Tell us about yourself!
I love to draw!  In an age when most forms of art are becoming digital, I prefer the intimacy of hand-drawn art.  I am happiest curled up on the couch surrounded by art supplies with a pen in my hand and a sketchbook two inches from my nose.

I traveled quite a bit in my youth, and I was fortunate to meet creative people who motivated me to pursue work as an artist. I began work in the fashion industry in New York in 1995, gleaning information about garment construction as a fit model for various designers.  As an adult, my experience includes work as the assistant designer and house fashion illustrator for Miosa Couture, a Northern California custom bridal boutique.  I currently find work as a freelance costume and bridal designer, and as the owner of The Illustrated Bride.

The concept for The Illustrated Bride came about while I was designing at Miosa Couture.  A custom bridal design session at Miosa usually consisted of quickly sketching out designs for technical use in the construction of the gown.  Many designers provide illustrations for their celebrity clients as a keepsake, and Miosa’s brides would often express an interest in purchasing my sketches.  

Where are you from?
I am from Northern California, but most of my high school years were spent in Los Angeles, New York, and Athens, Greece.  I had a crazy childhood, but I think it offered me exposure to other ways of life– I was able to meet many artistic people who made a living doing what they loved.

What is your earliest memory of drawing or making art/illustrating or designing?
Around age five I won my first art contest with a drawing of a princess in an elaborate gown – illustrating and designing wedding dresses seems to be a natural transition!

What inspires you to create?
Blank paper and new art supplies!

How did you develop your particular style?
Illustrating custom wedding gowns caused me to pay special attention to the way a dress would be constructed, which meant that I was always sure to include all the elements required of dress construction. Though now I mostly create illustrations as keepsakes, I still pay special attention to details and try to illustrate the dress as structurally accurate to the actual dress as possible.

Can you briefly describe your process?
If I am illustrating an actual bride, I review every image I have of her wedding dress in order to get a sufficient understanding of the design.  I kind of deconstruct the dress in my head, and make little illustrated notes as I go.  This helps me to be sure that I am illustrating her actual dress- one missed seam throws off the entire visual intent of the designer, and the illustration no longer looks like the actual gown.

How did you happen upon Copic Markers?
I have learned a lot from other artists. I love to collect anatomy books, as well as books about comic and manga artists. I found that many of my favorite artists only used Copic Markers, so I headed on over to my nearest comic book store to test them out.  I have been a diehard follower ever since!

What inspired you to start using Copic for your business?
I had always used them when I doodled for fun, so when my doodles turned into a viable business opportunity, I knew I would never use anything else. I loved all the colors available, the non-streaky finish they gave my illustrations, and the control and comfort I felt using them.

Who are some of your favorite artists/illustrators/designers?
Frank Frazetta, Boris Vallejo, and Julie Bell for anatomy and movement in figure drawing, fashion designers Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig of Marchesa, and Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen (and the works of the late McQueen himself) for fashion.

What comments from a teacher or mentor have you received about your work that helped you develop?
My high school art teacher, David Branstetter, was very supportive.  He hung some of my ballpoint pen doodles up in class. At that age it meant a lot to have an adult find value in something I created.  All of my other teachers were not too happy to find the same type of doodles in the margins of my homework.

What’s your favorite part about being an artist/designer?
When I am in creative mode, its fun to kind of become lost in it. The world around me kind of disappears as I focus.

What is the worst part about being and artist/designer?
It’s hard to put your work out into the world, its always been a part of you, very personal. Constantly fighting insecurity can be hard.

Do you have any advice for others looking for artistic inspiration?
I thought I wanted to be a designer.  I hated to sew, which you kind of have to love to do as a designer. I realized that pen and paper was my passion, and even though it was hard to let go of the dream, I decided to focus on the part of the dream that made me really happy. My advice would be to find out what it is about creating that you really love, and find a way to focus on that.

Find Jennifer on the web:
Portfolio:  The Illustrated Bride
Etsy: The Illustrated Bride
Facebook: Fan Page
Twitter: @illustratebride

This week, New York City-based fashion illustrator Brooke Hagel shares her bridal illustration process. Enjoy!

