'The profession found me': Sol Cotti on how a dinner launched her illustration career

Free images - Like astir artists, editorial and commercialized illustrator Sol Cotti grew up loving to draw. All done her life, she took creation workshops and continued to bask creation and creation while studying communications and advertizing astatine university. Yet contempt each this, she still calls herself a self-taught illustrator who is perpetually learning.

It's somewhat astonishing past to study that illustration was not what Sol ever wanted to do for a living. In fact, for a agelong time, she did not moreover cognize nan occupation existed. It wasn't until she was successful New York successful 2018 that she ate a life-changing repast successful a edifice called Jack's Wife Freda.

"I had gone to dinner, and pinch nan check, they gave maine immoderate illustrated postcards; they were beautiful," Sol reveals to Creative Boom. "At nan time, I thought it was thing I could really do. And from that time on, I knew I wanted to go an artist.

"On nan level backmost from NYC to Buenos Aires, I diagrammed what my mini workplace successful my location would look like. A fewer months later, erstwhile I was successful my watercolour era, I created an illustration inspired by a brunch I had eaten astatine different edifice successful NYC. I published it connected Instagram and tagged nan restaurant, and correct away, they reached retired to maine to activity together connected a postcard collection. It was surreal."

Coming from a communications background, Sol says that her attack to illustration represents an"interesting operation of knowledge." She adds: "On nan 1 hand, nan advertizing portion helps maine understand nan client's needs, and connected nan other, illustration is itself a shape of ocular communication. It is astir representing concepts and transmitting ideas done images; it is nan process of knowing and sharing meaning."

All sorts of influences animate Sol's gloriously colourful style, nan biggest being travelling. She loves getting to cognize different group and their customs and traditions. She says illustration is astir "opening your mind and connecting pinch nan world itself; that is wherever awesome ideas travel through."

Nature besides plays an important domiciled successful Sol's work, arsenic that's wherever she gets her ideas for striking colour combinations. "The unexpected combinations tin travel from birds, nan magnetism of flowers, sunsets and fruits," she explains. "I americium besides inspired by clothing, whether that's from things I spot connected runaways to items I spot successful nan street. Sometimes, I return pictures of someone's outfit because I americium drawn to their colour contrast, and past I usage those successful my work."

These influences often travel together successful pieces focusing connected gender, women and empowerment. For Sol, it's important that these topics and women's authorities are made visible. "I consciousness that 1 measurement to take sides them is done my art, empowering america and supporting each other."

This taps into Sol's favourite portion of being an illustrator: having her ain sound and utilizing it to correspond subjects that are important to her. "It's an soul codification betwixt myself and nan world that creates my identity," she says. "It feels for illustration thing personal, but astatine nan aforesaid time, it useful for nan remainder of nan world to transmit, pass and correspond concepts.

"Sometimes I can't moreover judge nan privilege I person to activity connected what I'm passionate about. The gratitude of being hired for doing what I love, that clients inquire maine for my imagination connected a task and that they respect it, it is incredibly gratifying to consciousness respected and valued, to cognize that personification really cares astir your position connected something. Being an illustrator is astir reasoning much pinch your hands than your head."

Such a affirmative and thankful attack to illustration has led to galore fulfilling projects. However, 1 that stands retired for Sol is simply a portion of packaging she designed for a constricted version Macy's perfume successful 2023. "It was a typical 1 because I emotion perfumes, americium wholly obsessed pinch fragrances, and because it was really satisfying to spot really my creation is dispersed successful existent life."

As for what 2024 holds, Sol teases that she's presently moving connected a task that promises to beryllium a large item successful her career. "But I cannot uncover it truthful far," she concludes. "It's related to music, Latin American sounds, my heritage, and my roots. Also, I'd emotion to partner pinch a manner marque to create a postulation of clothing, which would beryllium 1 of my dream jobs."

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