“I’ve been into drawing since I was a little kid,” she relayed in an interview with Matter of Hand. “I think that fashion was important to me growing up; I was more interested in clothes than in drawing.” But though she studied illustration in college she admits she actually wanted to be a fashion editor, while drawing was more of a hobby. “Eventually, something clicked and illustration became a major passion of mine,” she says. “I realized that I could combine the two things that I am passionate about.”  

Inspired by nostalgia, strong women, plants, and a love of print and bright colors, her work has an uplifting quality to it making for a fun and playful effect. “I would say that my love of vintage and retro inspiration is a very marked characteristic,” says Karman. “In my personal life, I draw inspiration from my love of the past — in how I like to dress, in the music that I listen to, in basically everything aesthetic that I like.”

A fashion enthusiast, she also finds inspiration in runway shows. “I’ll take a runway image and create a whole story of who the girl is and where she would be,” she explains. “I then place her in that situation within my illustration. That’s where a lot of my pieces start. But my work is not about trends at all – that doesn’t interest me. If anything I like clothes that are more retro.”

Take a look at some of her work in the gallery below:

The post This Illustrator Finds Inspiration In Runway Shows appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Since graduating, Helf has worked with well-known labels such as New Yorker, C&A, Street One, Blutsgeschwister, and Zalando. Currently based near Frankfurt, her accolades include winning the international fashion design competition Style X at the SWSW Festival in Austin, in 2012, as well as having an outfit she designed worn by the singer Maya Azucena on the runway.

With so much going on for her, inspiration comes easy. “I get inspiration from my many travels, museums, paintings, nature, fashion shows, magazines, pop culture, different songs, and music,” she relayed in an interview with Talenthouse. “Sometimes when I am doing nearly anything, or simply even people watching, I get great ideas for textile design and illustration.”

Like most creatives, Helf’s love of art sparked at a very young age, and she recalls sketching at only 4 years old. “I always have my camera and sketchbook with me,” she says. “When I see an interesting outfit, textile design, trend or color combination, I usually take some pictures to capture it or I sketch the idea. After this I brainstorm and put all my ideas together.”

Follow her creative journey on Instagram:

The post Nicole Helf Has a Passion for Fashion appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Inspired by all things fashion, when she’s not in the studio, you can find her getting lost in vintage clothing stores. “My interest in vintage fashion can be seen reflected in my art, because I think much of contemporary fashion is indebted to what has come before it,” she remarked in an interview with I Love Illustration. “And it is that very connection my art seeks to explore: the ways in which the methods of contemporary fashion are related to or are different from the techniques of the past.”

Her toolbox includes both traditional and digital tools. Mostly working with digital-based media, when she isn’t using her iPad she typically works with ink, pastel, acrylic, and watercolors.

“There are many things around me that I am able to get inspired by,” she adds. “These things range from clothing, books, old magazines, and textiles. The sketches of old masters that I look up to are Christian Lacroix, Karl Lagerfeld, and David Downtown. What I appreciate about the three of these artists (and fashion designers) is their playfulness with figure, shape, and color. I find playfulness to be an intriguing element in the creation of art because it is able to evoke a story by capturing the fundamental parts of the image without getting too bogged down by the details.”

Take a look at some of her quirky takes on the fashion world:

The post Annie Naranian Creates Quirky and Exaggerated Fashion Illustrations appeared first on PlayJunkie.

“My style is still very defined by the early days where I used to draw on the streets, catwalks or at events so you always have to be quick,” Molenaar explained in an interview with I Love Illustration. “Therefore, my drawings always have a sense of speed in them. I don’t sketch or use erasers but go straight for the real deal. I often make several versions of one theme and add on tho earlier drawings or take different parts from others till it will emerge into something that feels right for me. I always try to balance technique with a bit of impulsiveness. It are often the little accidents, ‘faulty’ lines  and even things that you don’t draw that make my illustrations come alive.”

Learning by trial and error, Molenaar is completely self-taught when it comes to her illustrations. “I always wanted to be a fashion designer so I went to the famous academy in Antwerp but stopped in the first year,” she says. “After I moved to Amsterdam during my masters in Art History I just desperately needed a job and decided to go draw on festivals and weekend markets for voluntary donations. Just because I was already always drawing anyway and it seemed so much more fun than working in a cafe or coffee bar. This was in a time that nobody was doing live illustration yet, so I got picked up really quickly,” she says.