Hello, I’m Brooke Hagel, a freelance fashion illustrator with two successful Etsy shops, Brooklit and BrooklitBride, that I run from my home based in New York City. The vast majority of my custom commissions are bridal illustrations that friends and family give as wedding and/or anniversary gifts to brides.

For the past few years my marker of choice has been Copic and I was thrilled when Copic contacted me contribute to their blog. I also author my own blog about fashion illustration called Fabulous Doodles. Here’s a breakdown of how my illustration process and how I use my Copic brush tip markers.

All my artwork starts off with a detailed pencil sketch. Here I decide what the bride will look like, determine the pose that best flatters her gown silhouette and add all of the appropriate details and accessories. The pencil sketch is the ground work that I build upon with my markers. Once the sketch is perfected I take a kneaded eraser and basically erase the whole thing to color. I leave just faint lines so I can see where to apply color. I keep the whole under-sketch light because any dark lines that are there will just be intensified once the marker ink is on top of it.

The next step is my favorite, this is where I take my Copic markers and apply the color and shading. I pretty much solely use the brush tip end of the marker. With this tip you can create a heavy saturated look by pressing hard, pulling the color up and releasing it for a painterly effect. You can also create shadows by adding second coats of the marker. The layers of marker ink work as though it’s a second coat of paint and the color becomes significantly more saturated. Besides multiple coats of the same color, I also use varying shades of a color to create more depth. You can see examples of this in how I rendered the hair and wedding gown. For the hair I used two different browns (E59 and E49), and with the dress I used two different gray values (C1 and C2) to create the folds and shadows.
Once all the color and shadows have been rendered with my Copics, I finish off the illustration with a white charcoal pencil to add some highlights and a cool gray 90% colored pencil to outline.

Now the illustration is finished and ready to ship out to clients, be added to my bridal print shop or framed! I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial. Have a happy wedding season, and hopefully you can try out some on my illustration techniques on the brides in your life.

For this bridal illustration I used the following Copic markers: 

C1 Cool Gray No.1 (dress)
C2 Cool Gray No.2 (dress)
100 Black (sash)
E53 Raw Silk (skin tone)
E59 Walnut (hair)
E49 Dark Bark (hair shadows)
BG93 Green Gray (leaves)
RV000 Pale Purple (flowers)

Find Brooke on the web:
Blog: Fabulous Doodles
Etsy Shops: Brooklit & Brooklit Bride
Facebook: Fan Page
Twitter: Brooklit

Share your fashion illustrations with us on Facebook and Twitter!

Last time, we covered unusual, fantasy skin tones with our little goblin.  This time, we’re going to look at her blue hair with ringlet pigtails.

As always, I’m using the Bleed-resistant Copic Sketchbook and Copic Sketch markers.

Unusual hair color, like unusual skin tones from our last tutorial, take a bit of experimenting to find the right combinations.  Take some time to layer various colors together to find the right combination of lights and darks before starting on your actual piece.

I start with B45, laying in the basic pattern of her hair, my strokes following the direction of the hair.  Remember, draw every direction, not every hair.  With the brush tip of the Sketch markers, this is much more easily achieved.  Go back over it once or twice to help create a bit a definition in the chunks of hair and value as the hair rounds around the head and the ringlets.  Start big and work down to smaller chunks. You’ll notice it’s pretty rough, but that’s okay.  Our next colors and layers will help refine it down.

Switching to BV23, I lay in some simple shadows, again following the direction of the chunks of hair.  Use that brush tip to your advantage.  You can get thick and thin lines in one stroke, breaking up the areas nicely.

Next comes the BV25, emphasizing the darker spots of the hair, around the curls and in the deeper chunks of hair.  I also go back to the B45 to soften the edges and tie it all in together.

I use a bit of BV17 to add a bit more depth and color into the shadows of the hair, stroking in the direction of the hair.  Sometimes adding other colors in the shadows can help create a sense of depth, as well as tie other colors from the piece in, making everything work together.

With a bit of practice, patience and of course, the right paper, the layering will all come together and you’ll have a lovely rendering of whatever your subject, whatever the strange and fantastical skin and hair color may be!

