Monthly Questions

How to draw inspiration from your surroundings?

Trawling for visual gold.. Observe. Capture. Release. Repeat.

Aug 09, 2022

Illustration: Inna Grishina

Every month. Members of the illoguild answer the same question.This month the question is: How to draw inspiration from your particular surroundings.

Katie’s Newsletter

Inspiration from your surroundings

Each month, members of the Illo Guild are answering a question together, and this month we’re responding to: How do you get inspiration from particular surroundings? I have been drawing a lot of buildings lately for illustrated maps, including a map of Italy. So I brought my sketchbook while traveling around Italy earlier this month. What better way to g…

2 years ago · 4 likes · 1 comment · Katie Stack

Rhymes with Pizza

Harvard, Hibiscus and Hummingbirds

I’m a member of the international group of picture book illustrators called Illoguild. Each month, we each answer a question here on Substack. For August, that question was: “How do you get inspired by your particular surroundings?” My answer: Sketch from life (and death…

2 years ago · 4 likes · 2 comments · Jen Gubicza

Inna’s Art Pruning

Do you see the dice?

I walked along a dirty pavement and saw a colourful dice in the mud. I stopped to marvel at it. I must have stood there a minute as a passer-by lady stopped and checked if I was ok. I reassured her I was, only got distracted by the dice. “What dice?.” she mused frowning. She discarded my attempt at explanation, however, left satisfied - my monologue pro…

2 years ago · 2 likes · 2 comments · Inna Grishina

On The Creative Road

Observe. Capture. Release. Repeat.

August’s IlloGuild question: How do you get inspiration from your particular surroundings? When I was young, my mother encouraged me to draw everything I saw. So, I drew my dog, I drew a hat, I drew my sister sleeping, and anything (or anyone) lying around. I could spend hours drawing. Even when I wasn’t drawing I found myself observing. I soaked in the …

2 years ago · Brenda Harris

The Lemon Tart Bandit

This month’s question from the Illoguild substack is “How do you get inspiration from your particular surroundings.” I live in a small town in the French Jura mountains, my daily walks are mostly to the local bakery, past cow pastures and gardens, through the parks and down sleepy streets. Not a very glamorous place for getting inspired to sketch someth…

2 years ago · 2 likes · Damjana Loddelina

Inspiration from your Surroundings

Inspiration comes in many forms but how do your own personal surroundings weave their way into your work? I consider myself lucky to live in a quiet street in an accessible county not far from a major city. This offers micro and macro inspiration. On the one hand, greenery and lots of it, is abundant in local parks. I enjoy watching the same trees lose …

2 years ago · 1 like · Tammy Angelis

Constraints & Location

I’m a member of the international group of picture book illustrators called Illoguild. Each month, we each answer a question here on Substack. For August, that question was: “How do you get inspired by your particular surroundings…

2 years ago · 1 like · Adam Ming

Carla’s Crowd

Your particular surroundings

I recently did this commission for a family in Sydney. Seeing the excitement when they opened it absolutely made my day!!! It was so adorable seeing the kids recognise themselves in the image. The family asked me to draw a portrait of them going for a swim. Like me, their second home is the beach. Where better to get inspiration then from my own ‘backyard…

2 years ago · 2 likes · Carla Hoffenberg

Discussion about this post

Angela Caldwell

Wonderful! Thank you all for the inspiration!

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