Interview: Katherine Tromans - illustrator - The Clothes Maiden Magazine

Katherine, how did you first get into illustration?
I remember always being fascinated with creating art throughout my life, it was always something I would do in my spare time growing up, and as my mum was an art teacher there was always an encouragement to be creative. In my teens I remember spending a lot of my time practicing drawing and painting, I was always very determined to succeed at being good at it. I remember painting a lot of fairies, I was very inspired by fantasy at the time. Cicely Mary Barker was a huge inspiration to me, I loved how detailed her paintings were.

How would you best describe your style of illustration?

I have been quoted as having quite an intricate and delicate style, which is organic and fluid. My drawings are detailed, and tend to have the same colour palette; I would like to think there is a consistency between all of my illustrations.

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Please take us through your design process, where do you start?

For Fashion Illustration I will find poses that I think will be dynamic and interesting and then start creating an illustration around that. I tend to take inspiration from references and then combine them. I will often sketch it out first, and then work on the line work and I will create the patterns by hand, and then use photoshop to drop this into the illustration. I generally use photoshop to create backgrounds and for block colouring so the illustrations stand out.

What tools do you use for your work?

I have fun using a lot of different tools, it depends what the brief asks of me. However, I always tend to use pencil to begin with and then use watered down acrylic; I find this keeps the detail but also allows for deep colour. I also use digital means to touch up my illustrations, as well as adding colour and backgrounds.

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When illustrating, do you sometimes get blocked for ideas? If so, how do you overcome that?

Sometimes, but I find that deadlines help. I always like working under pressure because you have to be creative. I think that some of my best work has come from a tight deadline. If I do get stuck though, I find getting out helps. A walk and some fresh air always clears my head. I think its really important to have regular breaks because when you come back to your work it always looks different. I will also ask my friends and family for their opinions on my work they’re always very good at giving me an honest answer.

What would be your ultimate goal as an illustrator?

I would love to be a freelance Illustrator full-time. To have my illustrations in major fashion magazines is my current aim, I would see it as a great achievement.

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What style music do you mostly listen to when you work?

I like a lot of alternative, older music and some newer acoustic folk music. I find that Bon Iver, Iron & Wine and The Flaming Lips are good to listen to when you want something calmer, but for more upbeat listening I like The Replacements, Daft Punk and the Goo Goo Dolls.

What has been your favourite fashion illustration?

I really enjoyed working on the Cherry Closet fashion illustrations, I had a lot of freedom with their creation and really enjoyed working with with traditional and digital elements.

What Clients have you worked for?
For fashion illustration I have been featured/worked with Amelia’s Magazine, Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration, Asibelua, The Cherry Closet Boutique, Mia Jafari London, Fuss Magazine, Twofold Magazine, Cico Books and I made the final’s of Company Magazine’s S/S’12 Competition to illustrate High Street Edit.

Click here to visit Katherine’s website.