See more of Brandi’s fantastic illustrations on Copic Color, and add your own work while you’re there!

For today’s demonstration, I thought I’d let my geek flag fly a bit and do a rendering of my World of Warcraft goblin, pushing myself to try a realistic approach to a truly fantasy subject.

As usual, I’m using Copic Sketch markers with the bleed-resistant Copic Sketchbook paper.

I start by picking out my colors and trying them out on a scratch piece of paper. This may take a bit of time, going through and trying out all these different greens, yellows, purples and reds together, but you don’t want to jump in and just start throwing color down without making sure everything will be harmonious, especially where the opposing colors are concerned (yellow and purple, green and red).

After I’m reasonably satisfied with the colors I’ve chosen, I start by laying in a base of YG21 over my lightened pencil lines. I go back over it a few times in spots, defining out some of the shadows for later. I also use R30 to lay in a little pink on the nose, lips, and the tips of the ears:

Next I break out the YG23. Despite being the same family of colors, it’s quite a bit darker. I use the YG21 to help smooth the transition, but I’m not happy with how warm the shadows are at this point. I take some time to lay all the base shadows in before breaking out the trusty BV23:

With the BV23, I start to knock back the deeper shadows, again using YG21 to soften the transition. It’s pretty drastic when you first bring that BV in. The first response might be, “Oh no, too dark!!” Give it time and finish it out. Once you get all the shadows laid in with the BV23, you’ll see how much the piece begins to pop. Using your two skin tones (in this case, YG21 and YG23) helps to soften and tie in the BV23. Use them in conjunction, softening the hard transition between the tones:

I drop in the eyes, a little E42 for the not-so-white whites of her eyes with BV17 and BV11 for the irises with a bit of 0 Colorless Blender to soften the transition (these colors will also be mirrored in her hair and gown, to help tie the colors together.) I also dropped some of the E42 onto her lips along with a little more R30 and YG93 to darken them up a bit:

Time to darken the shadows further! Now that the colors are all starting to come together, the earlier panic of the BV23 being too dark is a long-gone memory. Now in some places, the shadows aren’t dark enough or well defined enough. Out comes the BV25 to deepen the darkest spots – under the chin, in the ear and nostrils and the edge and corners of the lips. At this point, I’m also going back and checking other areas – the stomach, the arms, places that might not be melding as well with the rest of the piece, shifting the lights and darks a bit, trying to help make the piece more cohesive:

As always, achieving realistic renderings, even with a fantasy subject like a Warcraft goblin, takes a lot of back and forth and patience. If you’re afraid to try something right on the piece, try it on a scratch paper first.

View Part 2 of this tutorial, Coloring Blue Hair. See more of Brandi’s fantastic illustrations on Copic Color, and add your own work while you’re there!

Materials:

• Copic Multiliners – Sky blue, Orange, Cool Gray, and Sepia
• Copic Sketch markers: B91, B93, B95, E30, E31, G00, B000, R20, Bv31, Y21, YR23, YR24, Y32, (and many more I grabbed as I just kept colouring)
• X-Press It Blending Card and Aquabee Marker Paper

Copic Multiliners are inking pens that are designed to work with Copic Markers. The pens come in a multitude of sizes and colours. Once dry, the ink is alcohol-proof so it won’t smear on the right paper when you colour over it with your Copics.

I use Copic’s coloured Multiliners in a variety of ways; sometimes to help create a sense of depth in an image, sometimes to just soften the look of the image or add some nice accents. It all depends on the look you’re going for. I use them in a few different ways, so I’ll show you a little bit about each technique.

In my illustrations I very often ink my characters in colour to distinguish them from the background, and if I want a less graphic/comic book style to my illustrations.

For this image I used a variety of colours to make her look softer. Sepia for skin, cool gray for hair (mainly because I didn’t have a purple, lol) and blues and orange for her clothes.

I was careful while inking to be conscious of areas of overlapping features. See this example where her eyebrow is on the edge of her profile, so I stopped the skin colour at the eyebrow.

