As you may already know, we like to get in touch with artists that express their creativity through their work. So, we come back to you with another interview. Hope you will enjoy it!
Subsign: Before we get things rolling, let’s get acquainted. Tell us a few things about yourself.
Roxana: Hi, I’m Roxana. I like coffee, good music, Harry Potter and stuff you find in the weirder corners of the internet. I like to draw and help people tell their stories in a visual way. I am a graphic designer and illustrator, looking to shift life more towards illustration.
Subsign: What was your childhood like? Do you think your experiences from childhood have influenced your present creative endeavors?
Roxana: I spent my childhood mostly between two places: home, in Iasi and my grandparents’ house, in Falticeni during preschool and the summer holidays. I remember drawing (princesses and stuff) and reading a lot of stories while growing up, which I think influenced how I see and do things now, because I draw illustrations so that they tell stories about people or transmit a certain message.
Subsign: How would you describe your work style?
Roxana: A work in progress. I feel that the illustration style I worked on until recently is changing into something else. I used to do more digital art, illustrations that were close to graphic novel style, some digital painting. Recently, I’ve been sketching by hand and coloring with markers as often as possible with the idea to grasp details, from around me, to show feelings and authentic “slices of life”. I think drawing in a more traditional way feels more personal as well.
Subsign: Can you share with us how your creative process works?
Roxana: For freelance projects, I do research based on the client’s brief, so that I make sure that the solution I’m coming up with will work for the client. This is very important for me, because through research, I build up a sort of map of words/ideas that I later connect in visual ways. It’s really exciting when you can come up with a cool idea by smashing two or more different ones together. I think it’s one way to create something unexpected, that would bring a reaction from viewers.
After I find the best idea for the illustrations, I make sketches based on photography or real life references, from which I choose the right ones, while also considering the color palette. I usually do the coloring digitally, but now I’m experimenting traditional techniques combined with digital painting. For personal illustrations, I usually let myself go a bit more loose. That meaning, I draw what I feel or how I see things or people around me and experiment a bit more.
Subsign: How does your workstation look like?
Roxana: A sketchbook, drawing tools, my laptop and a Wacom tablet that has been through too much and should go on a well-deserved retirement in Florida.
Subsign: What is your favorite work you have done so far?
Roxana: I am particularly proud when I come up with mashups, like the Cheesus illustration. Cheesus, Glob of Cheese is the equivalent of Jesus, God of People meet the xFiles “I Want to Believe” famous poster.
And also, when I make personal illustrations – it feels great to contribute to making people feel excited and touched. Something similar happened recently, it was unexpected and felt great.
Subsign: Who do you admire as a visionary?
Roxana: I like Andy Warhol, because he was not the starving artist. He put his mark in the pop art world, did what he liked and was able to live off his talent. I also find inspiring today artists who make it, who understand what it means to create illustrations, market themselves and their products and thrive. Some of my favorites are: Pascal Campion, Tuesday Bassen, Laura Callagan and other illustrators, which I follow on Instagram and other channels.
Subsign: What advice could you give to someone starting out in the creative field of work?
Roxana: Find time to practice drawing and enjoy it at the same time. It’s really important to never stop enjoying it.
Subsign: If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?
Roxana: I’m always learning by doing so what I do right now is what I want to learn: using new tools, approaching and creating new styles of illustration. What I find hard to do is watercolor illustration. That’s why I’ll also experiment with this technique one day.
Subsign: Can you recommend for our readers a book, a song and a movie?
Roxana: One of my favourite books is The NeverEnding Story, by Michael Ende. I perceived it as a metaphor for creation because Bastian, the main character is the one who makes the world possible by giving it/the Child Empress a new name.
Song(s): Imagine Dragons – It’s Time always pumps me up and gives me energy to do stuff. Or Augustines – Are we alive.
Movie: I liked the Pursuit of Happiness a lot, it inspires you to work for your dreams, to struggle to change your status quo and live a better life. And to believe in yourself.
Subsign: If you could throw any kind of party, what would it be like and what would it be for?
Roxana: I’m the type of person who doesn’t party that much. My idea of a party now is a small number of people, good music, good talks, wine/beer, some games or activities. Something chill and short. Nothing fancy.
Subsign: What did you wanted to be as a grown up?
Roxana: As a kid, I didn’t really think about who I wanted to be as I grew up, but I knew I liked drawing a lot. During high school I had some thoughts about graphic design or visual communication, which I came around to do after all, after some detour route.
If you know a creative that should be in the spotlight feel free to contact us at jojo@subsign.co .
For more of Roxana’s work you can follow his on the link:Roxana – instagram, Roxana – website
