Bessa is a Slovakian illustrator and graphic designer currently based in Prague. With a focus on vector illustration, Bessa’s work plays with shapes, body positioning and objects. Her illustrations are full of tiny strokes connected in dynamic, lively compositions, created in a limited, yet powerful colour palette. Bessa’s characters have bodies with exaggerated proportions: small heads and long noses, but with big hands and feet.
Usually starting her process with A4 white paper and a sharpened pencil, Bessa begins by jotting down inspiring keywords and some loose, fluent sketches. “If i finally come up with the right idea I just switch to digital. First, I am working on composition, character movement and position, then on details, patterns additional objects and colours. This is usually my last step, because I feel here there are so many options. So I decide the right colour for the piece at the end” describes the artist.
“For me illustration is not just about creating beautiful pictures and well done craft. It is more than that. It is a powerful tool through which we illustrators can speak out. And this is important! We can express our opinions, feelings, our political, cultural attitudes or reflect contemporary lifestyle in many ways”.
Bessa’s latest series of prints was created for LUSTR Illustration Festival in Prague, and centred around the theme of ‘freedom’. In this work she reflected what the term ‘freedom’ means in a contemporary society full of social media, advertising, social pressure, and consumerism. “On the one side, I illustrated negative aspects of our life such as insomnia, stress, depression and addictions. On the other side, I tried to focused on the positive and good things we have in our life such as creativity, meditation, idealism, art, going back to nature, plants, and balance” explains Bessa.
Since moving to Prague, Bessa has twice participated in the Festival of Illustration, LUSTR. She is also an active member of the Slovak Association of Illustrators, and tries to support her local community as well, with past collaborators including local music and design labels. Creating illustrations for online and print editorial, posters, animation and motion design, Bessa enjoys switching between different projects in order to apply new approaches. With another love for character animation, she hopes to further develop her skills with the dream of creating her own short animated movie.
www.bessaillustration.com
@bessaillustration
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