Sneha Shanker's magical, colourful, delicate style

The shimmering, sparkling reality of Sneha Shanker is a world worth exploring. The artist herself is one you can get close to, whether through her newsletter or charming videos showing a day in her life.

For Stylist

For Stylist

The London artist describes her style as "magical, colourful & delicate." It's work that comes from an "unfettered imagination" and a journey of self-development "with a touch of the unknown", as Sneha tells us.

"I feel that a style develops not just with time, but it also needs some intentional efforts," she continues. "I wanted my work to exude a sense of calm as well as feel bright and cheerful. I think I have achieved it to some extent; I am happy with how my voice is developing and feeling more like a reflection of my personality with each passing day. "

Sneha reveals her meditation practice is key to her intriguing visuals, conjuring up images she then explores in her journals. She is also a huge fan of Lisk Feng ("endearing") and Lorena Alvarez ("fantastical").

"But I try not to derive my inspiration directly from other Illustrators," she stresses. "Instead, I try to look at other sources like photography, nature and my travels. I keep notes of my inspirations in an online journal, so I have access to it at all times. I am also inspired by Mughal miniature paintings from India; I once did a small three Illustration-series inspired by India."

The artist's journey began as a brand designer before progressing into illustration. While working as a designer, Sneha realised that she loved using illustrations for many of her projects. After posting her experiments and work on Instagram around 2014, she was eventually approached by a few ADs who gave Sneha her first opportunities to work in the editorial realm.

"I have been working on my illustrations ever since, and slowly transitioned to illustrating full-time last year. My last commercial project was for Holland & Barrett x The Sunday Times. The brief was to create a woman relaxing in her most natural state and enjoying nature, part of a commercial piece on CBD oils."

"I like to tap into my own past experiences and use them as inspiration for my work. For the CBD piece, I used my trip to the Lake District in the UK as my inspiration to get the vibe of greenery and flowers."

Holland & Barrett x The Sunday Times

Holland & Barrett x The Sunday Times

"Another project that I think I pushed the boundaries of my style was for Stylist Magazine, where I worked on a series of Illustrations showing the use of acids in skincare routines. I decided to incorporate different ethnicities and skin colours for my characters. I have also been trying to bring in more depth with my textures, and for this one, I used an old dry brush pen to create some textures and then scanned them in to incorporate into the elements. I am quite happy with the outcome."

For Stylist

For Stylist

Sneha usually sketches extensively in notebooks and journals using ink and a brush pen. She then selects her favourites and uses Procreate on Ipad Pro to digitise them.

"I only scan them in when I want to achieve a certain texture from my ink. Otherwise, I take a quick photo and work over it on Procreate. It's amazing to see the time-lapse of my workflow after finishing the artworks."

From her personal work, Sneha is most proud of a personal project called 'Couple Sundays' wherein she explored "simple mundane moments" between everyday couples across a two-year timespan.

"I illustrated moments that slip by us in the fast pace of our lives. My work has grown and changed a lot since then, but I owe my growth partially to this project and the consistency of it."

Sneha is currently working on launching her online shop which has been pending for a long time. She sells prints through Society6 and the platform of Fy, but it has been a long-term dream to sell her work through her own branded shop.

"I am also focusing on short-form video content this year as I want to extend my love of giving valuable information that I usually do through talks and workshops. I have also been experimenting with ceramics since last year, and I can't wait to get back into using my hands to create art. I'm into sculptural ceramics and have been using my illustration sensibilities to make my work a 3D reality. I'm also experimenting with motion design."

Wander through the shimmering, sparkling world of Sneha Shanker on Instagram.

For Vinepair

For Vinepair

Share

Get the best of Creative Boom delivered to your inbox weekly