Weddingbee Blog

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.