Often, we find that artists begin their careers in the industry. Ebbing and flowing with the changing technologies and tools. So when we were introduced to Pauline- someone who attended her first event a few years ago and has since become a successful freelancer- we had to get her story.

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

Hi, I’m Pauline and as an artist I’m in love with magical iridescence and moonlight colors. I occasionally breed moths, write songs and sew medieval fantasy dresses.

When did you begin art and what made you decide to make a career of it?

I don’t remember when it started. Even though no one in my family is an artist, it was always part of my life and my secret refuge. I loved to draw my own versions of Disney princesses and Dragonball characters but also weird 3-boobed monsters and dark succubuses. 

I had two mentors as a kid. One was my elementary school art teacher and the other one is a regional artist from the New Leipzig School. The first one showed me print, etching, oil and other traditional techniques. The second one taught me to draw with pencil during my early teenage years and together we did a lot of life drawing portraits. He made me look even closer, to be more accurate in what I see and draw.

 It was later in university where I first learned what a graphic tablet was and how to put narratives into character design, this was more theoretical.

Then in 2016 - my first art event. 

Mind. Blowing. 

Those people inspired me. I didn’t even know it was possible to make a living from art until then and I knew after the first night that I had to alter my priorities in life completely. And that’s what I did. Some of the artists I met back then are very close friends today and helped me to build my freelance career which I started one year ago. Since then I have mainly been illustrating for Valve but also had a lot of time to work on my personal art.

What inspires you most?

The Little Mermaid from Hans Christian Andersen inspires me. The Name Of The Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, the story of Fantaghirò inspire me, too. The dark sadness of the Last Unicorn, the focus on the little things of the Ghibli movies, the baltic sea on a stormy day and cemeteries. 

Ville Valo is a huge inspiration for me on many levels. One day I want to have a painting session with him as a life drawing model! His work, his development as a person and his input of authors and other artists and musicians, the cheesy 90s music videos - they are all literally melted into my childhood and I have always loved this dark, melancholic and desperately romantic vibe. I guess that is what I am striving for in my art.

What were your first steps to becoming a freelance artist?

What I feared most was the German bureaucracy, so what I did was getting all the necessary information through Facebook groups for German illustrators and interviewing my freelancing friends. I also got Valve as my first client through a recommendation of a friend. I tailored a portfolio together with artwork I thought suited what they needed to see from me and then got a chance to work with them. I am illustrating for their new game ‘Artifact’ for over a year now and I love to work with them. I kept posting my progress on Instagram and Facebook continuously and that was how more jobs came in and also how Procreate contacted me for working together. 

Best advice you were given during the process?

To never stop working on personal projects. My goal is to be hired for what I love doing instead of running after jobs that force me into copying. 

In order to be hired for what I love doing I need to get really good at it and don't ever want to stop dreaming and creating. 

Have you ever been mid-project and hit a road block? How did you overcome it?

It’s easier for me to work through job-related blocks. When that happens to me I make sure I get a nice break, then I tackle the problem from a different angle and try to make an emotional connection with the piece I am working on. I can only do good work if I enjoy what I do. 

So the key is to find a way to make it super delicious for myself. Then I make a checklist of what steps I need to take in order to finish that job. When there’s a proper plan, well thought through with baby steps, a block is very unlikely. Then it’s just endurance. While concepting I listen to music while rendering to Audiobooks or podcasts.

If it is a personal art block, it’s more difficult. I just had a talk on this at London Industry Workshops this year. It affects the whole life and it takes more than just clenching teeth. A lot of self-care, questioning and patience is needed.

Have you ever not been emotionally connected to a project? How do you overcome that feeling?

I always tried to make sure to know beforehand what the project was going to be about, so I could avoid not loving the job. But of course I have had difficulties sometimes, depending on many different factors like a lack of flow or simply a bad day. It can help to make something completely different for a bit like meeting friends, seeing a different place, going to see a movie or - a personal all time favorite of mine - going to the sauna. But what also helps me is to create self made references and browse through my inspiration folders in order to add perspectives I hadn't thought of yet. I believe in every project you initially said yes to, there is something to find that can light the spark again. 

What is your favorite project you’ve worked on? Why?

A personal project that I truly love and am currently working on is called “Mirror Mirror”. Over 150 women are participating at the moment and we are growing. It is supposed to be a community building project where my main focus is to share the progress and talk about our stories in a safe and encouraging environment. It’s like a journey to finding expression for ourselves visually. 

The long term goal is a beautiful art book full of self portraits that reflect who we are as female artists and human beings. We are still happy to welcome new members that want to join, just message me!

Can you take us through your process from start to finish?

The ideal process for me is: I collect inspiration. Always. After months and months i can see patterns, then I connect them and create mood boards. I also used to be a Pinterest monster, could easily spent 8 hours straight going through the related image section. 

But lately I have been shifting to more and more self built reference, because I feel like rather than trying to match my art a certain model, I collect reference to match my art more. Then I start with an accurate sketch where I think through every area of the image so I don’t get lost and frustrated later. Eventually I throw color on it. My whole secret is tons of blending options and hue sliding. But what technically happens when I am doing that I would like to cover with a tutorial soon!

How did you begin building your Instagram following?

I’d like to give you some bullet points that helped me a lot while building it:

• Find the right hashtags for your purpose, don’t only do #rose #tree #art because especially in the beginning those super simple hashtags that are used by millions of people will swallow your post and make it practically invisible to the world. See what your fellow artists are using, what actually makes sense? I still experiment with things, too. There are also pages like display purposes who do some quick fix research for you.

• Be unflinching and persistent in the beginning (especially against all this bot spam - it will stop at some point I promise)
• You don’t have to post every day, once in a while is enough, as long as it is consistent.
• Be authentic and smart - jump on bandwagons like #meettheartist or #drawthisinmystyle movements when it suits you but don’t do it for the fame. I sometimes feel people can smell through the screen if it is genuine, even without them knowing. It’s super weird.

Are there any artists of which you’re a particular fan?

At the moment, Olya Bossak. I just LOVE how she sets up composition and renders materials. But I also adore the work of Jodie Muir, Max Schulz and Cynthia Sheppard. When Cynthia showed me her sketchbook I had a serious aha moment.

What is your ultimate goal? Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

My goal is to live the perfect symbiosis between art and family. So my bigger goal is to create a place where both have space and can grow. I don't know exactly where my path will lead me yet. But even though I have doubts and fears sometimes, most of the times I am sure I will find my niche! 

Do you have any advice for aspiring artists out there?

Do not only build rendering skills, train your taste, too! And stay objective when it comes to judging artwork, which also means to acknowledge the good things about your very own work. I experience that overly exaggerated, self-bashing modesty is an unfortunate epidemic amongst artists. 

Follow Pauline on Instagram and check her Cubebrush store!