Follow her Instagram for more:

The post Sella Molenaar’s Fashion Illustrations Capture the Moment appeared first on PlayJunkie.

“I am very fortunate because I work every day with groups of young creative students from all over the world,” she told I Love Illustration. “I get to share ideas with them and artistically direct them through different projects.”

Her work also fuses different mediums, such as animations, video, 2D graphic as well as traditional illustrations, helping her to access a constant creative flow. “With illustration, I have struggled a bit to maintain a definitive style and I know this is sometimes a flaw, especially for someone working as a professional,” she says. “Iʼve got a ‘transitional period’ every few years in which I get bored of what I do and search for new fresh inspirations.”

But though her work varies one thing remains constant: she always starts by drawing on paper. “I still cannot work natively in digital,” she admits, “but will see, never say never.” With her latest project, Murialdo attempts to describe what seems most influential and inspiring in the contemporary fashion panorama in a sort of both illustrative and commentary Fashion Visual Story.

Here are some highlights from her Instagram page:

The post Simona Murialdo Adds a Little Shine to Her Fashion Illustrations appeared first on PlayJunkie.

“After an internship at Cosmopolitan magazine, I immediately started working as a freelance stylist,” she added. “But Illustrating was what I loved most so after a few years of styling I decided to change course and started working as an illustrator.”

Now, residing in Alkmaar, she works for brands like AvantGarde, Viva, Elegance, Libelle, and Margriet. Though her work varies between each client, the process is more or less the same. “I focus on simplicity, less is more,” she says. “I prefer working with my hands and don’t want to sit in front of a computer all day.”

Her toolbox includes ink, watercolor, paint, crayons, pencils, and paper, with much of her work relying on intuition. “I like to color outside the lines,” de Graaf says. “I don’t sketch with a pencil; I just create lots of silhouettes or faces with watercolor/ ink directly on paper.”

Take a look at some of her work in the gallery below:

The post Tessa M. de Graaf Colors Outside the Lines appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Since graduating as a fashion designer from ArtEZ Arnhem in 2017, she started focusing on doing what she has always loved: drawing and painting from a fashion point of view. Bemmel’s background in fashion design makes her understand the high fashion garments she illustrates from a designer’s point of view.

“Most of the time I brainstorm in my sketchbook and make small 15sec sketches to figure out the composition and pose,” she told I Love Illustration, describing her creative process. “Sometimes I only sketch one, sometimes I need more, but they always help me figure it out before starting on a big blank paper. I start by drawing with colored pencils and sometimes markers for the big gestures and sketch, then I will move onto acrylic paint if it’s needed. I sometimes work digitally as well, but I always start with a drawing on paper which I will then transfer into Photoshop.”

Her work also involves collaborations with magazines, doing editorial illustration and working from concepts, as well as collaborating with other artists. “Freelancing makes me schedule my own time and this is absolutely what makes it worth all the extra work and uncertainties,” she says. “Being my own boss and deciding for myself what to do that day is incredibly rewarding. All the work I put in is coming back to me at some point, if I get lazy it doesn’t. I love that on a sunny day I can decide to go outside and meet a friend and just continue working in the evening. At least for me this makes me much more aware of the time I actually have instead of working a 9-5 job every day.”

Here are some of her finished products:

The post Roxy van Bemmel’s Portraits Make a Fashionable Statement appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Indeed, her illustrations seem to be in direct dialogue with the fashion industry, with her work mostly focusing on fashionable women and the ways in which their styling and makeup inform their identity. Loose and energetic, her illustrations are as much playful as they are reflective.

Based in Oslo, Roise has been drawing since she was little, and has formal training from The Einar Granum School of Art, and a BA in Visual Communication from The Academy of The Arts in Oslo, Norway. “I’ve been drawing since I was just a little girl, and it has always been something that has gives me lots of joy, and I’ve never really had any other plan,” she shared. “Drawing has always been the only thing I’ve really really wanted to do, so I guess I’ve never really pursued anything else with the same passion. I love my job!”

Currently working as a freelance illustrator, her notable clients include VOGUE, Stella McCartney, Burberry, and Urban Outfitters to name a few. “I’ve been lucky enough to be graced with awesome clients that often let me play around with the given tasks, and just do my thing, which I very much enjoy,” she says.

Take a look at some of the finished results:

The post This Illustrator Is In Direct Dialogue with the Fashion Industry appeared first on PlayJunkie.

