Interview #25: The art of Lauren Illustrated
'My favorite things: animals and vintage fashion. Therefore, I often combine the two..'
* Note to my Italian friends: Clicca (QUI) per leggere l’intervista in italiano!
Happy Sunday friends!!! Sorry for being missing the last couple of weeks but I had a severe cold. Now I’m feeling better and preparing the last 3 amazing interviews of 2024. Isn't it crazy that we’re almost at the end of this year?? Anyway, today I’ll be interviewing a great artist you have probably seen online but may not know much about. So I’m happy to have Lauren on my page and introduce her to you :)
For those just finding me - I’m Madalina, an artist and illusrator who loves discovering and talking to many fellow artists. I now share these conversations through monthly interviews available to read for everyone :)
Lauren (aka laurenillustrated) is a freelance artist and illustrator who creates whimsical and nostalgic artwork with vintage vibes. Her colors are bold and appealing and her characters are so pretty! She also has a good knowledge of vintage fashion. So let's get to know her better.
✿ Hi Lauren and thank you for joining forArtists. How would you describe your artistic journey that led you to where you are today?
Thank you so much for inviting me!
Growing up homeschooled in a very creative family has absolutely brought me to where I am today. I had a lot of freedom to express my silly ideas and interests as a kid so drawing was always something I did in my free time.
Being an illustrator was never really in my plans growing up, I was actually training pre-professionally to be a ballerina most of my teens. Later on plans changed and around 17 I got into making animations and comics. This was when I began posting my art online and connecting with other young artists! At first I was drawing little comic strips of my daily life or of my own characters, as well as popular characters from movies and shows, which got me started with character design and commissioned work.
Over time I realized animation wasn’t the path I wanted and I looked into illustration instead. This last year I’ve been going in the direction of children’s and storybook illustration! I still have a love for comics and that form of storytelling, which you can see more of that influence on my second account. All I know is that I want to tell stories with pictures!
✿ You successfully manage two IG accounts. What would you suggest to artists who are struggling with their social media presence?
I started sharing my artwork online almost 6 years ago, and what I have learned over the years to not only grow my account but also help my artistic journey is to just keep posting. There have been many days where I felt a drawing wasn’t my best work, but every artist has their off days, so do not feel discouraged! I just post it anyway and I can always take it down later.
For me personally, sharing anything even if I am not totally in love with, has helped me not feel stuck and to keep moving forward onto the next drawing.
✿ You have a very distinctive style. Did you make conscious choices or did it come naturally to you?
My style has gone through many changes over the years, but only more recently has developed into this painterly, vintage inspired look. I’ve always loved old magazine and book illustrations especially from the 1930s-1950s and it finally dawned on me one day that I can make that style of art now! So that has been the style direction I’ve taken with my recent work!
✿ What practice or advice has helped you improve your art?
I think what has helped me improve the most was to experiment!
Whenever I feel a plateau in my skill I usually try to do something new! It’s very easy to get stuck doing the same thing, so mixing it up every now and then to challenge myself has helped me a lot. Maybe a new coloring technique, different lineart style or pushing the poses and movement further! Also drawing as much as I can. I keep a sketchbook close by just for doodling to put down ideas and mess around.
✿ What are your favorite subjects to draw?
My favorite things: animals and vintage fashion. Therefore, I often combine the two! As a little girl I loved playing dress up and for a while I wanted to be a fashion designer. Now I sort of am in a way since I design a lot of dresses and costumes for my illustrations! I was also obsessed with movies and books about animals growing up so of course they have become pivotal characters in my artworks.
✿ Where do you draw inspiration from?
A lot of my inspiration for ideas have come from my childhood, mostly the movies I grew up with! Classic Disney animations, period dramas, fantasy, you name it. So that has been a huge source of inspiration. As well as some classic illustrators I look up to: Norman Rockwell, Beatrix Potter, Maurice Sendak and Cicely Mary Barker to name a few.
✿ Could you take us through your painting process? How do you achieve such a traditional feel?
My illustrations usually start on paper in my sketchbook. I find sketching out my ideas a lot easier on paper, I tend to be looser and don’t care as much if it looks messy. Then once I have the idea somewhat clear I put it on my iPad and clean it up! Here’s where I make any changes to my original sketch before going in with the color.
I like to use painterly textured brushes, something like a watercolor or oil paint look are my favorites. I try not to clean up details too much leaving a lot of the sketchy lines showing through during the rendering. I find this gives my digital illustrations a traditional feeling!
✿ What would you like to improve about your art?
Something I would like to improve on is posing of my characters. I find I have a hard time with the stiffness of the poses so I’m trying to loosen up and add more movement or action to the scene. I do like a posed look for some drawings but in moments where I want it to feel natural or candid I’d like to work on that.
✿ What would be your dream project?
I have had the idea in my head for a while of wanting to illustrate classics! You’ll see a few illustrations on my page of reimagining classic stories like Peter Pan, The Secret Garden, etc. so a dream project of mine would be to complete a full classic book with chapter illustrations!
✿ What is the question you receive most often in your dms?
The question I get asked the most is “how do you find your art style?”.
Finding your style doesn’t happen overnight, at least for me it hasn’t. It takes time finding out what you like and don’t like, what inspires you and what comes naturally. Don’t be afraid to try something new and see where it goes! I started with finding a few artists I liked and sort of “copied” bits of their style. After a while it evolves into its own unique thing!
☆☆ To learn more about Lauren's work you can visit her Instagram, website and her Inprnt shop.
Yaayy im such a fan of Lauren’s art! Glad to see her spotlighted 💖