Sara Netherway
Hello there! I’m a freelance Illustrator from the sunny Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England. It’s a lovely place to live with tons of natural inspiration – sea and hills all around.
My career so far has been a mix of employed/freelance. Before going freelance I worked as a graphic designer in-house and a surface pattern/illustrator/product designer creating for the high street.
I’ve spent time creating an illustration portfolio and concentrating on building my style. I homed in on what I really loved producing and things have developed from there.
When did you decide you wanted to be illustrator?
At college I studied Fine Art and throughout the course I had a nagging feeling maybe should have chosen illustration. Fine Art was taught in a separate building across town from the other art college courses – graphic design, fashion, illustration etc. I don’t think it was intentional to keep us apart from the other students, but that naturally seemed to happen!
Would you recommend studying at art school?
Certainly an art college background gives you the space to develop your own personal creativity – it’s a valuable time.
What do you wish you’d know when you first started out?
I wish we’d had an option of some creative business advice before we left college.
Any other tips you could share?
To draw everyday, even on the days nothing comes to you – just making marks and messing up the white most times will kick something off for me.
The other thing I’ve read that works, if you’re stuck, is to use the cheapest paper you can find to draw on.