“When I think of my style I’m sure it’s quite… happy!” she relayed in an interview with I Love Illustration. “I use bright colors of markers which I buy in every place of the world I visit and my favorite Canson paper. I turn on nice music, create a really nice atmosphere and I draw. Nowadays I also help myself with an Ipad, where I plan my work, make sketches.”

It’s perhaps this sense of optimism that has garnered the attention of brands like Marc Jacobs and Grazia Germany, which have shared her illustrations on their social media platforms. Pawelczyk has also collaborated with BIZUU, which has printed some of her nonchalant girls on t-shirts, blouses, and dresses.

“What I love the most about my job is that every project is different,” she says. “One day I draw for magazines, next day I focus on the illustrations for campaigns, another day I search for inspiration for the 20/30 meters big illustration which is going to stand in the center of one of the biggest cities in Europe. This is quite crazy and I love it. I also love the fact that I can work remotely. I choose the place where I feel comfortable – it can be my studio, a beach in Sri Lanka or an Airbnb in Gdańsk. I love that freedom my work gives me.”

Take a look at some of her fashionable characters:

The post Karolina Pawelczyk’s Fashion Illustrations Are Kinda Awakard, Kinda Funky appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Her fame is largely thanks to her Instagram profile, which, having turned viral fairly quickly, lead to collaborations with giants like Gucci and Dries van Noten. “Instagram is the only platform I use, apart from when I was in China, where Wechat is the only real way to communicate and connect with people” she shared with The Corner. “I think, for creatives, Instagram is still by far the most accessible way to post your work and view that of others.”

But, like most creatives, her relationship with art began much earlier. “As the story with most artists goes, I drew incessantly from the time I could pick up a crayon,” she says. “I would go through paper at a ridiculous rate and, when it ran out, I’d draw on the backs, cut them up, make collages and so on!”

According to Button, by the age of 14, she was wholly in love with the world of art. “I devoured every art book at my local library and would take the train to London in order to see as many exhibitions as possible, I just couldn’t get enough,” she admits.

Nowadays, most of her muses are fashion icons or fleeting glimpses of models which she then interprets with a fluid, gestural style, using either watercolor, oil, or ink. Take a look at some of her mesmerizing portraits in the gallery below:

The post Gill Button’s Fashion Portraits Are Kind of a Big Deal appeared first on PlayJunkie.

“I’ve been into drawing since I was a little kid,” she relayed in an interview with Matter of Hand. “I think that fashion was important to me growing up; I was more interested in clothes than in drawing.” But though she studied illustration in college she admits she actually wanted to be a fashion editor, while drawing was more of a hobby. “Eventually, something clicked and illustration became a major passion of mine,” she says. “I realized that I could combine the two things that I am passionate about.”  

Inspired by nostalgia, strong women, plants, and a love of print and bright colors, her work has an uplifting quality to it making for a fun and playful effect. “I would say that my love of vintage and retro inspiration is a very marked characteristic,” says Karman. “In my personal life, I draw inspiration from my love of the past — in how I like to dress, in the music that I listen to, in basically everything aesthetic that I like.”

A fashion enthusiast, she also finds inspiration in runway shows. “I’ll take a runway image and create a whole story of who the girl is and where she would be,” she explains. “I then place her in that situation within my illustration. That’s where a lot of my pieces start. But my work is not about trends at all – that doesn’t interest me. If anything I like clothes that are more retro.”

Take a look at some of her work in the gallery below:

The post This Illustrator Finds Inspiration In Runway Shows appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Since graduating, Helf has worked with well-known labels such as New Yorker, C&A, Street One, Blutsgeschwister, and Zalando. Currently based near Frankfurt, her accolades include winning the international fashion design competition Style X at the SWSW Festival in Austin, in 2012, as well as having an outfit she designed worn by the singer Maya Azucena on the runway.

With so much going on for her, inspiration comes easy. “I get inspiration from my many travels, museums, paintings, nature, fashion shows, magazines, pop culture, different songs, and music,” she relayed in an interview with Talenthouse. “Sometimes when I am doing nearly anything, or simply even people watching, I get great ideas for textile design and illustration.”

Like most creatives, Helf’s love of art sparked at a very young age, and she recalls sketching at only 4 years old. “I always have my camera and sketchbook with me,” she says. “When I see an interesting outfit, textile design, trend or color combination, I usually take some pictures to capture it or I sketch the idea. After this I brainstorm and put all my ideas together.”

