In this weeks artists in the spotlight we are looking at the beautiful art of Kristina. She is a 31 years old illustrator and graphic novelist from Hamburg, Germany. She focuses on historical and fantasy subjects and makes digital drawings.
When did you start illustrating?
"I've always loved drawing, and have been doodling ever since I can remember, like most kids. I started taking it more seriously when I was about 13. Making art was already "my thing" then and that was the time when I recognized that randomly drawing wouldn't lead to improvement and that I actually had to do studies and exercises and read books about it if I wanted to get anywhere."
Where does your interest in the Tudors come from? When did that start?
"I think it started with reading "Bloody Mary" by Carolly Erickson back in 2006."
What inspired you to make illustrations of the Tudors?
"The mentioned book, as well as Holbein's paintings and drawings, have been a great inspiration for me."
Illustration of Mary Tudor
Do you have a favourite Tudor monarch? Who and why?
"The one I've been fascinated most with is Mary (daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine). I drew a graphic novel about her life, told from her point of view, which was recently published by Carlsen Verlag in Germany. So far it's only available in German but the publisher is generally interested in selling an English license to a foreign publisher, so I hope this will eventually happen."
How long does it take you to make your illustrations?
"Each detailed digital illustration takes about 4-6 days to complete. The graphic novel on the whole took perhaps a year (I don't know exactly, because I did a lot of breaks in-between to work on other projects)."
How do you make your illustrations? What is the process?
"You can watch a video of the typical process here. It's a non Tudor-related painting but my process is generally the same for every work. I draw digitally, using a Wacom tablet and Photoshop."
Are you currently working on anything related to the Tudors?
"I plan to draw a graphic novel about Elizabeth I next, as a sequel to the recent one about Mary I. But I haven't even started yet, so it's still going to be a while."
Want to see more of Kristina's beautiful illustrations? You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter or visit her website.
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