Its important to note that these pens are somewhat transparent, so when you overlap the pen stokes you actually darken the colour a little so be careful of creating little dots where lines overlap by picking up your pen at the end of a stoke instead of holding it on the paper.

You can also use the coloured multiliners to add accents to a black inked image. See this example where I’ve used the colours to embellish her outfit.  It adds a nice bit of detail without being too bold.

Now, the best excuse I can come up with to use coloured Multiliners is to create effects. I use them. In my comics all the time for inking the mountains in the distance.

See how the cool gray makes the mountain less bold? Using black lines in the foreground and light gray lines in the background, gives a sense of depth. If the mountains were inked in black, I think it would be too harsh of a line and would cause distraction.

In this panel here I’ve used the cool gray to ink the entire panel because it’s being viewed through a car window. A hazy gray line can be exactly what’s needed in certain situations.

So there you have it! Colour Multiliners are one of the most versatile tools in my Copic arsenal! There are also many different types of nibs you can get. Think about brush tips if you like the way they look, too!

For the very latest from Jayleen Weaver and GuruKitty Studios, visit these sites:
http://copiccolor.com/markerguru
http://gurukitty.com
http://markerguru.blogspot.com

https://www.facebook.com/gurukittystudios

Curly hair. We all have tried it at one time or other. At some point, we all become tempted to just draw a bunch of squiggly lines and call it done. So how does one tackle curly hair realistically in a transparent medium like Copics?

In my last tutorial on hair, I mentioned the key to this. It applies to all hair types: Don’t draw every hair, draw every direction. In the case of curly hair, you’ll want to add to that – draw every shape. The big thing to keep in mind here is to focus on the negative shapes – the areas that are darker, created by the curls.

Once again, I’m working on Copic’s Bleed Resistant Sketchbook and Copic Sketch markers.

I start with a bit of linework in place, more so than I normally leave for hair. This helps to set me up as to which way to go. Since she’s a blonde, I will want to make sure that my lines are almost non-existent when I lay down might lightest colors, since pencil becomes a permanent fixture once Copics are laid over.

I start with the Colorless Blender, laying down a quick layer before going over quickly with Y21. This helps me to lay a reasonably even mass of color, even if I will be breaking it up soon enough. I don’t want streaks going in the wrong direction, distracting from the curls in the end. I go over it quickly with a little more Colorless Blender, just to help even the tone.

TIP: If you have a photo editing program or digital painting program (such as Photoshop) where you can pick out individual colors, this is incredibly handy when figuring out color transitions, especially in something like curly hair.

Next I move to creating some of the illusion of curls and step down into the shadows a bit, starting with E97. I follow the direction of the hair, coming back in with my Y21 to blend the edges a bit where it gets too hard. I also use my Y21 to help add a bit of subtle depth by going back over the areas, shaping without drastic changes in color.

I finish out the darker side with a base coating of E97, following the direction of the curls.

I want to start adding some more value, so I switch to my BV23 and start hitting the darker spots, adding depth and cooling the shadows greatly. I go back over some of the BV23 with the E97, increasing the depth of color and shadow. This is another area to just play and layer, layer, layer!

TIP: Utilize that brush tip! You can create thick to thin lines in one stroke, or very thin, airy lines, helping with the illusion of the curls moving and changing thickness!

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Moving to the E47, I hit all the darks again, deepening the shadows greatly. Again, it’s a lot of back and forth with the colors, softening some edges and deepening others. I also used the E47 to create some curls on the edge, breaking up the solid edge of hair, and then used the Colorless Blender to soften them, to look like wisps of hair.

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To add a bit more depth into the lightest portion of the hair, I picked up E31, E43 and BV20 for a subtle touch of shadow.
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As I finish out the piece, I make final touches to the hair with BV29 in the deepest darks and the background, using BV23 and the Colorless Blender to soften the edges of the hair, particularly on the dark side.

 
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Colors used for the tutorial – Y21, BV20, BV23, BV29, E31, E43, E47, E97

Colors used for the whole piece — Y21, YR02, R000, BV11, BV20, BV23, BV25, BV29, BV31, E01, E04, E31, E43, E47, E55, E95, E97

Have a curly hair coloring of your own? Share it with us on Facebook and Twitter!

