Lilla here. I want to share a story with you about my early days as an illustrator when I had an incredible opportunity to play with a brand-new software application called “Photoshop”!
I was working as an illustrator in New York City, when Paul Davis – a legendary designer and illustrator who’s particularly famous for his posters – called me up on the telephone. The people from Photoshop wanted top names in design and illustration to test out their new software. About 20 of us – names like Milton Glaser, Seymour Chwast, Paula Scher, and other top designers and illustrators – were invited up to the Kodak Center for Creative Imaging on the gorgeous coast of Maine.
That was then, this is now: some of my recent art made with Procreate.
It was quite intimidating being one of the youngest artists there, but it was such a treat! They flew us up there, housed us and fed us for three days while we got to learn and experiment with this brand-new software. We each got a (big!) computer to work on and a tech assistant for every two people.
I sat next to Milton Glaser, who’s the god of graphic design in the last century. I loved Photoshop! I was like, this is so amazing, you can make a circle and fill it with gorgeous flat colour with a bucket, instantly! Radical. Before Photoshop, you had to do it with gouache and then it would be all streaky. Photoshop was just revolutionary.
More of my recent art.
Afterwards, they asked me to come back to teach a painting program called Fractal Painter. I said I wasn’t familiar with it, and they believed in me and said to simply read the manual! So I did actually read it and then had the pleasure of teaching it some months later, at the gorgeous center. It was another completely revolutionary program that could digitally replicate different media and brushstrokes, although eventually Photoshop completely overtook it.
One of the rewarding things about being in the art business for so long is you get to live during and see all the changes that happen along the way! Who knows, maybe in 30 years you’ll be telling some hip young artists all about this thing they had in your day called AI!
SPILLING SOME BEANS! Would you be interested in a Bootcamp: Procreate course, taught by me the way I do Procreate—combining digital and traditional—with assignments and all the usual joyfulness? With a cheery Procreate whiz (and Make Art That Sells graduate!) demonstrating things like simple animation, easy pattern making, and so on as a bonus each month? And my favorite brushes! What do you think? Send an email to [email protected] and let us know your thoughts! We’d love to hear from you!
- Don’t forget that, by popular demand, Portfolio Review is available NOW for a limited time only! Sign up now so you can make full use of the bonus LIVE Zoom on November 6th! Find out more and sign up here.
Lots of love
