Helen Green

I'm a 22 year old freelance illustrator based in Birmingham, UK. I specialise in portraiture, drawing people who inspire me. Capturing more than just a likeness is something I love to challenge myself with! My work is usually a combination of traditional and digital media. When I'm not drawing, I love to play the piano and go on adventures with my boyfriend.

Have you always been creative and artistic?

Definitely, the love of being creative has just stuck with me since childhood. I still have the sketchbooks I worked in from up to the age of 11, with coloured pencil sketches of animals, the occasional portrait of my sister, parents, characters from Red Dwarf .. (a somewhat varied selection of subjects). I haven't really put my pencils down since. I hope the momentum will continue as I carry on experimenting and work on new subjects.

How would you describe the style of your work?

It varies from clean and detailed to loose and expressive, I sway between the two!

What’s in your pencil case and what’s your favorite tool?

I’ve enjoyed using my new Pentel colour brush for creating text (I still need to practice working with brush type). I also used it for a cute little Gagaween background last year, which took me very little time to make, the linework you can get with a brush pen is so much more satisfying than a fine-liner.

Who is your favorite superhero?

I myself don’t really favour superhero movies as such, but I thought Hit-girl was pretty cool in the Kickass series, does that count??

If you could have one super power what would it be?

I’ve always wanted the ability to pause time.. ever since the children’s TV show 'Bernard’s Watch' came about. It’s probably not quite as cool as x-ray vision or invisibility, but definitely practical!

Where do you look for inspiration?

Other than the artists who inspire me, I’m usually inspired by what I see on my tumblr and Pinterest. Whether it’s a cool piece of fashion photography, makeup design, vintage art.. etc. I often come across something that triggers a new idea for a drawing.

Who are your favorite artists or comic book authors?

A few of my favourite illustrators at the moment are Yuko Shimizu, Peter Strain, Teagan White, Laura Callaghan, Paula Bonnet, Pam Wishbow, Lucas David, McBess.. the list goes on. At the moment I particularly enjoy artists who work with a limited palette, I admire a clever use of colour in that way. Also artists who combine detail with flat colour in their portraits, like Erik Jones and Natalie Foss. I grew up with Asterix comics so I'd have to say René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo.