When it comes to more observational drawings or character design, I tend to lean towards an ink medium as I feel it allows room for silhouette and line work to add form and personality towards different characters. While my usual illustration work focuses on world building and representational elements, my ink illustrations are meant to be more digestible for viewers.
INK ILLUSTRATIONS
Ilene Horenstein
This was a portrait I made of this elderly woman I work for on Sundays to help with household chores, financial paperwork, and sorting mail (Really it’s all an excuse just to hang out together).
Raggedy Fish Wear
This was a self portrait cartoon I made of my 2024 Halloween fish costume I made out of scrap fabric and hot glue.
Chameleon Tattoo
This is an ink design/illustration of a panther chameleon for tattoo, the linework keeps in mind how tattoos age and the placement of where the tattoo will be located (lower arm), and the size (5”).
Pappy
Pappy was a local musician in Webster Groves and a regular at Webster Groves Garden Cafe’s open mic night. He sadly passed away and I happened to capture this portrait of him during a previous performance and gave it to the Cafe for their memorial service.
A Mother’s Hug
This is a portrait I made of my mother and younger brother sharing a long hug. the use of silhouette and line to separate, and also entangle the two of them made for an interesting interaction.
Caterpillar Character
This illustration was inspired by this leafy chair design that mimicked nature with curls and curves, I thought a caterpillar would have loved to read Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis in such chair. I wanted the illustration to lean heavily into the use of line to emphasize curvature.