Follow her creative journey on Instagram:

The post Nicole Helf Has a Passion for Fashion appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Inspired by all things fashion, when she’s not in the studio, you can find her getting lost in vintage clothing stores. “My interest in vintage fashion can be seen reflected in my art, because I think much of contemporary fashion is indebted to what has come before it,” she remarked in an interview with I Love Illustration. “And it is that very connection my art seeks to explore: the ways in which the methods of contemporary fashion are related to or are different from the techniques of the past.”

Her toolbox includes both traditional and digital tools. Mostly working with digital-based media, when she isn’t using her iPad she typically works with ink, pastel, acrylic, and watercolors.

“There are many things around me that I am able to get inspired by,” she adds. “These things range from clothing, books, old magazines, and textiles. The sketches of old masters that I look up to are Christian Lacroix, Karl Lagerfeld, and David Downtown. What I appreciate about the three of these artists (and fashion designers) is their playfulness with figure, shape, and color. I find playfulness to be an intriguing element in the creation of art because it is able to evoke a story by capturing the fundamental parts of the image without getting too bogged down by the details.”

Take a look at some of her quirky takes on the fashion world:

The post Annie Naranian Creates Quirky and Exaggerated Fashion Illustrations appeared first on PlayJunkie.

“My style is still very defined by the early days where I used to draw on the streets, catwalks or at events so you always have to be quick,” Molenaar explained in an interview with I Love Illustration. “Therefore, my drawings always have a sense of speed in them. I don’t sketch or use erasers but go straight for the real deal. I often make several versions of one theme and add on tho earlier drawings or take different parts from others till it will emerge into something that feels right for me. I always try to balance technique with a bit of impulsiveness. It are often the little accidents, ‘faulty’ lines  and even things that you don’t draw that make my illustrations come alive.”

Learning by trial and error, Molenaar is completely self-taught when it comes to her illustrations. “I always wanted to be a fashion designer so I went to the famous academy in Antwerp but stopped in the first year,” she says. “After I moved to Amsterdam during my masters in Art History I just desperately needed a job and decided to go draw on festivals and weekend markets for voluntary donations. Just because I was already always drawing anyway and it seemed so much more fun than working in a cafe or coffee bar. This was in a time that nobody was doing live illustration yet, so I got picked up really quickly,” she says.

Follow her Instagram for more:

The post Sella Molenaar’s Fashion Illustrations Capture the Moment appeared first on PlayJunkie.

“I am very fortunate because I work every day with groups of young creative students from all over the world,” she told I Love Illustration. “I get to share ideas with them and artistically direct them through different projects.”

Her work also fuses different mediums, such as animations, video, 2D graphic as well as traditional illustrations, helping her to access a constant creative flow. “With illustration, I have struggled a bit to maintain a definitive style and I know this is sometimes a flaw, especially for someone working as a professional,” she says. “Iʼve got a ‘transitional period’ every few years in which I get bored of what I do and search for new fresh inspirations.”

But though her work varies one thing remains constant: she always starts by drawing on paper. “I still cannot work natively in digital,” she admits, “but will see, never say never.” With her latest project, Murialdo attempts to describe what seems most influential and inspiring in the contemporary fashion panorama in a sort of both illustrative and commentary Fashion Visual Story.

Here are some highlights from her Instagram page:

The post Simona Murialdo Adds a Little Shine to Her Fashion Illustrations appeared first on PlayJunkie.

“After an internship at Cosmopolitan magazine, I immediately started working as a freelance stylist,” she added. “But Illustrating was what I loved most so after a few years of styling I decided to change course and started working as an illustrator.”

Now, residing in Alkmaar, she works for brands like AvantGarde, Viva, Elegance, Libelle, and Margriet. Though her work varies between each client, the process is more or less the same. “I focus on simplicity, less is more,” she says. “I prefer working with my hands and don’t want to sit in front of a computer all day.”

Her toolbox includes ink, watercolor, paint, crayons, pencils, and paper, with much of her work relying on intuition. “I like to color outside the lines,” de Graaf says. “I don’t sketch with a pencil; I just create lots of silhouettes or faces with watercolor/ ink directly on paper.”

Take a look at some of her work in the gallery below:

The post Tessa M. de Graaf Colors Outside the Lines appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Since graduating as a fashion designer from ArtEZ Arnhem in 2017, she started focusing on doing what she has always loved: drawing and painting from a fashion point of view. Bemmel’s background in fashion design makes her understand the high fashion garments she illustrates from a designer’s point of view.

