Becoming an illustrator

The IlloGuild question of the month

Every month the group of artists illustrators, united under the name IlloGuild, picks a theme for members to write about. In November we are are discussing our individual paths into illustration. Most of us have always known we loved drawing, sewing, creating of any kind but not everyone would pick that life path as a career choice (for all kinds of reasons; insert your favourite “starving artist” cliché here). When it was my time to chose that path, I was determined to make it a creative one and tried my chance at applying to different art schools in Slovenia - my level of drawing wasn’t enough for some so I ended up enrolling into fashion and textile design at the University of Ljubljana.

Watercolour illustration for a Slovene children’s magazine, 2000

---

At that time illustration was just a part of my art curriculum, mostly learning to sketch human figure and designing textile patterns but as my older brother, Gorazd Vahen, became a recognised children’s book illustrator, it showed me that illustration can actually be a “real” job! I managed to sneak several illustrations into the children’s magazines my brother worked with but it didn’t go any further. After the graduation I did stay in the publishing world, but this time as a journalist and editor at a weekly magazine supplement for the Slovene national newspaper. I would sew in my spare time and my love of fabrics and patterns directed me towards home decor and accessories so I started sewing handbags and purses under the name Loddelina (which later became an Etsy shop with the same name).

Bags, purses, brooches and other accessories for Loddelina Etsy shop

---

Then Life happened, I met my husband, had a family and moved through several countries and cities in one decade. There was less and less time for regular work, but having small children offered many creative opportunities, I would sew personalised bags and toys for my kids and their friends, later we would craft together and their imagination helped me come up with new characters. I would “draw” landscapes with bits of fabrics, trims and freehand embroidery, getting commissioned for lots of personalised pencil cases as end of the year presents from pupils to their teacher (merci, maîtresse).

A plushie for my boy and a present to his teacher for another

---

In the summer of 2019, as my youngest was getting ready to start middle school, I was ready to start a student life again - I enrolled in my first Make Art That Sells (MATS) illustration course. Being in a classroom again (even an online one) was so exciting and buying art supplies, following lessons and making pages and pages of notes never felt so good! I started slowly, analog style (my go to tools in art school, in pre computer age, were watercolour, pen & ink and scissors & glue) but soon upgraded to an iPad pro and started exploring Procreate. It was slow at first but with a help of many online tutorials and a very supportive art community I was getting more confident and enrolled in many more MATS and other online classes.

My first MATS assignment: Vintage Kitchen bolt fabric design.

Procreate, November 2019 vs. a redo in July 2020

---

2020 came and the idea of having a career in illustration, working from home and finding clients all over the world seemed the right one for me. I started connecting to other students through online classes and joining art communities on social media asking for advice, I followed daily drawing prompts on Instagram and Facebook, anything to get me motivated to keep practicing and improving.

Illustration for one of MATS Illustrating Children’s Books courses, 2021

---

In 2021 I did my first Illustrating Children’s Books course and I was hooked! I set up a website (I am using Wix platform and find it very easy to use and manage) and started working on my portfolio, learning as I went and changing and tweaking the selection as my style evolved (a portfolio is always a work in progress). And at the end of 2021 an author contacted me for illustrating a self published picture book - Mr Puddlebrush came out this Summer:

How does an illustrator communicate with potential clients, agents and art directors in this post pandemic world when sending a traditional postcard by mail might no longer be an option? One way is social media; use Twitter and Instagram hashtag #KidLitArtPostcard to publish an illustration with links to your website on every first Thursday of the month - more and more people from the KidLit business are looking out for that hashtag and getting to know new emerging artists. And yes, that is how I met my literary agent, Lane Clarke of Arthouse Literary, who is now representing me.

I am currently working on my author picture book and enjoying every step of this brand new adventure. I will tell you more about it soon 😊.

What is your illustrator story? I would love to hear from you in the comments.

Visit the IlloGuild page to see how other IlloGuild members answered this question!