You might wonder what the life of a fashion illustrator really looks like. Is it a whole day of drawing with an occasional coffee in between? Or just some drawing and a lot of free time? Well, it really depends on the day and is in fact quite divers, which I like. And It is also hard work with sometimes strict deadlines, but at the same time it is a lot of fun and so very rewarding!
So, last week I decided to take Wednesday 14 March as a day to write about. I thought it would be a quite 'regular' day. Well, little did I know...
7.30 - My alarm goes of. I really feel like staying in bed a bit longer so I do. When I get down stairs at 8 o'clock, my boyfriend (who has a day off from work) is baking scones! The best possible way to start a day, so I really take some time to enjoy my breakfast.
8.50 - I start working on some preparatory work for a live drawing event on Friday by Peugeot. I will be illustration the invited influencers live at the event, but I prepare some background drawings featuring the Eiffel tower and a Peugeot. I have to make 10, so it will take some time. Finishing these background illustrations is my main goal for today.
10.10 - My phone rings, it's a Dutch beauty brand I'm doing a commission for. They ask if I could make some final changes to the design. I really like working with them and decide to draw a few more Peugeots and then get to it so I can finish it today.
11.30 - Time for a coffee break. I really like good coffee so I grind the coffee beens myself and then put the peculator on. I add some foamy hot milk for a true cappuccino. I also have another scone with jam and some muesli.
11.50 - I continue with the beauty brand commission. It involves some changes on paper, digitalizing those and merging different hand-drawn parts in Photoshop.
14.00 - Done! I want to send the digital files to the commissioner by Wetransfer and... the keyboard of my MacBook Pro breaks down. The most terrible timing, because I can't even type in a web address anymore. My keyboard only types symbols and it's not because of the settings. Something else is wrong... I don't dare to reboot my computer, because what if I can't type my password because of the keyboard failure and can't log in? My mail is still open and the mouse is working, so I send the big files one by one in e-mails (with no text) and send a WhatsApp message to the commissioner. I need to eat something so I have a quick lunch and try to find a solution on my phone. I cancel my hairdressers appointment because I want to fix this first.
15.15 - I finally managed to fix it. Pfew! I'm so relieved but I still need to run some errands, so I go into the city centre of Utrecht to do so and I get some groceries for diner. It's good to be out of the house after so much stress. The photo below shows part of the new train station of Utrecht, it's quite futuristic but I like it.
17.00 - I'm finally back home and get to work again. I still have to finish those Peugeot drawings and I realize that this will be evening work... I pore myself a glass of white wine and get to it.
18.40 - My stomach is telling me it's time to eat, so I put my drawings to the side and go to the Kitchen to make a simple but delicious Pokebowl with a lot of veggies. My boyfriend is out, it's a quick diner for one with Netflix.
19.10 - I get back to work and work for another 45 minutes. After that, I'm exhausted and decide I'd better stop. I finished everything I really had to finish today. There are some items left on my list, but they aren't as urgent so I'll get to them in the next few days. I call it a day and watch Netflix at the couch under a blanket with tea and cookies. For me, that's one of the best ways to relax after a busy day.
That was last Wednesday! Would you like to read about what a day in my life looks like more often? Let me know!
Love,
Anna
- Cover photo by Angela de Baat