Daniel Govar is an extremely talented illustrator with an impressive roster of clients, including DC Comics, Nike, Marriott and various U.S. sports teams. In addition to illustrating nearly 15 books, his work has been seen in worldwide publications such as Entertainment Weekly and TV Guide. Read on to learn more about Daniel, his work, and his love of Copics:

Tell us about yourself!
Originally I am from Arkansas, but I was an army brat and we moved all over – Hawaii, Canada, Oklahoma, and finally here in Maryland. I think at some point I’ve been to or lived in every state in the US save Alaska. I got my degree in Imaging and Digital Art from University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and was introduced to the wide world of digital art forms there, studying animation (both traditional and 3D), video development and editing, and interactivity and web programming. It was a pretty all-encompassing major and one they’ve since dissolved and broken into individual focuses. Personally I like the rounded approach and appreciate the education in knowing how all the pieces fit together. My personal interests were initially in interactivity and it’s possibilities, and I would always put my illustrations (of which I had very little formal training save figure studies and a few paintings classes here and there) into anything I created. I got a job out of school creating educational programs for children – an Astronomy program, a History program, and a program on Ancient Greece – all filled with illustrations and animations.

Do you prefer traditional or digital media?
I use both and find that when they work in harmony my work looks best. My DC comic series AZURE was done entirely digitally. From beginning to end I used Photoshop to create every page. It was only when I started going to conventions that I saw the folly in this as a comic creator – there is a huge market in original art that you lose when you work digital-only. I now do most of my color work in Photoshop, and do most of my black and white and grayscale work in traditional medias – Primarily using Copics for the traditional work with a few India ink washes for added textures.

What other mediums do you work in?
My weapons of choice have evolved over the years but it depends on what the project requires. I think I am most comfortable with pen and ink (Copics), markers, watercolor, and digital mediums. I have done large scale oil paintings, and sculpt from time to time as well, though these days the demands for my time are spread between paid art, friends and family, and my dog.

What is the toughest part of comic storytelling?
I would have to say each part of the process has it’s challenges. Comics is a hugely social industry and many people go into making most comics. Learning to work with others and to be able to articulate in words what you aim to convey in illustrations is one of the most useful aspects of making comics. Many people you must work with will not be artists, and you will need to be able to explain or understand what they are trying to explain with words and then translate that into imagery. The best way to learn is to sit down and make a comic. Start small and work your way up to something larger.

Personal Site: http://www.danielgovar.com
DeviantArt: http://saulone.deviantart.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Daniel-Govar/139723602709280
Tumblr: http://saulone.tumblr.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/saulone

Tools used: Ballpoint pen, Photoshop, scanned paper textures

Allison Strom is a talented illustrator whose latest work can be seen in Vera Greentea’s independent comic Recipes for the Dead: Issue 2. Read on to learn how she incorporates Copics into her process and find out where you may be able to meet her in person:

Tell us about yourself!
I was born in New Orleans. I was probably drawing at the time, and then just sort of kept at it for going on 25 years. I think when I was growing up I wanted to do covers for fantasy novels like the ones my older sister and my dad read – Like the ones with big elaborate dragons and explosions and battleships and stuff. That was basically my entire impression of illustration until I started going to school at MCAD.

Do you have any formal art training?
I’m currently pursuing a degree in Illustration at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, but I’ve also been working as a freelance illustrator since before I enrolled back in 2007. It’s slow going! But both are excellent teachers, and although learning to find a balance between them is rough, it’s been worth the stress so far. Being at MCAD has been like learning how to speak after years of thinking I already knew how, and I love seeing how my experiences at school translate into my work outside of class.

When did you first become interested in creating comics?


To be totally honest, I thought I’d finally scared myself away from it. I always liked the idea of drawing comics, but it wasn’t until I took Jim Keefe’s Intro Comics class that I really started to find my footing with creating them. From there, it sat in the back of my mind until I got the script from Vera for Recipes for the Dead. Then it basically took over my brain.

Tools used: Pencil, Copic Multiliner, Copic Sketch markers, Photoshop

What’s the most challenging thing about working on a comic series?


