#monique steele

[momosteeleart]

Calling all Leos, here's your social zodiac sign🗣️ I decided to go with hair and beauty for Leos because they're supposed to be vivacious, theatrical divas. And peep that blue tick hun, she's verified 💅🏾

[nanowrimo]

NaNo Interview: 2021 Camp Designer Monique Steele

Camp NaNoWriMo has begun! You may have already seen some of the cool new subway-inspired merch available in our store. Today, we’ve interviewed graphic designer Monique Steele about her design process for this project:

Q: When a client comes to you with a concept, what are the steps that you go through to turn that concept into a visual reality?

A: My first step when approaching a new design concept is always research. I play a game of word association in my head, and when the first things come to mind relating to the concept, I start saving pictures and watching videos to gather inspiration for how to approach the design. A lot of times the initial thoughts I had about a concept are completely thrown out the door as more research reveals a new way to look at the piece or a new angle to approach from. 

Then from there I do quick sketches to pull together the ideas I’ve come up with. Sometimes the thumbnail sketch process goes really quickly. Some ideas at this point are more concrete than others and are just so easy to visualize, other times they’re a bit harder to nail down so I end up having to do a million different sketches before I’m satisfied. 

Once I, and the client, choose which direction to take the piece, it’s a process of constantly refining the sketch. I’ll draw a tighter sketch in a much bigger format and then go over that with clean line work, making sure that things like perspective or the dimensions of elements within the piece work visually. Depending on whether I decide to take a more painterly approach I might skip the tight line phase and use color to carve out the shapes and forms within the art, but the final phase either way is usually using color to bring everything together.

Image: Work-in-progress versions of the 2021 Camp NaNoWriMo “Choose Your Line” poster, showing a colorful subway map with destinations like “Dramatic Reveal Plaza” and “Theme Harbor”

2. Do you have any daily drawing/creative habits that help you with your work?

A: I’m always constantly drawing/ painting and creating art when I can. It's fun for me to have this form of a creative outlet and to play with ideas that live mostly in my head. I also have found it to be a great way to experiment with different methods of making art and to practice techniques that I’m not as skilled in without the fear of “messing up.” 

As a digital artist I have also found working in other more traditional mediums has helped me push my digital work in new creative directions. For instance, when I first started digital art I was very dependent on line work to create an illustration, and now after playing more with watercolors and gouache paints I’m much more comfortable working without lines in my digital work. While the personal drawing time is incredibly useful and fulfilling for me in becoming a better artist, I also find taking time away from visual arts to be just as helpful. Taking time to pursue other interests allows me to recharge and also fills me with numerous new ideas for when it comes time to create once again.

Image: Work-in-progress and finalized versions of the 2021 Camp NaNoWriMo sponsor banner without text. The image shows a woman looking at many framed paintings on a wall in a museum.

3. Has there ever been a point (either with this project or another) when you’ve felt like you’ve run out of ideas for a design concept? If so, how did you get past that point?

A: This is definitely a thing I have experienced while working on this project and on numerous others. I find the thing that has proven the most helpful for me is to stop trying to push through the artist block and instead turn to sources of  inspiration. Those sources for me can span from other art that I enjoy to watching a film or show or even just going to a different environment.

Sometimes feeling inspired and then returning back to the research phase of the process helps trigger an idea that turns into a full blown illustration. With this project I found myself stuck with the ideas for the illustrated social media banners. Living in NYC I decided to just take a train somewhere for the day to see if inspiration would hit. By doing that and using Google Maps I started thinking about street views of locations, and low and behold the social media banners were born. A lot of times breaking through the art block is about giving yourself some distance from the work to recharge. It may seem counter productive, when under deadline but I’ve found it to be the fastest way to have a break through.

Monique Steele is a graphic designer based in New York City. She is a Jamaican born illustrator, part time Power Ranger, and all-around cool person. Follow her on Instagram, Tumblr, or Twitter.

[momosteeleart]

Cancer has entered the chat I went with a chef/ foodie blog for cancer because of their "love of good food" and "motherly nature". As a cancer I think I nailed it but feel free to tell me I'm right anyway 

[momosteeleart]

After doing the art for my Killer Queens Volume 2, I really had the urge to do my OG set to match! Jokes on me though because these look better than the new one lol

[momosteeleart]

Adding #Taurus to the mix: loves to relax and loves serenity and the country life sounds like a cottage core lifestyle blogger to me

[momosteeleart]

I came up with a whole backstory for this about black vampire flappers in the 1920s and how they use their glamours to lure white dudes into speakeasies and drink their blood, there's something there I think 🧛🏾‍♀️🦇💉

[5ive5ifths]

“Do you have a passion? It could really be anything, anything at all. It could be the thing you majored in in college, or the sport you’ve played your whole life, or even a person.  

Do you sometimes hate that passion. I do. 

Yes, I said HATE!  

In those moments of hate, have you realized that you don’t have an option? That, though you could leave it forever, you know that you won’t. But you really know that you can’t.

As a musician, sometimes I despise the entire practice. But then I think to myself, “what else would I do besides this though?” I really have no idea what I would study BUT music. Just sometimes…

This artist, Monique Steele (@moniquesteele), an Illustration Fellow with Buzzfeed, says that this is more or less her case. An artistic powerhouse, Steele’s illustrations show her innate passion for the work. 

The term “illustrator” could not be more apt. She uses her art to illustrate her world, to show the world as it is, or how it could be… to her.

The perspective within this art is uniquely hers, and that is what is so magnificent about it, every work feels like getting to know her a little more. She gains inspiration from the people close to her and their cultures, as well as her own. Because of this, Steele chose to embark on a series of regional illustrations, inspired by a culture, and their marketplace foods.

 In the series there is India, Ancient Persia, and 1940’s USA. However, being originally from Jamaica, it is not surprising that this is the one in which she would submit.  This can be seen in some popularly Caribbean motifs that she uses, such as elaborate costuming, bright colors, and fun patterns.The use of culture in this series of exploration is astounding. The use of foreign cultures was done respectfully, appropriately, out of admiration and well.” -5/5

Thank you for your submission!!

[winstons-and-enochs]

monique steele imagines what ‘the avengers’ might look like if it was made by wes anderson. best thing on the internet right now.