Emma Winterbottom, illustrator behind JODE mascot bear "Oongnya"
Pleased to introduce our collaborator Emma Winterbottom.
My name’s Emma and I’m an illustrator based in London, United Kingdom and from Vancouver, Canada. I have always loved drawing and painting since I was a kid and I started working as a freelance illustrator a couple of years ago. I studied Kinesiology in my undergrad and worked as a massage therapist for a little while too, both of which I enjoyed, before switching careers into illustration. I feel as though I came back around into illustration with art being something that I’m most passionate about.
I was inspired by a teacher I had when I was ten years old in elementary school, an artist who worked for Walt Disney Studios, and another teacher, Erin Green, who taught me a continuing education course on illustration at Emily Carr University of Art and Design. I currently work as an illustrator part-time and my goal is to keep working into a full-time illustration career in the near future.
On your website, you mentioned growing in a nature surrounded environment.
I grew up in a neighbourhood called Lynn Valley with nature on my doorstep. It’s walking distance into the local forests, where you can wander and hike for hours and swim in the river. The mountains are right there and the ocean’s so close by too. I feel grateful to have grown up in such a naturally beautiful place.
Your drawing gives us a positive, soothing energy. This makes us wonder what you like to share with your audience through your work? Also, how does your creative process go to achieve the effect?
Nature definitely is a main source of artistic inspiration for me. I hope to share a sense of peace, appreciation and respect for nature through my work.
As for my creative process, I love to take my sketchbook in hand when I’m out and about, often not focusing too much on the ideas and just letting them come, just drawing, usually in either pencil or marker, or painting in ink, and having a playful approach in my sketches. For working on a project, I’ll always draw first by hand and then use Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, a mix of both traditional and digital media.
A work of art resembles its creator. We are wondering what your personality is like?
To describe myself in a few words: I’m positive, patient, idealistic, smiley and a bit silly too.
Let's talk about your creation for our brand. When we asked about creating a bear mascot representing a bath & lifestyle brand, Californian born, and Korean heritage, what came to your mind? and how did you develop the idea?
I knew we were creating a line drawing of a bear and so I started by gathering reference images of bears. I read about the Korean creation myth and how the bear represents such an important part of the story.
With those images and ideas in mind, I started drawing in pencil and created a few rough drafts of what the bear could look like. Then I traced over my drawing in fineliner and further digitally edited and vectorized the illustration using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.
We also asked to create a botanical image since we saw you often like to draw them. Of course, we love your botanical drawings, and want to hear what makes your drawings different from others, you think.
I really do like to draw plants - and thank you! I like to have a looseness or “scribbly-ness” in my style and with my brushstrokes. I often try for a more simple and minimalistic look.
Finally, we want to know how Londoners enjoy nature in their daily life. Also, do you have a routine for a healthy & beautiful life to share?
London is one of the greenest cities in Europe and there’s lots of natural beauty here if you look around. And some Londoners quite like to bike around the city. While I definitely do miss the forests back home, I think it’s about appreciating what you have where you are. I love walking and so I’ll walk around the neighbourhood and through the local parks too. My routine is quite simple I’d say, just to be conscious about the food I eat and to spend time outdoors. Ō