I like to be able to spend eons lovingly tailoring a piece of work. But with comics, that’s got to be the entire book, not any individual panel. It’s so hard for me to let a drawing go and just move on to the next!

The comic you’re collaborating with Vera Greentea on, Recipes for the Dead, raised over $9,000 on Kickstarter – more than quadruple the fundraising goal. How did it feel to have such a positive response to the project?


It would almost be scary, except it’s completely wonderful. It makes me hate the fact that I’m not more experienced, because I want this to be the best thing I’ve ever made.

Do you prefer traditional or digital media?
I spent a lot of time as a primarily digital artist working in Photoshop, but I was starting to feel like I spent all my life in front of a monitor. Nowadays, I like using digital media to enhance a foundation drawing or coloring made with traditional media. I love to work out of my sketchpad for as much of a piece as I can get away with. I use pencil mostly, but also pens, ink, watercolor, charcoal, pastels, colored pencils; it’s always switching around. I think that’s what I like the best about making art: You can always find another way to do something, or undo something, in a worst-case scenario.

Describe how you incorporate Copics into your work:
I use Copics to add tone and texture to my inks before they go to color. Sometimes I use warm grays to set the temperature of the light throughout the scene, that way the shaded picture doesn’t come out looking “shiny”. I’ll go through after that with cool grays to work up shadows and depth, and maybe to describe form here and there. Finally, I use Photoshop to add color and maybe a few more textures, if I feel like there’s a space that needs a little roughing up. I try not to let this part overpower the drawing underneath, and to keep it so that the finished piece still keeps all of the expression and liveliness of the scanned original. It is always tempting to just fix a picture to death!

Tools used: Pencil, Copic Multiliner, Copic Sketch markers, Photoshop

What are you working on right now? Any personal projects?
I love making storyboard animatics. I feel like it’s a medium stuck between comic and animation, and it’s extremely expressive. I’m currently poking at an idea for a short project about a ghost who lives in an abandoned lighthouse. It’s not getting finished any time soon with my current workloads, but it’s something I enjoy coming back to whenever I can find time. It’s not really for anything special either. I just think its important to have something like that, where there’s no pressure and you can just enjoy it no matter how long it takes to pan out.

Aside from that, I’m always working on new artwork to sell at Anime Conventions I attend. It’s fun designing buttons and posters of my characters from various stories I’ve got no idea how I’ll ever write. I love them anyway.

Tools used: Pencil, ballpoint pen, Photoshop

Any exhibitions or shows coming up?
I’m going to be at Anime Detour and Animinneapolis this year, both in Minneapolis MN. I’m also trying to get into A-kon in Dallas TX, and Mecha Con in New Orleans LA, but we’ll see what happens!

Find Allison on the web:
Portfolio: http://shirotsuki.deviantart.com/
Tumblr: http://alliebirdseed.tumblr.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/clearblueNEL

Tell us about yourself!
I was born in a town called Victoriaville (Québec/Canada) from a Belgian mom and a Canadian dad. My mom is an artist and she initiated my three brothers and I to drawing, pastels, collage, acrylic and oil painting. I also learned piano at an early age and this strong connection with music, especially classical, is an extra filter. It makes me draw and see things with musical sensibility.

I studied Sciences, French literature and History and graduated with honors from University of Montreal. I did all sorts of jobs: interpreter, journalism, pianist, public relations, fund raising, teaching French and scuba. I had the chance to do this in Montreal and abroad: Brazil, England, Turkey and the Caribbean.

Now, let’s talk about chance, faith and dreams. When I moved to Los Angeles I met my husband. Having a life partner that believes in my art was a drastic turn in my career. I started doing drawings incorporating intricate fabrics. One day, I entered a beautiful stationery store in Coronal del Mar and the owner, Harriet, saw these pieces and suggested me to send them to Constance Kay inc. Tip number one: Always have sample of your art on you, even in micro version! The rest is history as they say. Constance Kay has been an incredible mentor and guide for my art. My greeting cards are now sold in Japan, England, Switzerland and across U.S.A. It is a great joy to see my work transcend languages and cultures around the world. For my illustration work, another great luck struck me. My illustrations were hanging on the walls of my friend Virginia. Tip number two: be surrounded by friends that believe in you and give them your art pieces. A common friend who owns a beautiful agency in Venice California, Nouvelle Vague LA, saw my pieces and took me on board. Tip number three: get an agent. Sandrine gave me great visibility and opportunities.

