Laina Deene

For illustrator Laina Deene, ideas tend to come from noticing what’s around her – everyday details, colour and time spent walking along Brighton seafront. Alongside her illustration practice, she works full-time as a marketing assistant at a publisher, building her work gradually around her day job. Here, Laina talks about landing her first commissions through Instagram and learning how to pace herself.

About my work

My creative practice
I’m an illustrator based in Brighton, creating work inspired by landscapes, nature, film and food. I enjoy drawing from observation and experimenting with different materials such as pastel, pencil and paint. I also really love working with print techniques.

Influences and inspiration
I’m really inspired by colour – whether that’s from a colour palette in an artist’s work, packaging design in a shop, clothing or in nature. I try to document these as much as possible.

Living in Brighton has a big influence too. If I ever feel stuck with my illustration practice or if I’m struggling to focus, I’ll go to the seafront for a walk or a run. I find this really clears my head and gives me the space to think about what I’m working on.

My training
I studied Illustration Animation at Kingston after doing an art foundation at Brighton MET and studying Fine Art and Graphic Design at college. I had so much fun during these years, as I learnt a lot from my peers and tutors.

I felt really lucky to have had the time and space to focus on developing my work, alongside a group of people who were really passionate about illustration.

Favourite recent project
I’ve really enjoyed illustrating shop fronts and cafés in Brighton and London over the past year. It’s a nice way to build a collection of drawings that sit within the same series, as I’m quite often working on individual illustrations that aren’t always linked.I’d like to continue developing this over the next few months.

Your normal day usually looks like…
My illustration practice is a bit all over the place, as I work on it during weekends and some evenings around my day job. I’ll usually be thinking about ideas throughout the day and try to scribble them down over lunch, ready to work on them when I get home.

Sometimes I feel too tired to do this, and over time, I’ve tried to be better at giving myself time to recharge and accepting that I can’t work on illustration every day. I think this can be a good thing, as it builds up motivation to make as much as I can when I feel able to.

I constantly have a long to-do list of projects and ideas, but possibly because of my ADHD, I can struggle to stick to it and instead follow what I want to do in that moment. For example, if I’ve just been on a nice walk around town or watched a film that really excited me, I’ll want to capture those feelings on paper as soon as I get home.

I do most of my illustration work at my desk at home, where I’ll always have something on in the background, whether that’s music, podcasts or YouTube videos.

My illustrator starter pack includes...
Photoshop, iced coffee and colouring pencils – plus trying to fix my scanner.

I’d also include a journal, my pencil lamp from IKEA, mini food trinkets, Wallace and Gromit trinkets and some Hama bead Miffy pieces to decorate my workspace.

How I got here

Starting my creative journey
I landed my first commissions through Instagram. I was regularly sharing the work I was creating at college and then at university, as well as sketchbook work.

After doing that consistently for a couple of years, I started being approached for commissions, which felt really exciting.

Biggest challenges along the way
Without the formal structure of classes and deadlines after uni, I’ve struggled with self-doubt and confidence in my work. I’m never sure if I’m making the right sort of work for my portfolio, but I’m trying to get better at enjoying the process of illustration and doing what I can.

Your social media and self-promotion vibe is…
I don’t have a specific plan when it comes to social media, but I use it as a way to keep myself accountable for creating and sharing personal work.

I also try to email different art directors a few times a month with my portfolio and track this on a spreadsheet. This helps me understand what might be missing from my portfolio and what I can work on next.

Three things you've found useful in your career:

A photo taken during a break at Valencia Print Workshop

Your greatest learnings when it comes to making money and supporting myself as a creative have been…
Don’t be afraid to ask other illustrators and designers for advice if you feel unsure about things like invoices or charging for projects.

For me, having 9–5 jobs that are completely separate from my art practice has been really helpful. It gives me space away from illustration, and a stable income to pay rent and bills. If I were solely relying on illustration work, I’d struggle with not knowing how much money I have coming in each month.

My advice

Most useful career tips
To keep going and don't give up. It can be difficult when it feels like nothing is working, but even if you can only work on a small amount of illustration at a time, that’s still worth it – it all adds up.

I’d also say to try not to compare your artwork and yourself too much. It’s really easy to do on social media, but we’re all working at our own pace.

What would you say to someone looking to get into a similar role?
A good place to start could be drawing in your sketchbook outside, in a range of locations. I find the spontaneity of drawing outside really fun, and it can stop you worrying too much about the result.

When you come home, you can look through your sketchbook and build on your images however you’d like – through material, scale or colour.