Natalia Soleil is a communication designer and freelance illustrator from Munich, Germany. Her website, pencilgarden.com, is a delight at first glance, due to a charming drawing of an exceptionally happy little girl watering planters full of (you guessed it) growing pencils.
Natalia’s portfolio contains both detailed, cartoon and sketchbook quality work, and each niche brings its own creativity and flair to the mix. Her artwork ranges from full-fledged fantasy – you’ll see plenty of monsters, dragons, witches and vampires – to adorable animations of button-nosed animals and sketches of cheeky women.
Let’s explore House of the Seven Sins below. Are you shivering with fear yet? For just a single illustration, this piece still manages to tell a chilling story of darkness, loneliness and fear.
Spiky peaks barely visible in the background warn any unwary travelers that they are far from home, while spindly trees reach their branches out as if to catch and hold them in this wicked place.
Clouds pool in the sky, framing a ghostly moon. In its eerie light, you can see the twisty eaves and giant, squatting presence of the evil house atop the hill. Even the steep staircase leading to the front door is uninviting!
Bowl and Spoon is very different from the hostile scene above – it represents tranquility, and is obviously very welcoming, even to the colors which are soothing and soft. There’s also a bit of an Asian flair to this painting, seen in the delicate flowers painted around the bowl and the bamboo-like structure of the mat.
But what I particularly like about this piece are the soft curves of the bowl and the spoon, juxtaposed against the sharp angles of the square placemat and table. The spoon lies elegantly at an angle, opening up the composition and creating the perfect place for your eyes to rest, right in the middle of that glowing, golden light.
Finally, here’s the uber-spunky Loris, featuring one of my favorite animals! Eyes wide with hope, love and affection (even though the loris is known for its toxic bite), this little critter clings to bamboo, arched firmly against the stalk with his long toes that seem to provide ample suction for stability.
The background is a dream of mossy mist, with one cartoony leaf splayed out behind the loris. The furball’s ears are wide open, focused on everything going on around him, while his eyes are largely fixated on what appears to be us – the viewers! I can’t help but smile at his forwardness and his own knowing grin, and I hope you find yourself letting out a small chuckle, too!
Many more of Natalia’s illustrations are as captivating as those above, like this illustration for a potential card game. What can I say except that the little guy has gutsy style and an abnormal love of pretzels?
Then, there’s her sketchbook portfolio, which contains this particular beauty, among others So, what are you waiting for – check out her website now!
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