Weddingbee PRO

One of our readers recently asked us to do an interview with the artist behind all the wonderful illustrations on Weddingbee and we aim to please, so here is the story behind our enigmatic illustrator!

I was perusing wedding related illustrations on istockphoto several years ago when I stumbled across Irene’s portfolio.  I thought she would be a great fit with the Weddingbee style, so I reached out to her and commissioned the Mrs. Bee character I continue to use today.  Irene has been working with us creating new bee generations and feature icons ever since.  Other than her istock illustrations and the work she does for Weddingbee, Irene is mainly a motion graphic designer who designs and animates tv show packaging and promotions for network identities and more.  Sounds pretty cool huh?

Without further ado, here is more from the gal of the hour!

How did you get started as an illustrator?

I usually draw for my design projects when there is a need for it. The turning point was when I drew icons for the various Disney consumer electronics products — that’s when I gained more confidence as an illustrator, and realized being an illustrator is a lot of fun on its own. I started to draw a lot more when I became a contributor to istockphoto.com, and that’s when Bee found me.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

Everywhere - from traveling, books, movies, art, illustrations, photography, to the kwanzan flowering cherry tree in my backyard. Life is so beautiful, and it is a wonderful feeling when you can interpret and recreate it on paper with a twist from yourself.

What is your design process — do you sketch digitally, or on paper first? How long does it take to complete a generation of illustrations?

I first find as many visual and color references as I can on the internet, and place the images together in photoshop as a mood board so I can see them all at once. I then analyze the characteristics that I like, and start sketching on paper. Then I scan, trace and refine everything in Adobe Illustrator. The initial illustrations for a generation of characters can usually be done in one day, then Bee and I work together to see how we can improve them if there’s a need for it. So I would say 1-2 days to complete a generation of illustrations.

People have asked me how I draw with a mouse - I don’t know but I just do. I cannot use a Wacom tablet for some reason.

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We’re very excited to launch this new Interview feature, where we’ll be interviewing some of the most talented and interesting people in the wedding industry!

Our first guest is Mackenzie Sala of Kenzie Kate Invitations and Something Old, Something New, the blog with the most fabulous wedding finds.  I first met Mackenzie through Ladies Who Launch 4 years ago when we were both just starting out. It’s been exciting to watch our businesses grow together! Mackenzie is not only talented and beautiful, she is one of the sweetest people you will ever meet. She truly loves working with each of her brides to create the invitation of their dreams.

Without further ado, the guest of the hour!

How did you start your business?

I was working at a little coffee shop in Park Slope, pouring lattes for the Brooklyn commuters when I decided I was going to start my own business. I had toyed with the idea for a while, made a few inquiries, but I didn't commit to it until one day at the coffee shop. There was this regular… (the real ornery, lonely type) and I think he asked for butter, but I gave him cream cheese on his bagel (horrors!). He wasn't happy about it. He wrote the nastiest letter to my boss, telling her what a bad person I was for ruining his breakfast with my thoughtless schmearing. Anyway, the boss asked me to think of a way to apologize to him. As you can imagine, this did not appeal to me in the slightest, and it woke me up out of my indecision. I went home and composed my list that night. The list was my commitment to do everything I needed to do to get my business up and running, and to not quit until the last thing on that list was done- no matter how annoying or time consuming the task. I quit my coffee shop job the next week, and concentrated ONLY on completing that list for the next 6 months. When the last thing was done, I had a business to run!
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