didn’t have. I learned everything from practice, developing my style throughout the years until I finally felt comfortable that I’m going in the right direction. I do believe art education can be very helpful in the sense of gaining basic knowledge of composition, colour theory and similar, but I also believe that some things as persistence and creativity can’t be taught academically.
3. What is the most challenging or surprising aspects of being an illustrator?
I think that most people would be surprised at how much work goes into creating an illustration. What you see as a viewer is just a finished product, you don’t see all the different sketches or the research that was done until that idea was chosen, or how the characters were shaped along the way.
4. Nowadays, the creative industry is an oversaturated market with both amazing and mediocre imagery. Does this concern you and how do you manage to stay motivated to create in such a crowded environment?
I don’t personally believe there is mediocre imagery, there are only people that might be at the very beginning of their creative journey. So to put labels on any kind of creative work seems a bit wrong, because illustration is not a simple thing, it is a long process. I try to focus solely on my work, and not compare myself to others, and I believe this is why I don’t have problems to stay motivated.
5. Do you think social media is helpful to creatives? How has it affected your practice and is it something you enjoy?
I only use Instagram as a social media channel, and it has been helpful in terms of exposure of my work. It allows me to share some of the progress of the work I make, and now and then, some perhaps more personal thoughts. I do quite enjoy having my feed full of lovely work of other illustrators, looking at cute images often motivates me when I’m working on a long project and can’t wait to start a personal piece.
6. You are a children’s illustrator. What made you choose this specific niche and why is illustration a good medium to use to connect with children? Have you ever discovered any limitations within illustration?
I always felt drawn to children’s illustration because of its cuteness and joyful undertones. Most of the happiest memories from my childhood involve myself with crayons in my hands, and I guess that on some level, illustrating nowadays reminds me of those days. I also think that adults overcomplicate their life, so I’m very much drawn to the simplicity and innocence of the children. I think images capture the children’s eye the fastest, and they can easily connect with the characters, rather than in any other medium. I don’t think there are much limitations within illustration, or I just haven’t encountered any yet.
7. One of the dangers of our contemporary society is the prevalence of technology, and the way that more and more children are spending time online. What are your thoughts about this and is this something you have thought about in relation to the way children view your work online? Also, do you think it is important to bring ideas and education away from the screen and into physical items such as books and posters?
Additionally, do you do this with your work, and if so, do you think that your work is read differently through a book as opposed to a screen?
In the past, I have worked on various apps for iPad and similar devices, but nowadays I strive to avoid these by working on digital media only if it is of educational purposes. I really don’t support digital content that is purely made for entertainment. I don’t believe there is a difference of how my work is perceived whether it is on traditional or digital media, but rather how it’s experienced. There is something much more intimate when holding a book in your hands, rather than looking at a screen
8. Do you think it is important for art to educate and do you think that art is the best medium to do so? How do you try to make your imagery more engaging, so that children and parents are able to learn something from it as opposed to just looking at a nicely created image?
I don’t think the only aspect of art should be to educate, it should also be to teach us about human creativity and to inspire us. I’m not sure whether this is something children and parents can learn from my imagery, but when working on a project, I always try to include little things in my illustrations, such as not drawing male and female characters in they ‘’typical’’ roles, not drawing girls with pink ribbons in their hair or boys playing with cars. I do consider these things to be normal in everyday world, but then on the other hand, I was also contacted to create imagery for a kid’s game where girls would be taught how to play house. Even if you make the most beautiful imagery, there is little value attached to it if you are not teaching kids the right lessons.
9. Your characters are extremely engaging and fun, and, even as an adult, I can’t help be entranced by the narratives you tell through your work! When you create an illustration, who is your main target audience? Do you create work that you think that children will like, or do you ever think about how parents will react, as they are most likely the ones who’ll filter what their children read or watch?
Thank you! Honestly, I never pressure myself to create something someone else will enjoy over creating something I myself consider comfortable illustrating. Everyone will perceive the same image differently, so losing sleep over these things just seems pointless. I mostly focus on developing a character that is unique, that with just one look can tell you his story. I usually have this story written all in my mind, and I do my best to translate that on the illustration.
