Meet The Illustrator: Sofia Moore

Name: Sofia Moore

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less.
I tend to have textured, multilayered images that I would like to simplify but end up adding in more and more details.

What items are an essential part of your creative space?
My cats! They are the original models to all my animal characters and sometimes people, too.
They bring humour, silliness and untold jokes to my illustration world. Other than the cats, I need a lot of copy paper to sketch and a mechanical pencil.

Do you have a favourite artistic medium?
Yes, my favourite illustration medium is matte acrylic paint and coloured pencils.

Name three artists whose work inspires you.
Olaf Hajek, Brecht Evens and Chris Hagen

Which artistic period would you most like to visit and why?
The revolutionary 20’s in Eastern Europe when avant-garde artists like Mark Chagal, Kandinsky, Filonov were emerging. I am drawn to the emotional quality of the art of that period and how it connects to all the historical events that had changed the course of history.

Who or what inspired you to become an illustrator?
It comes from my early childhood, I remember looking at images in books when I couldn’t read yet and how they were a part of my reality. The influence that illustration has on imagination is huge and that inspires me to make art for children’s books.

Can you share a photo of your creative work space or part of the area where you work most often? Talk us through it.
I am very lucky to have a small room all for myself and that’s where I spend most of my time. I have a closet along one wall with all my art supplies, a big window across the room and a desk in the middle.

What is your favourite part of the illustration process?
Most of all I love early stages of creating an image - research, first sketches, collecting references, selecting colours. At this point everything is very fresh and unknown, and I like to keep these factors throughout the rest of the process.

What advice would you give to an aspiring illustrator?
Be patient, disciplined and draw every day!

Sofia Moore is a Ukrainian-American artist and illustrator based in Las Vegas, Nevada.
She grew up reading folk tale stories in her grandmother’s house and drawing princesses on the back of textbooks. Now she is on the mission to create her own picture books filled with colorful characters and imaginary situations. She loves painting traditionally and layers textures both on paper and digitally. Her ideas come from a lot of sketchbook drawings and making up stories every day.

Please visit Sofia's website for more information or follow her on instagram.