While starting out my career in art I was so happy that my wish has come true, of course I am happy with my decision, but after plunging into this field I realized I didn’t know anything about digital art, industry standards and so on. I self educated myself, learnt a lot through various work experiences. Observed other artists works. Now, I kind of balanced it out.
1. When and how did you choose to be an illustrator?
Just like every other artist around the world, I started to draw when I was little. People always say I am going to be an artist when I grow up, so was my thought since then, that I want to be an artist. Whenever I find time I draw, that’s it, that’s all I do.
It was in my days in college when I was pursuing b.com studies when I was pondering over my art career, I seriously didn’t know this industry and how one survive as an artist. Then there was a bunch of girls in my class who used to read books all the time. They always claim that reading books is one of the joyous things to do, but I was a person who didn’t got influenced much to read books in my tender age but to doodle a lot, I got curious all of a sudden and wanted to taste that joy they experienced.
I immediately ran to library and was browsing, there was a particular rack which was bustling with colours. It’s all children books! Well those girls were reading novels not children’s books, but I chose these books over the novels.
I guess it’s better to start with baby steps. While reading them I got very much fond of the illustrations alongside the text which made the story wholesome. That’s the light bulb moment! “Hey I could draw that” was my first comment.
There I decided to become a children’s book illustrator. Seriously, it’s not that easy to get to illustrate a book, there are so many things an artist have to learn to illustrate a book. After committing few errors I learnt few things about the industry and developed my skills to become suitable for the job.
2. What is the role and scope of work for an illustrator?
An illustrator’s job is generally to convey an idea, message or a story in a creative manner, the illustration could be hand drawn either digitally or traditionally which provokes various emotions to the spectator. The illustrator could be creating drawings for various purposes and for a specific remuneration, the different fields of work are novels, picture books, video games, animation, commercials, advertisements, greeting cards etc. The scope for an illustrator is quite wide, there’s no definitive place that assures one could excel in.
You could fit in anywhere of aforementioned fields which totally depends on the particular person’s skill set and preferences, that’s why some people are unsure about venturing in art career just like me, I was also unsure about which field I should choose, but when I discovered my spark and possessing the knack for illustrating books, my foggy track was cleared instantly.
3. Which are some of the tools & software that a graphic designer or an illustrator must be aware of?
I use a drawing app called “Procreate” it’s a professional app for creating illustrations. Moreover It’s an app that developed only for artists and hobbyists. There are some of the other professional softwares like Adobe creative suite and Affinity by serif and so on. It’s recommended for budding designers to be aware of how to use these software effectively.
4. How in your opinion has this profession changed over the years?
They say “do the job you love, you’ll never get bored or you’ll never have to work a day!” Please don’t fall for that, we shouldn’t be doing a job just not to be bored, in fact even if you choose a job that you love it’s still requires a lot of effort to work it out. It’ll forever demands undivided attention so that one could survive in their career successfully.
While starting out my career in art I was so happy that my wish has come true, of course I am happy with my decision, but after plunging into this field I realized I didn’t know anything about digital art, industry standards and so on. I self educated myself, learnt a lot through various work experiences. Observed other artists works. Now, I kind of balanced it out.
5. Do you often have to keep upskilling yourself?
It’s always best and recommended to be a learner forever. You know what, there is a widespread common habit of artists worldwide which is called “sketch booking”, every artist irrespective of how successful they are, they always carry a sketch book and a pen with themselves, they sketch random stuffs or what they see in front of them in their books.
In their sketch book for example the tree the artist drew today will look more improved than the tree they drew yesterday. So when they keep on drawing everyday their art will be evolving evidently, do you think it’s a good idea to stop learning? Never. Thus, an artist will be learning or up skill themselves everyday and forever. Up grading our skill set is important, I believe it will make a person more versatile in their career.
6. How can one develop a keen sense for design and aesthetics?
It’s all about observation! Since my childhood whenever I stepped outdoors I am all ears and eyes for inspirations that I never want to miss out because it’s that time I drink all these aesthetics. Even now I don’t use my mobile phone when travelling in bus, trains, auto rickshaw or even walking on pavement, I observe how people walk, talk, their gestures so on. It fascinates me to know the ability of understanding the story and character of that particular person by their outfit, accessories, hairstyles, fashion sense, the way they stand etc.
I also love observing human settlements, the arrangements of small petty shops, small compact houses with trees and kids playing in front-yard, the colours used on the walls their textures etc. not only this, I also observe other artists works, I get to know how they handled an artwork, so these are the ways I develop my sense for design and aesthetics.
8. What inspires you to keep creating?
There are several things that inspires me to keep creating, firstly, when my current artwork surpasses the quality of the previous I feel satisfied and that’ll be the fuel to create another. Secondly, the kind lovely People over social media abundantly shower their support to my artworks for so long and in return I want to make them happy through my artwork.
The only tip that worked for me and I want to pass on to others is, please believe in the process and don’t worry about the outcome. While drawing or starting out something new in your life, it could be daunting at times usually when you just started the process, but you may never know what unfolds in the end! Believe me you’ll be surprised!
Interviewed By - Devyani Roy
Bio
Dejeshwini is an illustrator based in Chennai. She has been working as a freelance artist for past two years, over the time she had illustrated few children’s books, wedding invitations and a wall decor. She even had an amazing opportunity to work an illustration for one of India’s top Bollywood actors Mr. Hrithik Roshan. She loves drawing cute stuffs that tickles peoples feelings and there will be slightest touch of nostalgic element in her illustrations which people adore a lot. She loves playing with clay and watch baby elephants bath in tubs.
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