What is your earliest memory of drawing or making art?
My earliest memory is probably throwing spaghetti on the walls with my brothers. Very modern. Or shall I say: A classic. Every kid draws. I did the same thing but because my mom was an artist I had tutorials, tools and even early critic! I remember drawing a lot of 18th century dresses, princesses and birds. Every year, at an early age, I was making a different Christmas card for each member of my family. I got good at cartooning and using humor to share my love. Humor is my favorite way of communicating.

What are your biggest sources of inspiration?
People. The best designs I did where initially created for someone. It’s easy to make something beautiful and inspiring when it is led by love. My inspiration is deeply shaped by my gratefulness for life, nature, hiking, scuba diving, yoga, colors, fashion, witnessing kindness between people, and finally but not the least, by my family and my friends.

Describe your creative process:
Everything starts with a coffee at 7am every morning. Routine and discipline are my golden keys. It’s all about ideas and concepts. These are the most important things for an illustrator. When I work on a project, I brainstorm and cartoon all my ideas. Illustration on the drawing table is most of my work: Hands on work, old fashion. Then the best ones are turn into final pieces. For the greeting cards, they’re all handmade so there is a craftsmanship part to my work that I really enjoy. I am some sort of art engineer that finds the right material to make the concept look flawless.

Has your illustration process changed over time?
I stick to a routine but how I do my illustrations have changed. Using Copic markers for instance was a drastic change. I first bought few colors to integrate them in my work and two weeks later I had a vast range of colors. It speeds up my work, adding precision and vibrant colors while offering transparency. The requests for my clients make me evolve as an artist because it brings me to work on different topics using broader styles. I have learned to create more elaborate pieces as opposite to my initial minimalist style.

Why do you choose to use Copic markers for your illustrations?
What’s not to love about Copic? We are a lot of fans out there! Copic offers so many transparent and gorgeous colors. They are durable, precise and easy to find. They are easy to work with and integrate to any pieces I work on. They also accelerate my creative process because I can quickly lay colors on my drafts. It does not blurry or mess up the fine details of my illustrations. I love their design, the way they lay in my hands. I use them for touch up on fabrics and papers. I also work with watercolors and ink but I would say that using Copic now covers 60-70% of my illustration work. I have YR00 Pink Powder for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I use this color a lot. It saves me so much time with my skin tones. I am grateful for such a great tool and our Copic community.

What are you working on right now?
I am working on Valentines cards design for Constance Kay inc. It’s all pink, bubbly, kinky, colorful and funny. For Nouvelle Vague LA, I am working on London 2012 Olympics and a series of illustrations filled with words for advertising and tourism projects.

Any words of advice for new artists?
See my tips above! Stick with people that love your work and support you. Maira Kalman gave me a great advice one day, with that same question: “Get deadlines!” That’ll make your work clearer, vibrant and more precise. Be prolific! Be inspired, loved and know that you are doing the right thing just right now, as you are.

Find Gigi on the web:

For greeting cards:
Constance Kay

For illustrations:
Nouvelle Vague LA
Directory of Illustration

This year Copic Design Team member, Debbie Olson, will assist Ken (President Emeritus of Imagination International, Inc., importer of Copic Markers.)

The plan is to spend two weeks at a tiny art school in Umbria (1 1/2 hours North of Rome), each day traveling to a nearby hill town to sketch, and returning to our base in LaRomita School Of Art. We are taken care of by two Italian cooks, and we stay there in apartments remodeled in a 15th Century Monastery.

The cost for this two week workshop is $3,600 plus airfare. It includes food, room, instruction, and all local transportation as we travel each day out to new hill towns. Other costs may include a few lunches, snacks and gifts.

If this adventure is of interest to you, please write to ken@copicmarker.com for more information and a list of FAQ.