blog — LISA MALTBY Illustration & Lettering

LONDON BASED ILLUSTRATOR & LETTERING ARTIST

Posts in freelancing

Versatility vs style – what makes a successful illustrator?

Versatility vs style – what makes a successful illustrator?

advice, freelancing, writingLisa MaltbyJanuary 29, 2019illustration blog, lettering artist, illustrated lettering, design, style vs versatility, how to find an illustration style, how to find a style, can I be a versatile illustrator, original work, finding a niche, finding a specialism, can I find a specialism, how to be a successful illustrator, what makes a successful illustrator? Comment

Be kind to your mind: 12 tips for good mental health in the creative industries

Be kind to your mind: 12 tips for good mental health in the creative industries

advice, freelancing, talks, writingLisa MaltbyDecember 6, 2018mental health, creativity, be kind to your mind, 12 tips for good mental health in the creative industries, mental health awareness, how to have good mental health in the creative industry, wellbeing, arts and minds, talk, ted talk, female speaker, creative speakerComment

10 tips for handling rejection in the creative industry

10 tips for handling rejection in the creative industry

Notes on working for free

Notes on working for free

advice, art tips, freelancing, writingLisa MaltbyJuly 9, 2018art, illustration, exposure, working for free, work experience, work placements, design industry, volunteering, work for exposureComment

So you want to be an illustrator? 12 helpful tips

freelancing, illustration, illustration tips, writingLisa MaltbyJanuary 8, 2018So, you want to be an illustrator, so you want to be an illustrator, 12 helpful tips, tips to becoming a freelance illustrator, illustration, illustration career, freelance illustrator, how to become an illustrator, a career as a freelance illustrator, careers advice, creative industry Comments

My Glug Talk: What I wish I'd known at 18

My Glug Talk: What I wish I'd known at 18

A big thank you

A big thank you

Becoming a freelance creative: 24 things I've learnt in 24 months

How to let go of your creative ego

How to let go of your creative ego

advice, business, creativity, freelancing, updates, writingLisa MaltbyJuly 24, 2017creativity, ego, creative ego, let go of your creative ego, creative worth, advice, creative industry, design, illustration, writing, articleComment

What’s the use? Copyright, Usage and Bully’s Special Prize

business, freelancing, writingLisa MaltbyJune 18, 2017creative industry, copyright, should you sign away your copyright, what's the use?, what's the use? copyright, licecnsing and bully's special prize, illustrators vs art directors, understanding copyright, illustration, freelancing, business tipsComment

Do more of what you love: My creative journey

Do more of what you love: My creative journey

Sheffield Live Interview: Pricing creative work and dealing with trolls

Sheffield Live Interview: Pricing creative work and dealing with trolls

business, freelancing, updates, latest workLisa MaltbyMay 15, 2017pricing creative work, dealing with trolls, pricing, dear bernard, sheffield live, sheffield, radio, radio interviewComment

You got this: 10 ways to overcome self doubt

You got this: 10 ways to overcome self doubt

Dear Bernard... Here's why I'll continue to be 'unprofessional'

Dear Bernard... Here's why I'll continue to be 'unprofessional'

business, creativity, freelancing, humorous, writingLisa MaltbyFebruary 17, 2017creative critisism, creativity, dear bernard, why i will continue to be unprofessional, blog post, illustration, creative come back Comments

Things I’ve learnt about pricing creative work.

Things I’ve learnt about pricing creative work.

My Arrest All Mimics podcast with Ben Tallon

My Arrest All Mimics podcast with Ben Tallon

Is creativity just a commodity? (And why I don't sell tomatoes).

freelancing, writingLisa MaltbyJanuary 5, 2017design, commodity, is creativity a commodity?, design commodity, freelancer commodity, freelancing, freelancers, creativity, business, is creativity just a commodity?, why I don't sell tomatoes, illustration, freelance illustrator, freelance designer, freelance design Comments

Why different is good, and it's not what you think.

Why different is good, and it's not what you think.

business, creativity, creative inspiration, freelancing, writingLisa MaltbyNovember 16, 2016different, embracing differences, originality, creativity, freelancing, creative industry, why different is good, diveristy, creative, original work, being differentComment

12 creative put-downs turned into cheeky typographic art

12 creative put-downs turned into cheeky typographic art

The battle of the egos: How can creative professionals collaborate effectively?

LISA MALTBY
ILLUSTRATOR & LETTERING ARTIST
hello(at)lisamaltby.com

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A nice feeling to see my work in print!
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#Repost @knopfteen with @get_repost
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Coming this September! Get ready to fall in love, experience heartbreak, and discover the true meaning of identity in this poignant (and funny!) collection of short stories about Jewish teens, including a special foreword by @missmayim and entries from @davidlevithan @novaren and more! IT’S A WHOLE SPIEL: Love, Latkes, and Other Jewish Stories, edited by @bibliogato and @ljsilverman1, is available for pre-order now! ✨

Here are some of the characters I illustrated for a recent book cover commission for Penguin Random House/Knopf YA books. Each character was illustrated with subtle clues about their story. See last post for full illustration.