10. At what point does an idea for a character become a final illustration? Can you talk a bit about the process of creating different characters and how you know when a character is well rounded enough to include in an illustration?
This is probably the hardest question, because I still haven’t found an answer to give. I mostly create characters based on my intuition, adding or deducting details from it until they just feel right. I try to do this for every character on my illustration, so when the illustration is looked as a whole, they create a perfect harmony of personalities.
11. You often create your work digitally, as opposed to physically. Do you find it easier to create work digitally and how do you think that this adds to the way the viewer reacts to the final illustrations? Do you think that people would read your work differently if it wasn’t digital?
I have to say that all my work is created digitally. I do have a big stack of paper close by, but they are rarely used. The main reason is the simplicity and the speed at which I can undo my mistakes in Photoshop. I don’t think that for the viewer there is much difference whether the work is created digitally or otherwise. Sometimes I catch myself looking at other illustrator’s work, guessing what their method is. There are endless brushes packs for Photoshop and Procreate that give an appearance of real oils, paint brush strokes and similar.
12. I recently read your post entitled “How To Keep A Creative Mind Happy” and was really blown away by the points you raised. Can you talk a little bit about your own personal experience of artist’s block and self doubt and how you overcome these whenever they arise? Also, why do you think that creatives tend to be rather reserved in discussing these topics in wider social circles, when it is something everyone faces at some point or other?
I think that the best decision I have made for my illustration career was maybe a bit more personal one – to look after the thoughts in my own head and to make sure they are positive ones. This has made a massive change in my private life, and subsequently, reflected in my work. I rarely get frustrated with my work, because, although we all like to put ourselves in these little boxes, I am much more than just an illustrator. There are many other things I enjoy, it’s just that illustration is the one that I support myself financially with. Regarding the artist block, if the fact that you’re not able to create something at the given moment is your biggest problem, I’d say you have a pretty good life. And I’m saying this from a recent personal situation, which has helped me not to be frustrated with such a silly thing as an artist block. And when you go through something similar, you realise life is too short to waste it on self doubt. I believe we are bit reserved about talking about these things because, unless you are in a creative business, it can be quite hard to understand these points.
13. In your opinion, what make a good piece of art? What was the last image/piece of media that captivated you and what was it about it that left an impression on you?
If an image has the ability to move you emotionally, or to inspire you to , that for me is art. It is something unique in itself, but it has the ability to affect many of us in the same way. I adore the dark and twisted work of Mark Ryden and Berk Ozturk. There is something highly upsetting about using kids imagery in such a creepy way.
14. How often do you search for inspiration and do you ever feel pressure to create work as your career has progressed?
I wouldn’t say that I look for inspiration, I mostly have the ideas come to me quite easily. I can take a simple walk to the supermarket, and fill a bunch of papers with sketches. I used to put massive pressure on myself to produce personal work on a constant basis, but in the recent months, I’ve learned to put my own well-being first. Anything that puts stress upon my body, isn’t allowed to stay on my mind.
15. Copyright, especially in the technological age, is a huge problem. What actions do you take to ensure that your work is not being used without your permission, and have you had any experiences with plagiarism? Is this an issue that you think about and what are your thoughts about intellectual property rights for artists?
Fortunately, I never had any issues with my work being used without my permission. I make sure I don’t upload high resolution images online, and to put copyright notice on the portfolio pages when I do. However, I have seen many illustrators having their work stolen, mostly by popular high-street fashion brands such as Zara and Shein. If you buy a t-shirt with a print from any of these mainstream brands, the chance is, it has probably been stolen from an artist. I can only describe it as frustrating when people act so disrespectfully towards someone’s work.
16. What are you currently working on at the moment, and where can people find more about you and your work?
I am currently illustrating school textbooks for a Croatian educational publisher.
My online portfolio can be found at www.tamaradomuzin.com, and to see more insight in my work, you can say hello at my instagram at @tamaradomuzin.