Creativity at Play: Interview with Illustrator Nadezhda Arkhipova

Every illustrator has their own style. It’s all in the brush strokes, the little details and the themes they choose to work with. Nadezhda Arkhipova’s works stand out in all three criterias and have a touch of the creative that will put a smile on your face. She’s one artist that has been successfully selling her works on our website.

Nadezhda creates very clean illustrations; each piece has a unique, quirky touch of an artist’s hands. The illustrations are effortless and simple but in their simplicity they have won over the hearts of many clients.

Nadezhda’s work is about minimal lines, simple drawings, subtle colors and much more but let’s turn the spotlight on the artist:

How did you get started in illustration?

I was really unhappy with my office work and one day I just stopped and asked myself, ‘Is this the life I want to live? Are these people I want to see around me all my life?’ I was in love with drawing since I was in school, all my notebooks were with doodles, abstracts elements, aliens ships and deep water scenes. With the support of my closest friends and the moment when I have decided  to listen to what I really want to do has helped me to start sharing my art with other people.

How did you find your style?

I was drawing and drawing a lot, trying different styles, opening something new with every illustration, learning from other artists’ techniques. Time passed by and my style and me finally found each other. But it doesn’t mean I stopped learning and opening new things for myself. There are millions of art things I would like to try!

What is your creative process like? Can you take me from start to finish of one of your illustrations?

My creative process starts with inspiration which is almost an unpredictable and translucent inner emotion. Everything depends on it! In the moments when I feel inspiration, I take any pencil, pen, old piece of paper which is close to me and draw all the ideas I have at the moment. These ideas are drafts and they need to be completed on good paper with good tools.

What tools do you use to make your illustrations?

For doodling I use pencils, liners, firm paper, photo camera, and software for illustrators. If I need to create a texture everything can be a tool: objects with rough surface, brushes, threads, nature elements such as leaves or stones.

What inspires you to create your works?

Everything can give me an inspiration, be it a negative or a positive event. Art helps me show my emotions better than I can say using words. For example, as autumn is my favourite season, I can find inspiration in nature, trees, a café atmosphere, drizzling rain or the warmth of a cat on my knees.

How does social media influence your work and your career?

I try to observe popular graphic websites and blogs to understand how graphic design changes, what new design forms appear. It helps me to create artwork using new products, tools or scripts.

In your opinion, how important is originality in illustrations and how does one produce more original content?

I think originality is important in illustrations and that the whole illustration looks harmonious. Pictures with a creative,  unusual composition or style make the design world more vivid and multifarious.

What is your favourite piece that is part of your Depositphotos portfolio and why?

One of my latest favourite illustrations is the one with rabbits. I just like this art work because of it is made with a positive and warm spirit.

Your illustrations have a very sophisticated, playful quality. Do you pursue any other art forms?

I try to create something new every day, add elements from different styles so maybe next year my style will be different from the one I have today.

Do you have any advice for aspiring illustrators?

Always follow your heart, never let someone stop you, if you like drawing just draw, don’t listen to people who say, “It is not for you” or “You will never make money with your artwork”. I often remember a quote from one of my favourite books “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho, “…when you want something, the whole Universe conspires in helping you to achieve it”.

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