NEW WORK: cover art for Penguin Random House/Knopf YA Books ‘It’s a Whole Spiel.’ This book is a collection of stories about Jewish life, full of diverse characters and experiences. I was commissioned to create a bright and upbeat cover that included one character from each of the 14 stories, interacting with the lettering of the title. I illustrated the characters with subtle clues to their story, each of which could work as individual illustrations for the chapters. It was a pleasure to work with @_thebookcase on this one, thank you!

Seeing as we’ve just had international pizza day I thought I’d share these illustrations I did a couple of years ago for a pizza chain. They didn’t go to full use in the end but it seems a shame not to share them! 🍕

An illustration to reflect my hatred of ‘hustle’ culture – working hard at all costs and then showing off about it. Burnout is not a badge of honour. You do not need to justify rest when you need it. Do you reckon you’ll look back on your life and think ‘I wish I’d just hustled a little bit harder?’

I’ve been working with muted colour for lots of client briefs lately so I’ve had to take colour breaks in my personal work! ( I’ll post the final version of this tomorrow.)

There’s a toxic attitude in the design industry that defines being bold as being cocky – shouting out ideas or making stuff out of fire or something. I’ve often felt like I had to hide being feminine or be louder in order to get a job. Being bold in your work is sometimes unseen – its sending out portfolios when you don’t feel good enough, turning down work that doesn’t pay enough and saying things that are sometimes difficult to say. So just a nudge to be courageous in your own way, to do the work that matters to you and – fuck it – more florals! 😉🌸💋

New blog post: ‘versatility vs style – what makes a successful illustrator?’ ...Developing a unique style is something I have found challenging but it’s also something that has many benefits. Is it the only way to get good work as an illustrator? In the blog I talk about the pros and cons for each, why I’ve separated my portfolios and why my dad once plumbed a toilet into a cupboard (there is a point to this story, I promise) 😉. 🚽 (for those of you who heard my talk at Rabble studio, some of this may be familiar!). LINK IN BIO 👀

PROCESS (part 5): hand painted work 🎨. I used to do all my work by hand in paint when I was studying. It’s something I’ve missed since working more commercially but it has been great to get more ‘physical’ by doing some larger hand painted projects recently and makes a change from sitting at my desk! (Those of you who are experienced mural painters feel free to add your tips below!). Here’s how I tackle mine...
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1. I measure the area and try to take photos of the object or wall area I’m going to be painting on so I can do a quick photoshop mock up to check the composition will work within the area. I do a sketch of the planned work to lay over a photo (this is mostly for my reference but also helpful to show clients first). 2. Sometimes I work out a rough grid to follow and scale it up to the size but I mostly do it by eye. I draw it out lightly in pencil first. 3. I always start with the type so it’s central and then work the illustrations around it. I rarely choose lettering that is meant to be perfectly straight which helps! 4. Due to working in layers a lot (as you’ve seen from my last post) I tend to work in a similar way with hand painted work but in reverse (it’s how my brain works!). I mainly start with the blocks of colour and then add the line work on top. If the drawing is really detailed it works out better to colour after I’ve added line with Posca pen. 5. For walls I use pots of Valspar emulsion paint because you get get them in amazing Pantone colours! For smaller details or different surfaces I love Liquitex acrylic paint (you can get this in a ‘heavy body’ version which is great for coverage). I draw line detail over the top in black Posca pen or fine brush and black acrylic paint.
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Ps. I’ve been looking to get a projector to be more accurate/quicker with larger/more figurative compositions (if anyone would advise on one, please let me know!).

PROCESS (part 4): FOOD ILLUSTRATION ➡️ when I started freelancing most of my commissions were food and drink illustrations for editorial and restaurant commissions. I used to work in ink and watercolour, but due to the unpredictability of those mediums, tight deadlines and inevitable client edits I adapted my style to work digitally. Working digitally takes me the same time as working traditionally, but it makes any client edits less problematic and I can be far more versatile which I love.
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STEP 1 (swipe): Draw out a rough visual for client approval in pencil, based on reference from life or photographs. There’s no quick way to learning to draw, it comes from years of practice (sorry!) /STEP 2: place the drawing on a layer in procreate and then draw over the rough on a different layer with the Apple Pencil and digital ink brush (this one is done in procreate on the iPad Pro). /STEP 3: import ink drawing to Photoshop and use Apple Pencil via Astropad on the iPad. I work in Photoshop for colour because I prefer the range of brushes (I use Kyle brushes). /STEP 4: I also love to work with textures. I keep a folder of found textures (scans and photographs) that I use in my illustrations, selected based on which textures I observe on the object (I have too many files!). I also keep scans of individual ink splodges I’ve made because I still prefer these to brush effects. /STEP 5: import texture, resize and recolour using Photoshop colour and level adjustments. Next I mask the layer and add the texture back in to the shape using different photoshop brushes for different effects. /STEP 6: I lighten and darken areas with the dodge & burn tool or paint details on top with other brushes to highlight. /STEP 7: I then repeat this process with different textures and splodges - more detailed illustrations have lots of layers and overlays of textures and brush work! /STEP 8: I draw in fine detail with different brushes, such as shadows, water drops and shine. /STEP 9: Flatten file and send to client for specified use. /STEP 10: Probably time for a piece of fruit (how apt). I need to curb the biscuits 😉.