Coming soon! Evolution colouring & activity book. The companion to the picture book On the Origin of Species is coming this fall. Lots of fun activities and mindful colouring pages for kids (and grown-up kids at heart). Available for pre-order on Amazon.
The colouring pages were made in collaboration with Iglika Kodjakova
Print proofs! The book is coming 24 Sept. 2020
Tardigrades 2019
I had the amazing opportunity to work with the kid’s science magazine Aquila! I illustrated several spreads for them but my favourite remains the Tardigrades.
Tardigrades, or water bears, are microscopic animals with long, chubby bodies and scrunched-up heads. While strangely cute, these tiny animals are almost indestructible and can even survive in outer space.
The challenge was to simplify the body diagram, making it visually clear and uncluttered. To illustrate survival in space, I thought about drawing a tardigrade floating in a spacesuit among stars and planets, but this idea has been interpreted many times already. Vintage scientific illustrations are often a source of reference and inspiration for me. I was inspired by "Tardigrades on moss" - plate from the book "Tardigrada" by Ernst Marcus, 1929. I ended up combining the idea of tardigrades floating in water and space surrounded by foliage and stars.
My drawing/ digital painting process in the video bellow:
Errol Le Cain - The Enchanter of Images - It is difficult finding a published collection of Errol Le Cain’s artwork. I found this Japanese edition which took some time to arrive. The images are good quality and I often open this book for inspiration. Le Cain’s style is eclectic, detailed and fantastical with a wide range of influences from Art Nouveau, Art Deco and Oriental themes.
Palette Perfect - Color Combinations Inspired by Fashion, Art and Style. Color Collective's Palette Perfect is a book I often reach to for my design projects. It is a practical guide and an inspirational book with colour combinations divided into different chapters by mood or atmosphere. This is very useful when I am looking to convey a particular mood for a design.
I am running a small Kickstarter project to finish the Botanical Alphabet. If you ever wondered how I make my botanical letters, you can now join me on a journey of research, sketching and drawing in mini video tutorials exclusive for backers. If you like you can also grab 1 of 100 limited edition art prints of the botanical letters or choose the “behind the scenes” reward.
After two years of hard work, it is finally here! My picture book adaptation of Darwin’s On The Origin Of Species is published by Puffin Books and is coming in February 7, 2019. It is translated in 15 languages which is incredible.
Preorder on Amazon or grab a signed book at my shop.
I am really happy to share some of my works for Artfully Walls made it into the Anthropologie Winter Collection 2018! Black Cat With Irises look really pretty in this golden frame.
I am really excited to share that my picture book On The Origin of Species will be published by Puffin (Penguin Random House) early next year!
We're so excited to be publishing an incredible picture book of Darwin’s On The Origin of Species by @sabina_! 🐒🐢 pic.twitter.com/J97q55CrTa
— PuffinBooks (@PuffinBooks) March 30, 2017
A video showing my recent trip to Down House and a bit of my illustration process.
I am very excited to share that I started a small Kickstarter project to publish a picture book.
Check the project here: http://kck.st/2ctkSxP
Please support it by sharing further! As a thank you for sharing I have created a mini 2017 calendar. Dwonload and print!
Recently, I found the work of Jonathan Puckey, who uses Delaunay Triangulation in Scriptographer to create fascinating abstract images. Scriptoghrapher is a plugin for Illustrator, which uses JavaScript language to create graphics. I applied Delaunay Triangulation to some of my existing artwork using a script by Jake Rathmanner and Dan Borufka. The minimalistic images, which resulted, are not typical for my style.
Triangulation of classic painting resulted in interesting compositions (see Surreal Odalisque below). I would like to continue these experiments and create surreal geometric scenes where I combine together various triangulated elements from different paintings and my own drawings.
Sabina Radeva, Lady Bug Triangulation, 2015.
Indian red for the #colour_collective. Inspired by the Little Red Riding Hood but with a hipster hat. Initially I planned to have a dual view of her running and what she was running from. But then I thought it is more terrifying not to know what is chasing her.
This was an attempt at a different technique than I usually use. Instead of processing first the drawing in illustrator and then finishing in Photoshop, I painted with ink and assembled directly in Photoshop. It became clear that that the process dictates often the outcome. While my vector illustrations are carefully composed and premeditated, this time the image was shaped by variety of creative "accidents". I found that the trees look better in their original inked form rather than coloured digitally. The transparency of the basket and her skin was an interesting effect that added lightness. Overall the style of this artwork is more expressive. I am excited to experiment further with this technique.
I find that the sketches always hold more potential than the final piece. Something that I think many illustrators struggle with - the sketches looking better than the processed artwork.
My daughter Sophia found a ladybug in the garden. She insists it is her pet and keeps it in a jewellery box. We tried to persuade her to let the ladybug go but she talks and sings to it and bursts into tears if we try to take it away. This is also a submission for the #colour_collective Tea Rose theme.
If you like to learn how to make such animated gifts of your illustrations, join my Patreon page!
Payne's Grey for the #colour_collective on twitter.
Weekly contribution to the #colour_collective. This week's colour - forest green. This colour is not my favourite and I rarely use it. Yet it turns out it can be lovely, especially when combined with blue.
Sometimes people ask what inspires me or influenced my style. I adore vintage Vogue covers. I love the colors, the art, the typography. I often add them to my mood boards.
When I finally got my hands on this book I was as happy as can be. Makes a beautiful coffee table book and just inspiring source.
