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Art of my heart. Interview with fashion illustrator Anastasia Garadnay

Recent year forecasts for the future job market constantly emphasise the essential role of soft skills, in which ability for adaptation and continuous knowledge actualisation are the primary ones. 

In the Hungarian job market framework, we had a conversation with Anastasia Garadnay “Nastako”, a fashion illustrator and architect from Pècs. We discussed her pass from architecture to illustration, the current situation and perspectives of illustration in Hungary, why creativity is related not only to art, and how everyone can use it in everyday life. 

“Even four years before, I wasn’t an illustrator. I was making, and I am still making interior designs, house planning, so the architecture is my main occupation. But in Hungary, I am positioning myself more like an artist, as an illustrator, and only a few people here know about my actual background,” – said Anastasia as an introduction. 

The architect now is not the main job for you?

Now it is part-time, but sometimes interiors go to third place. When I realized that I have a lot of illustration orders and I can’t do my beloved job as an architect, I was initially stressed. But then I found my balance – my creative part of the brain draws illustrations, and the logic part creates the designs of interiors in Autocad. I felt balanced, and then I started to suggest drawings instead of 3D visualisation of the interiors for my clients. So, I mixed it by putting art inside my occupation, inside the logical part of my job. 

How can you define the illustration market in Hungary? What is the level of competition?

Here we still have a lot of work to do to change the Hungarian market, and the field is quite broad. People are just starting to know about illustration and all prospect opportunities. When they realise where illustrations could be applied in their projects, they are getting excited indeed. The common phrase that I hear: “We didn’t know about that; it simply did not come to our mind!” So I am feeling myself at the beginning of something big, that is why I love the Hungarian market. 

Also, I am not observing rigid competition. Today, I know only several established names in illustration, especially in its fashion niche. 

How has your idea for fashion sketches started and developed?

Worldwide fashion weeks inspired me. In 2018 I had the challenge to myself – I wanted to sketch a minimum of five models from each fashion week of Big Four. I made the illustrations for the winter collection of New York, followed by London and Milan fashion weeks. But for fashion week in New York, I made even more than five illustrations because I loved it a lot; it was really inspiring.

In those times, I was still drawing on paper, and the sketches were in the A2 format, quite big. Last autumn, during the short period when everything was allowed, I had the luck to hold a small exhibition here in Pècs, and the sketches from 2018 fashion weeks also were presented there. It was a good experience, and when I have the opportunity, I plan to exhibit my art more frequently.

I can draw a variety of different stuff – architecture, nature, but fashion is my mainstream. There are fashion illustrations that I could be proud of – they have been posted by official Instagram accounts of Carolina Herrera and Mark Jacobs design homes.

Carolina Herrera Source: Nastako Art

Why did you decide to switch to digital art rather than staying in a traditional one?

I prefer ink and pencils among the traditional media because I am too fast. I have no patience to sit and wait until the paper dries after using watercolours. For instance, the sketches from the 2018 fashion weeks are done with inks and quick drawings. One day my hobby and art became commercial, I started to obtain orders and take commissions, and I realized that digital art tools are much more practical from the point of speed and productivity. So now it is two and half years since I switched on them. 

What are the specifics of your technique in digital?

My original style is much different from flat. I love flat style drawings, I can make them for some specific projects, but it seems simply not my direction. Sometimes I work on photos; also, I can create artworks using the provided photos or downloaded from the Internet. But generally speaking, I like to produce digital artworks that don’t look so digital, and this is my primary aim as a digital artist. 

I am making art using the same brushes in my program Pro Create as if I was working with my favorite inks and pencils. I started in digital by continuing what I was already doing on paper; by using the same style. Digital tools just make me faster and help me to correct my mistakes in a simple way. Because, if you made a mistake on paper, you may even have to throw it away. In digital, I can always undo my action and then redo it again and again until I make this brushstroke exactly how I want it to look.

Nevertheless, it is still always the experiment from my side. I am asked from time to time: “Do you plan how your final work will look at the beginning?” I never plan to use a precise brush to make these steins and these strokes in those directions. When I start to draw, it comes naturally, and this is what I like the most in making fashion illustrations. 

For example, Cardi B sketch – I hadn’t planned that she would look like that.

Nominate now your business hero for the 2022 Atlas Award: https://form.jotform.com/221023479032345
Nominate now your business hero for the 2022 Atlas Award: https://form.jotform.com/221023479032345
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