Amrita Nambiar’s fascination is captured by colours and all things art and design. She’s been in the design industry for five years and about 7 months ago decided to take a sabbatical, some time off to experiment and get back to doing some work that was more personal. Living in sleepy Pondicherry at the time she found herself with plenty of time and tons of delicious paint and colours and paper in her hands, but didnt know where to begin ! She looks for an inspirational high in books, stories, music and in other peoples work and keeps a blog of her own.

She loves to travel endlessly, goes to every concert she can and fills her home with flowers.
”When you want something, all the universe conspires to help you achieve it.” Amrita believes in dreams coming true.

Why are you an Illustrator?
Ive been drawing since I remember. I guess I cannot help but be an illustrator! I’ve been looking for ways to express myself and illustration comes most naturally to me. I get to speak without words (or very few) about things that are close to my heart, about the magic in the little things in the world around us through my drawings. And Im high when Im inspired, and that kind of exhilaration can be addictive 🙂

Did you attend school for fine art or design?
I did go to art school in Bangalore. We didnt do too much there, but I did spend a lot of time dreaming and scribbling away in the beautiful grounds.Looking back, Im sure that helped, I did develop my skill there, But my greatest learning began when I started working part time at a design studio and learned about the world of design and illustration through the lovely people there !

You have a distinct style of illustration. How long did it take you to develop your style?
Everyone sees the world through a different set of eyes. And I simply draw the world the way I see it.

Were there any particular role models for you when you grew up?
Though i grew up amongst some amazing people, I dont remember ever meeting anyone who did what I wanted to do until I joined art school where I met artists and designers and others with similar dreams. It was a pretty incredible feeling to work alongside so many like minded people!

Who was the most influential personality on your career in Illustrations?
I’m going to change the ”who” in this question to a ”what”. And my answer would be Pondicherry. I lived there for 2 and a half years, and it opened up a whole new world of inspiration. Everyone in Pondi and Auroville is doing something beautiful and I found myself drawing again and faced with a world of dreams and possiblities 🙂

You have worked with HiDesign. What was your job profile there?
I was the senior communication designer at Hidesign. It was a fun,challenging job and led to a lot of experiments with all kinds of materials! And it took me to Pondicherry 🙂 I still consider it to be one of my best decisions yet.

What made you decide to become a freelance illustrator? When did you start freelancing?
I followed my heart. At one point I just wanted to draw and play with colours . So i quit my job about 7 months ago and took a break to experiment, and after a few months, I finally felt satisfied with what I was creating, and slowly started taking on freelance projects.

Was there any time when you wanted to quit Illustrations?
I hate being labelled. And while I was experimenting with different media and design, I was always more easily labelled as an illustrator. At the time, i vowed not to draw again! But that didnt last too long 🙂

Are many advertising agencies getting illustrations made these days? Do you work more with agencies or publishers?
I guess they do! I work more with individuals and publishing houses – anyone with an interesting project in hand really!

Have you considered turning your illustrations into toys?
Toys not so much. Products yes! I love collaborative art and the idea of turning art into something both beautiful and functional!

Any other Indian Illustrators who you admire?
Dithi Chakrabortty does some beautiful art, I love her work. Priya Sebastian with her beautiful charcoal drawings, and Bajju Shyam who works with Tara books for his beautiful style and dreamy illustrations.

Do you have any favorite fellow illustrators or resources relating to your fields?
I have a whole bunch of inspirational sites and blogs and books that I love pouring through ! www.stylefiles.com is one of my favourite sources of interior inspiration (textures and patterns and colours) behance.net showcases a whole lot of beautiful work everyday ! graphic-exchange.com is another treasure trove of work,  and then all the blogs I love to haunt!

You have such a wide experience as a top working professional. What advice do you have for aspiring creative professionals? Would you advise them to take on Illustration as a career option? Is it paying well enough?
Follow your heart, do as it says and everything else will follow. I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to do what I love everyday and get paid for it!

Who would you like to take out for dinner?
Stefan Sagemeister!

What’s on your iPod?
Creed, Adele, Dire Straits, Norah Jones and RHCP

Mac or PC?
Tablet PC!