Sarah and Ping are joined by Ema Malyauka, a self taught children's book illustrator, whose Belarusian surname translates to ‘drawing’. Ema discusses her creative process, sharing invaluable advice for young artists, and her journey as a self taught artist from knowing nothing about the industry to becoming a successful illustrator KEY TAKEAWAYS Ema struggled at school with regular lessons, but attended art classes outside of school and constantly received high praise from her teachers. Despite this, Ema decided against attending university to study art and began a journey of self teaching, learning from books, short courses, friends and other artists. Ema is a lifelong fan of childrens books. From an early age she collected childrens books and images from the internet. When she finally decided to become an illustrator she did not hesitate to specialise in childrens illustrations. Ema’s first professional experience was working with a friend who self published their own books. She recommends this to all young artists as it was an opportunity to learn her trade and make mistakes without the pressure that comes with working with an established publishing house. When she started her career she didn’t know anything about the professional world of illustration including publishers and portfolio’s, but she found advice and guidance from fellow artists online that helped her career flourish. To generate her own stories, Ema asks herself a question central to her idea and then makes a library of images and thoughts as well as researching other fairy tales through books and podcasts to ‘feed her brain.’ Ema also recommends creating a nice environment to work in. She finds that she has more inspiration if she covers her sketchbooks in colourful fabric instead of leaving them with their natural covers.   Some of Ema’s favourite illustrators include Adolf Born, Jiří Šalamoun, André François and Varya Yakovleva BEST MOMENTS “It’s a great time for the illustration world because of the increase of mobile phones and tablets, everything has to be more visually pleasing.” “I always recommend young artists to try a project with a friend. You’ll be more relaxed, not afraid to make mistakes and get an understanding of the process.” “Find people in the illustration world online. They are lovely people and will be happy to help and advise you.” “Don’t compare your journey to others. Your journey is what makes you unique as an illustrator.”   EPISODE RESOURCES Ema Malyauka www.instagram.com/ema_malyauka Adolf Born https://historiek.net/de-wondere-wereld-van-adolf-born/146693/ Jiří Šalamoun https://www.pametnaroda.cz/en/salamoun-jiri-1935 André François https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/André_François Varya Yakovleva https://www.instagram.com/varya__yakovleva/following/?hl=en     ABOUT THE PODCAST A serious and fun podcast for female creatives hosted by Ping, Dorien and Sarah, three happy artists from Amsterdam.  This podcast will inspire you to make a living out of your art. We welcome you to be part of this community of like-minded people. www.thrivingwomenartists.com www.instagram.com/twapodcast ABOUT THE HOSTS Ping He Ping is a watercolor artist. Her work is inspired by nature and her motherhood experience. She develops her greeting cards brand and teaches Botanical Illustration courses online and offline. www.pinghe.art [email protected] www.instagram.com/pinghe.art Sarah van Dongen Sarah is a children’s book illustrator and visual artist. She takes her sketchbooks and art supplies everywhere, which results in illustrations based on observation and daily life. www.sarahvandongen.com [email protected] www.instagram.com/sarahvandongenillustrations Dorien Bellaar Dorien is an illustration artist. Her work is mainly focused on illustration for children, editorial/food illustration, hand lettering, and she likes to combine those into