Finding your voice as an illustrator

a workshop by Raman Djafari

One of the central questions every artist tries to answer for themselves, especially in the beginning, is how to find their own creative voice. For illustrators this often manifests in the question of "style". This question goes beyond aesthetics. It's one of self-discovery, curiosity and vulnerability. In this workshop I want to help you on your path and bring you one step closer to finding your own voice as an artist. 

This workshop is accessible to every skill level, as it deals with each student's individual expression. The student's will bring their own individual materials, which they are comfortable working with. We will explore and discuss everyone's work to identify where the core of their personal expression lies. This is a never ending process and one workshop will not answer all questions, but I hope it will help the participants to begin their journey in the right direction. 

The workshop will start with a brief self presentation, where each participant shares one piece of work that represents them and explains why, which we will discuss to deepen the understanding of their own work. Then we move on to a research exercise, identifying sources of inspiration and analysing them. We will create moodboards as a base for sketching exercises that focus on emotional resonance. Based on these findings we will create a concept, identify subject matter and make stylistic choices that will result in the development of a new artwork.

For me personally, the journey to finding my artistic voice was complicated and at times painful. I dealt with harsh self-judgement and often felt ashamed of my own work. Discovering the subject matter and aesthetic choices that felt like me, helped me ground myself as an artist and as a person. I find deep joy and fulfilment in the creative process, which makes me feel anchored as a human being in the world. As an illustrator, animator and director I feel lucky to both be able to express myself and connect with others through my work as well as make a living out of that work. Having discovered my artistic voice was central to that journey.