Jéssyka Gomes, is a freelance illustrator living in Porto Alegre-Brazil and she is our fifth guest for the INKTimes.
How would you describe your work today?
Nowadays, my personal work that I create in my free time, reflects a lot of my daily life. Sometimes these drawings will address a more serious subject, at other times something light and funny. I think that playfulness and good humor make a good pair, and I see this present in my illustrations. Although I don’t restrict myself to a specific technique, I love mixing digital and analog. I have a lot of fun creating textures on paper with ink, pencils and stamps made from different materials. Working with few colors is another characteristic present in my work.
Can you briefly tell us about your creative process?
It depends a lot on the work I’m going to develop, whether it’s personal or commercial. A common aspect in my creative processes is writing. My sketchbooks are a great mix of drawings and words. Writing helps me to better understand what is important to highlight about the subjects, and which will later be represented in the illustration. The first sketches I create, most of the time, are done on paper. Then I refine the idea in the program I use to illustrate, I think about the colors, the technique I want to use in the drawing, I do some color studies with the palette I chose, and when I feel that I have found the path I wanted, it’s time to finish the illustration. Speaking like that, this creative process seems linear, but the truth is that there are many ups and downs, doubts, starting from scratch, a little crying (from time to time only), until I reach a satisfactory result.
What are your references?
Artistically many people inspire me! I love Ana Pessoa’s stories and the way she expresses herself through words. Catarina Sobral’s humor amuses me a lot too. I could name many names here, but the list is long. Common everyday scenes, poems, the people I live with, all of this can turn into something, if I pay attention and notice the details.
Your artwork for this watch can you tell us about this series?
I was thinking for a while which would be the works I was going to choose to show here. I’ve gathered some personal illustrations that I’ve created over the past three years that represent the things I value and try to put into practice in my everyday life. It’s very important for me when I can have the freedom to create, imagine and show a little bit of who I am through my drawings. This series of images that I chose show that, the lightness of when you can be who you are, exploring what surrounds you, playing just for fun and appreciating these moments with calm and presence.
Where can we currently find your work?
To check out more of my work, just visit my Instagram or access my portfolio no behance.
Are you developing new projects?
Yes, I have a very special project that I’ve been developing for at least 2 years. Hope to be able to share more of it soon! It’ll be a dream come true 🙂
What do you project for this year?
For now, the biggest project for this year is what I mentioned earlier, but I have some ideas that I want to put into practice, such as going back to painting pictures, studying more about illustration and children’s literature.