Interview #21: The art of Gabriella Szendrey
Gabriella Szendrey aka bandaminta talks about how she overcame severe burnout and her relationship with personal and client work
Happy Sunday friends!!! Today I'm interviewing an amazing illustrator whose art journey teaches us that all the things we’ve done in life, no matter how different they are, can serve to support our greatest passion: Art. I’m sure that many of you will feel represented by this life experience!
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Gabriella Szendrey (aka @bandaminta) is a Hungarian illustrator, vis dev artist and art director, currently living and working in Budapest (I visited it once, such a wonderful place:)). Her artworks are marked by linework, character design, folktale symbols, bold colors and shapes, and a good dose of experimentation. I really admire her use of mixed media and her unique expressive characters. So I can't wait to know more about her art process and thoughts!
✿ Hi Gabriella and thank you for joining forArtists. Could you tell us what was your artistic path that led you to where you are today?
I've been fascinated by illustrated books, drawing, (and a bit later) fashion illustration from a very young age, however this interest wasn't considered to be 'useful' back then, and without the support from the adults around me I was discouraged from taking it seriously.
My time and attention were invested in other subjects in search of approval and a more 'useful' career path. While I was studying English literature and German at the university trying to figure out what should I do, I was teaching English, and collecting some money, so I could enroll at a fashion design course (at that time I was really into fashion illustration), and I even landed a year long job as a designer afterwards, but I still considered creativity as a side quest at best, and soon went back to teaching, and studying marketing.
Around the age of 28, after a series of life events led me back to art, I started to take graphic design more seriously. There was no Youtube, smartphones, or online tutorials, and the books that were available in Hungarian were pretty outdated, so my English came in handy, and whenever I had the opportunity to go abroad I bought art books, and digital art magazines, that contained great tutorials.
I was really into photography, lettering, and typography as well, so long story short I built up my studio at home bit by bit, learned through trial and error. Through self-initiated projects I started to build a portfolio, and gigs started to happen, and I got my first job as a full time graphic designer / art director at a music club venue, which was pretty fun, cause I could work on a variety of jobs both online and print, from designing menus to creating illustrations for concerts etc. The place closed down after a few years, and I got a role at an advertising agency. Although that would have been a great next step in my learning journey, I soon realised that agency life (or at least the one I joined) to me was what nightmares are made of, so I quit before my probation period ended. And went freelance. And stayed freelance for the next 12 years. During this period my confidence in my graphic design and art director skills grew stronger, and did more and more illustration as well.
However I had severe burnout in 2017.
My life kind of fell apart, and I seriously considered quitting the industry, 'Cause the freelance hustle and the whole environment I got myself into were pretty toxic, and I couldn't continue like that anymore. This was the moment when I started my Instagram as a place where I can post whatever I want, I can draw and do whatever I want, and it felt like therapy. I didn't have any goals with it, it was my playground away from the noise. Even though Instagram has turned into an algorithm hellscape since then, I have a lot to thank for the art challenges and art community I met there (and for all the wonderful humans I’ve met there since then as well!). It helped me rebuild my goals after the crash, and find out more about what is it that I really want to do and learn.
In 2020 I decided to get into kidlitart and character design. This is when the pandemic hit and everyone went to home office, but I wanted to work with a team again. So by the very end of 2020 I joined a small branding agency as senior art director to earn a living while I build my picture book portfolio. Pretty quickly in 2021 my first two picture book gigs popped up (via Instagram hashtags, so they actually work, SEO does make a difference), and later on I've started to work with a UK publishing house as a freelance support artist as well, which I love a lot, 'cause it meant that I can try out many different styles. And I love that type of challenge.
2024 started with me quitting my agency, and now I'm fully freelance again! This time as an illustration artist and visual development artist. Since March I'm represented by a UK literary agency, so this is quite fresh as well, and I'm already working on the first book that found me through them.Â
✿ How did your relationship with art change when it became a full-time job?
If I only consider my illustration career as a full-time job, then it's a pretty fresh experience, I'm only 8 months in, so it hasn't changed much. If graphic design/art direction is considered as art job as well, than my past 16 years have been a roller coaster ride for sure. And there was a period when I seriously considered quitting.
My trick now is that anything that is client related is treated as such. It's not personal. I do my best, however. I keep it professional, and I'm avoiding the traps I fell into when I was less experienced and too eager to put on every and any job. The hustle is not worth it. I'm not working on client stuff during the weekends, or in the evenings anymore.
My freelance schedule is the 9-5 and that's it.
I learned from the burnout I had 7 years ago, that I have to keep strong boundaries, clear contracts, transparent agreements and protected downtimes. Besides that, having the place and time where I can do and learn what I want, and draw what I want, is really important to me as well. After the nosedive a few years ago, I'm doing my best to protect my relationship with art. :)
✿ What would you suggest to hobbyists and beginner artists who want to switch careers and make art for a living?
I would say don't put all your eggs into one basket, especially at the beginning, 'cause it leaves you in a vulnerable position on many levels. Earning a living with something you put your heart and soul into is not sustainable without strong personal boundaries. There's no one size fits all solutions.
