Djamila is a Leipzig-based professional illustrator. Her drawing style is heavily influenced by Japanese animation and artists such as Iain McCaig, Tran Nguyen, and Amei Zhao. She enjoys anything mythical and fantastical.
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She illustrates surreal and dreamlike imagery with a fragile and delicate quality to it. Her imaginary worlds are filled with simultaneous brightness and darkness, where ghosts and spirits linger in the shadows. She seeks to capture a single moment, quiet and frozen in time while using the human form as a means to explore and portray abstract concepts from her mind’s landscape as well as symbolism to communicate and establish a connection through her artwork.
Djamila mainly works digitally, but also has an ongoing series of small ink drawings.
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Ep.196: What’s new with Djamila Knopf
Get in touch with Djamila
- Website: djamilaknopf.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/djamilaknopf
- Patreon: patreon.com/djamilaknopf
- Djamila’s book: Komorebi: The Art of Djamila Knopf
- Djamila’s course: Story-Driven Illustrations with Djamila Knopf
Key Takeaways
“Do whatever feels good to you, do what you like, what feels natural to you. Find out who you are, what inspires you and follow through. Be yourself and you will be fine.” 🙂
- Djamila’s artwork is anime inspired, fantasy-ish. It’s about everything that goes beyond what you can see in your ordinary life, like dreams, abstract concepts, feelings, loneliness …
- Djamila is very resourceful, her ink series are first done in Photoshop, then she prints them out, takes them to the window, and traces it with pencils. Being ‘poor’ is the best motivation ever
- Djamila wishes she knew to draw what she loves before she started and that you have to keep it simple in the beginning and not to take too much on
- Djamila is all about designing her life as she wants and she wants to have a great life
Resources mentioned
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- Movie – Sailor Moon
- Podcast – One Fantastic Week
- Artists that Djamila follows – Kelly McKernan & Audra Auclair
- Inspirational artist: Tran Nguyen – she does surreal, dreamlike dreamings – watercolor acrylics and color pencils
- Art Tools:
- Schmincke watercolor Acrylic paints – great because, they don’t lift up paper that much
- Hot pressed watercolor paper – Canson Moulin Roy
- ink drawings – Hahnemuhle paper
- Online tutorials – Sycra
- Blog from an art director – Lauren Panepinto – http://muddycolors.blogspot.ch/p/lauren-panepinto.html
- Art directors want to be connected and want to be talked to at conventions
- Ghibli museum book 1 month in advance at LAWSON CONVENIENCE store – info
- Art books:
- James Jean – Fables covers
- Anatomy – Michael Hampton – Figure Drawing: Design and Invention
- Color & Light – James Gurney
- Mateus Nestre: Framed Ink – a composition bible
- Tools
- Standing desk – BEEKANT Ikea
Special thanks to Djamila for joining me today. See you next time!
All artworks by Djamila Knopf, used with permission
Click Here For The Episode Transcript
