I am enjoying the work of Lotta Nieminen, a graphic designer and illustrator from Helsinki, Finland. I particularly like how she renders buildings and I love her style, which is very infographics-friendly (read: a clean style, pretty icons and – oh! – those cute tiny people!) What Lotta adds to the mix though, are beautiful textures, a beautiful color palette and a consistent style that makes her work stand out.
It’s been quite a while since we had a sponsor giveaway here, and I’m thrilled to welcome Penny Poorly of Poorly Drawn Things here on Pikaland! Penny is based in San Diego, USA and psychedelic, colourful patterned pieces are the hallmark of her work! Penny’s work has grown from tiny Bic and Sharpie pen sketches to large watercolors and beyond – often immortalized in brooches, necklaces, prints and more.
She’s offering Pikaland readers a Forest Animal Prize Pack worth USD$38 that includes one Scavenger 2” x 2” Cameo Necklace (25$ value) + one Little Rabbit brooch (8$ value) + a Forest Animal Sticker set featuring cute forest animals are taken from one of her larger watercolor paintings (5$ value)!
Since Penny started out with Bic and Sharpie pens, tell us what materials and tools YOU used when you first started out! Leave your answers in the comments section of this post and we’ll fish out a winner after 15th November 2011!
See more over at Penny’s links below!
Poorly Drawn Things website | Poorly Drawn Things Etsy shop | Poorly Drawn Things Facebook page
*UPDATE: Commenting has now closed, thanks so much for participating. The winner of this giveaway is Anita Van Hal as chosen via random.org!
I follow each and every Project Runway episode, every season.
And the thing is, when I first watched the show, I wasn’t interested at all with Michael Kors or his label. His work was just alright to me, even veering on the slightly boring.
But the more I see him on air and hear his reactions to the designers on Project Runway, the more I like him. He has made me spill out soda through my nose with his witty comments, and he made me laugh out loud, smacking my hands on my thighs with a raucous “whoop!” when I got what he was saying (especially when I agreed with him!)
So I see his work with new eyes. I appreciate him more, because he has a point of view and he wasn’t afraid to share it. I could see his passion, and I could see how his experiences in the fashion industry informed his critique sessions. And I now look at his fashion label and remember him – the personality behind the pieces.
As artists and illustrators, we shouldn’t be afraid to be like Michael Kors. We shouldn’t be afraid to express our opinions in public in a professional manner. I don’t mean trash talking people or belittling people (Michael doesn’t do that) – we just need to be honest in a consistent, constructive way.
And we shouldn’t have to worry because unlike Michael, we don’t have a camera staring at our faces (and he still let it rip anyway – that’s telling you something!)
Start with a blog.
And let it all out.