Since the pandemic hit, remote and hybrid work is on the rise, so that's great, 'cause that might give the opportunity to some to build something for themselves, and meanwhile they can still have a financial safety belt (in case this still exists in this economy). There's no shame in 9-5, and it can teach you structure, that you can use later on when going freelance. Full-time seems to be frowned upon by many, and freelancing is hyped up, but it's not that black and white. Both can be really difficult for various reasons, so experiment, and know what works for you.
Your work and your time has value. Know yourself, know your worth. The great thing about social media is, that you can put yourself out there, and there's less gatekeeping on the opportunities. On the other hand there are other factors, that might make the ride more challenging. The current AI situation can be pretty scary for many, however I'm a strong believer in the human touch, and the human experience.Â
✿ You work on different projects and fields. Which project have you enjoyed working on the most and what would be a dream project that you would like to work on in the near future?
I love working with many people on books. Those experiences are a lot of fun even if sometimes it means more compromise on the artwork side. A year ago I would have chosen the artist work on books over the art direction work on branding projects. However I’m not sure if I want to stay freelance on the long run, we will see.Â
It would be lovely to continue joining great teams and working on the worlds and characters of magical stories, and learn and grow through that. Book design and kidlit art direction sounds like a lot of fun as well. The dream is to work on projects that bring joy and financial stability at the same time, fingers crossed that this can be sustainable.
In 2022 3dtotal Publishing invited me to join their Sketching from Imagination series: Character Concepts, published last summer. That was a dream come true I didn't even know I had, since I have a whole collection of their art and tutorial books. Being part of one of their publications was an honour, and I'm so proud of that!
✿ Your designs are so bold, "simple" and expressive. Can you give us some insight into your process of shape simplification?Â
It's pretty intuitive I guess. I'm not sure if I have a process for shape simplification. I draw the shapes until it feels right.
If I have to draw something I never drew before, then I collect a lot of references, and I sketch a lot, and try out stuff. Is that a process maybe? :) I still learn constantly. Recently I've been drawn to artists, whose style is messy, and full with textures and marks, and I love that. In the future I would like to get more of that incorporated into my work as well.Â
✿ How do you usually choose your color palettes?
In my private/bandaminta projects it depends on what I want to do/learn. It's either very intuitive, or based on something that I like, and want to try out as well. For example what I love about watercolor is the way colors interact. I enjoy playing with that a lot.
In client work, as an illustrator, the color palette is a teamwork, and based on the art direction I get. As an art director in branding, the color palette is directed by the brief. These are all different approaches.
✿ Talking about style, a hot topic in the art community, what are your thoughts on developing a unique style and how did you develop yours?
I get the feedback a lot that I have a unique style, but this is not a conscious choice on my part. It has never been my purpose, and usually I don't know what to say to that and feel awkward about it, 'cause to me this is not a thing.
The way I draw is the byproduct of where I am, and what I like doing. But this is not set in stone. This is what I'm doing right now, but it will probably change with the years and my experience, and skills, and what I'm drawn to. This is what works for me.Â
✿ How did you overcome burnout in 2017?Â
Therapy, a lot of hiking, leaving relationships behind, and finding healthier ones, my dog, and the freedom to do whatever I want as @bandaminta helped a lot. I had to learn a lot of new skills to balance out the challenges life has brought my way, and hopefully I'm better equipped now to protect myself and my art in this season.
✿ What would you like to improve about your art?Â
I would like to do more of the messy stuff, and work on more environments, and portraits as well. There are many shiny objects I'm drawn to, but before the overwhelm hits, giving myself a brake is number one on the list.
✿ As a traditional artist, I like to take a glimpse at other artists' studios and art materials. How have you organized your art space and what traditional and digital tools do you use most?Â
I try to keep my digital and traditional workflow separate as much as possible with more or less success. One table is for the gadgets, and the digital duties, the other one is for the paints/palettes/brushes etc. However the overlap is sometimes inevitable! The pics of my work space is not a realistic depiction, generally it's much messier. However it's lovely to see it like that as well :)) I moved to a new place last year, and I have a much bigger studio area, so it's easier to keep the materials close, but still organized.Â
I'm a big fan of the A4 size Talens art creation sketchbooks. The pages are 140g, with a warm hue, and I love it. All my work starts there, or on simple A4 printing papers. I love sketching, especially with those red and blue colored pencils. Kohinoor used to be my favorite, but a few years ago they changed something, and the color and feel of those changed, so I switched to Milan, and those are perfection.Â
In my freerange drawing moments I use watercolors a lot. Shinhan poster colors and PWC watercolors used to be a favorite for years, and I like Winsor and Newton a lot too. However since I tried Kuretake gansai tambi colors, I'm hooked on those.Â
When it comes to digital work, my Ipad Pro 11 and Procreate is the go to tool for illustration. And my Imac for all the Adobe stuff I can't do with another tool.Â
☆☆ To learn more about Gabriella's work you can visit her Instagram, Behance, website and her shop.