028 ✿ Cultivating your Artistic Style as an Illustrator ft. Nicole Medina

028 ✿ Cultivating your Artistic Style as an Illustrator ft. Nicole Medina

In this episode I spoke with the amazing illustrator Nicole Medina.

Nicole is a Latina American illustrator based in Philly who creates rich, bold , and colorful illustrations. Some of her clients include Target, Big Cartel, The Washington Post, The LA Times, and so many more.

In this interview we talk about the artwork in her middle school days that inspired her to become an illustrator before she even knew illustration was a career path, her thoughts on traditional vs digital art, her creative process, her love for the horror genre and taking care of your body, especially your hands, as an artist. And much more!

*Get a free sticker by leaving a written review for the podcast! Screenshot your review and email it along with your mailing address, to ⁠⁠marissuelena@gmail.com⁠⁠ or DM us on Instagram* Topics we discuss:

• Nicole introduces herself and what she does as an illustrator

• Being creative as a kid growing up

• Being a child of immigrants

• Her parents’ support of her artistic path

• Discovering illustration in art school

• The art that inspired Nicole to be an illustrator

• Being an emo middle schooler

• The album artwork for The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance

• Artist James Jean

• The importance of surrounding yourself with creative inspiration

• How Nicole began freelancing after graduating college

• 2020 being the year her client list expanded

• Working with Target for their Mondo Llama line

• Nicole’s relationship working with digital and traditional tools

• The children’s book Nicole is illustrating

• How her sketchbook and personal work led to client work

• The idea of traditional art being “better” than digital art

• Realism

• The age old question of art style

• How Nicole arrived to her art style

• Quantity vs. quality as an artist

• Evolving as an artist

• Nicole’s creative process

• The importance of Nicole’s sketchbooks to her creative process

• The importance of good composition

• How Nicole balances the complexity of her illustrations

• Nicole’s love of Horror films

• The relationship between horror, comedy, politics, and the zeitgeist

• Jordan Peele, Eli Roth, American Mary (2012), Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

• Marissa’s favorite type of films

• The emotional reaction films create

• Au Hasard Balthazar (1966), French new wave, angst in film, Roma (2018)

• What else Nicole does for fun- reading, manga, and punch needling

• Being sedentary as an artist

• Hand and wrist pain as an illustrator

• The importance of dream projects

• Marissa’s dream projects- a comic series or graphic novel and editorial work

• Developing the first steps of your process to facilitate creating

  Nicole's website

  Nicole's Instagram

  Nicole's TikTok

  Best Believe, written by NoNieqa Ramos and illustrated by Nicole Medina