“Most of the time I brainstorm in my sketchbook and make small 15sec sketches to figure out the composition and pose,” she told I Love Illustration, describing her creative process. “Sometimes I only sketch one, sometimes I need more, but they always help me figure it out before starting on a big blank paper. I start by drawing with colored pencils and sometimes markers for the big gestures and sketch, then I will move onto acrylic paint if it’s needed. I sometimes work digitally as well, but I always start with a drawing on paper which I will then transfer into Photoshop.”

Her work also involves collaborations with magazines, doing editorial illustration and working from concepts, as well as collaborating with other artists. “Freelancing makes me schedule my own time and this is absolutely what makes it worth all the extra work and uncertainties,” she says. “Being my own boss and deciding for myself what to do that day is incredibly rewarding. All the work I put in is coming back to me at some point, if I get lazy it doesn’t. I love that on a sunny day I can decide to go outside and meet a friend and just continue working in the evening. At least for me this makes me much more aware of the time I actually have instead of working a 9-5 job every day.”

Here are some of her finished products:

The post Roxy van Bemmel’s Portraits Make a Fashionable Statement appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Indeed, her illustrations seem to be in direct dialogue with the fashion industry, with her work mostly focusing on fashionable women and the ways in which their styling and makeup inform their identity. Loose and energetic, her illustrations are as much playful as they are reflective.

Based in Oslo, Roise has been drawing since she was little, and has formal training from The Einar Granum School of Art, and a BA in Visual Communication from The Academy of The Arts in Oslo, Norway. “I’ve been drawing since I was just a little girl, and it has always been something that has gives me lots of joy, and I’ve never really had any other plan,” she shared. “Drawing has always been the only thing I’ve really really wanted to do, so I guess I’ve never really pursued anything else with the same passion. I love my job!”

Currently working as a freelance illustrator, her notable clients include VOGUE, Stella McCartney, Burberry, and Urban Outfitters to name a few. “I’ve been lucky enough to be graced with awesome clients that often let me play around with the given tasks, and just do my thing, which I very much enjoy,” she says.

Take a look at some of the finished results:

The post This Illustrator Is In Direct Dialogue with the Fashion Industry appeared first on PlayJunkie.

“When I think of my style I’m sure it’s quite… happy!” she relayed in an interview with I Love Illustration. “I use bright colors of markers which I buy in every place of the world I visit and my favorite Canson paper. I turn on nice music, create a really nice atmosphere and I draw. Nowadays I also help myself with an Ipad, where I plan my work, make sketches.”

It’s perhaps this sense of optimism that has garnered the attention of brands like Marc Jacobs and Grazia Germany, which have shared her illustrations on their social media platforms. Pawelczyk has also collaborated with BIZUU, which has printed some of her nonchalant girls on t-shirts, blouses, and dresses.

“What I love the most about my job is that every project is different,” she says. “One day I draw for magazines, next day I focus on the illustrations for campaigns, another day I search for inspiration for the 20/30 meters big illustration which is going to stand in the center of one of the biggest cities in Europe. This is quite crazy and I love it. I also love the fact that I can work remotely. I choose the place where I feel comfortable – it can be my studio, a beach in Sri Lanka or an Airbnb in Gdańsk. I love that freedom my work gives me.”

Take a look at some of her fashionable characters:

The post Karolina Pawelczyk’s Fashion Illustrations Are Kinda Awakard, Kinda Funky appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Her fame is largely thanks to her Instagram profile, which, having turned viral fairly quickly, lead to collaborations with giants like Gucci and Dries van Noten. “Instagram is the only platform I use, apart from when I was in China, where Wechat is the only real way to communicate and connect with people” she shared with The Corner. “I think, for creatives, Instagram is still by far the most accessible way to post your work and view that of others.”

But, like most creatives, her relationship with art began much earlier. “As the story with most artists goes, I drew incessantly from the time I could pick up a crayon,” she says. “I would go through paper at a ridiculous rate and, when it ran out, I’d draw on the backs, cut them up, make collages and so on!”

According to Button, by the age of 14, she was wholly in love with the world of art. “I devoured every art book at my local library and would take the train to London in order to see as many exhibitions as possible, I just couldn’t get enough,” she admits.

Nowadays, most of her muses are fashion icons or fleeting glimpses of models which she then interprets with a fluid, gestural style, using either watercolor, oil, or ink. Take a look at some of her mesmerizing portraits in the gallery below:

The post Gill Button’s Fashion Portraits Are Kind of a Big Deal appeared first on PlayJunkie.