I Want People To Find All Animals Equally Adorable So I Decided To Make Them Chunky (31 Illustrations)

I am a published illustrator based in India. For the past 2 years of my freelance career of 4 years, I have predominantly worked for publications, most of which are children's books.

I feel that 80% of my life is all about art. If I am not working on commissions I am creating personal work where I explore various styles and themes. The other 20% goes into learning how to eat better, hooping, petting cats, watching heart-melting animal videos and manifesting a pet. 

I do come from an educational art background. I did my bachelor's in Visual Arts at the College of Fine Arts in Bangalore (Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath). I had immense love for traditional mediums back in school when I was about 15. Hence this made me apply for a specialization in painting for my graduation. After my graduation, I was a user interface designer for 3 years, which was the complete opposite of what I studied or how I wanted to explore art. I used the digital medium during this time and I started learning how to use it for my personal work. I carried a sketchbook every day to the office as well and filled in pages whenever I got the time. Slowly I developed a style and the medium of choice here was ink and markers.

In 2019 my brother introduced me to Procreate on an iPad and I got hooked instantly. Before that, I used a basic Wacom pen tab and Adobe Photoshop. The iPad gave me the advantage of a digital portable sketchbook. From here I can say my journey as an illustrator started. 

During college, the most important thing I learned was to draw from my surroundings. The campus had abundant greenery. When it comes to inspiration in terms of drawing funny animals, the naughty macaques in college were the first thing that comes into my mind. They usually terrorized everyone but they were in every way unique in behavior. They have snatched my lunch box a few times, if they didn't like the food they would just chuck it away like they were Gordan Ramsey. Apart from this, they have snatched professional cameras. I have seen them sipping Coca Cola with a straw from a bottle. These little mannerisms and adventures are the things that made me want to draw animals and nature in particular for its versatility. Over the years, this sense of picking inspiration developed and Chunky Animals is a product of that. I guess this is a great way to stay motivated too, because there is no end to the ways one can explore this theme.

I have been influenced by traditional and digital artists. I really love surrealism and love artists who have a mix of surreal, contemporary and illustrative styles. James Jean, Marija Tiurina, Lavanya Naidu and my brother too are constant inspirations on the basis of color, emotions, composition and endless other artistic techniques. They have helped me understand what direction I want to give my work.

I am so thankful to the community I have built on social media and any other platforms I have showcased my work. People have always been very positive and encouraging towards the way I explore my work. I don't have a very fixed grid system or stringent way of illustrating. My personal work is created depending on my mood and with a varied mix of topics. It even targets social causes too. I usually want people to feel a rollercoaster of emotions when they see my work but mostly have a positive one that makes them smile. I also love when people connect to the work and share their perspectives. I feel I have received a fresh perspective or feedback on my work when I post on Bored Panda. There are complete strangers who have rescued me from situations where people inflict unwanted negativity on my work. Things like this make me want to believe I am a good influence through my illustrations.

What makes me passionate about illustrating is the magic of how it works. The visual language is a medium that we sometimes don't realize to be a luxury. I love the challenge it presents to me and how I have no limits to my imagination. It helps me sharpen my memory. I get to mold my work in such a way that it caters to my personal growth and also can be used as a service to mold other people's ideas. It also has those little joys of getting praised by the client, getting paid on time and being featured too, like on Bored Panda. Also, I guess I haven't explored any other avenues in my life which would equal my love for art or illustrating.