Adventurous digital illustrations - CreativeMindClass Blog

My background

My name is Ekaterina Boguslavskaya. I was born in Russia.

I studied in Moscow However, I lived outdoors in the countryside.

There was no hot water The house was heated by a furnace which was used by the neighbors to raise cows and goats. Wonderful times! Apart from nature and cycling, I was obsessed with animation. All my peers were grown up and no longer enjoyed cartoons. I was contrary! I realized it could become my favorite thing to do. This is how I ended up in the film academy at Moscow, Russia.

My personal style

I would like my artwork to always bring out some deeply emotional feelings. It's like sitting by the fireplace after your day or hiking in the mountains.

My process

I love the drawing process. There's something that it shares with meditation. If I'm in the process of working I can see it getting dark outside, I'll get hungry, but nothing really affects me while working.

Today, I am employed in the illustration industry as well as animation... And I even design board games. It is a joy to do my job.

I've always drawn a lot. However, it began to look better after I completed my studies. As I decided what and how I draw.

My advice to doubtful visual artists

Find something you love and enjoy the thing you like about it. Try to listen less to people who you don't enjoy what they are doing. All will be well! And there will be people who will be enthralled by what you're doing.

My technique

I draw everything I can on my iPad using Procreate. Sometimes , I complete some thing with Photoshop.

The iPad really transformed my daily life. Now I work in bed, in cafes, and in libraries. I choose a place to work. I also move around, I do not just sit in front of my computer. Therefore, the iPad is an amazing tool that combines classic drawing and computer drawing.

The iPad has great brushes. For example, I got watercolor brushes through "The Watercolor MaxPack - Brushes for Procreate". It is a joy every time I try the brushes. They are as close to real watercolors as they can get.

A few thoughts on the way I conduct my work

It is my goal to create a rough outline of the objects. Because I find hard outlines harsh and cold.

Sometimes I turn my shadows cold and bluish by using the multiplier setting. Sometimes I employ overlay. But I don't understand that very much.

Procreate comes with some great blur options, check the settings! There are several types of them and they're very good. However, I prefer drawing as I draw using traditional materials on canvas or paper.

I'm still searching, still learning about my subject as well as trying to come closer to my image that I enjoy by doing personal work.

Information about the Teriberka series

I visited there following my travels (to Teriberka). Russian North, the Arctic. It was a town that built ships to capture a large amount of fish. It's now a bit of a ghost town.

Google it, please! It's stunning.

I'm always drawn to the North.

I like the people, the animals as well as the multitude of colors of the moss. The tiny berries have a lot of nutrients, and are more nutritious than the tropical fruit. It's quite amazing.

Northern cliffs look like the skin of huge elephants! These are the feelings that I tried to show in these photos.

About the Tiny Things series

The idea came to my head when I was very tired of my job, the flu and the city.

I bought an macro lens, and then went into the forest. And how much incredible beauty was under my feet! Every inch of nature was beautiful. It gave me plenty of inspiration and creativity. This is how the project was born.

No matter what happens no matter what happens, there's a wonder that is right there!

How can I plan my time for work?

The hardest thing is to keep your time and sleep in check as well as answer 'no' to proposals that aren't suitable. or to do a lot of work and try to survive and not get tired by doing what you enjoy. This is all I'm still learning.

The creative blockages

The tough part is the process itself - sometimes it doesn't take place. The result isn't what I want. This means you'll have to suffer for up to eight hours and get angry. And then a couple of days later, you can redo it in an hour and the result looks perfect. What's that? Magic.

A few tips about how to get over creative blocks

If you are faced with a particular kind of task - do not take a moment to draw (if you can). Allow your mind to think in the background while you're busy doing other things. That's how I think that the most effective solutions will come.

How I view my work

If I were to grade my work, I'd never rate myself the grade of "excellent". It's extremely exhausting and makes me do my best to make myself miserable. On the other hand it pushes me to move forward.

Drawing is like a great adventure!

If you have tickets to another country. You have a knowledge of it from Google but something might surprise you right on the spot. So far, it seems to be an exciting adventure to me.

Find other works by Ekaterina on, and keep an eye out for the next installment of this series via Instagram , Artstation or Behance.