Ibticem is a wonderful illustrator, who produces stylish, original and witty works. Working alongside Gucci Vault, Ibitcem envisioned a comic series to showcase Vault’s Holiday curation. Other clients include Vogue Arabia and Apple. We spoke to Ibticem about her illustrations, characters and style.
Enigmatic, Women and Poetic.
My biggest influences are music and movies, it really helps me to envision an atmosphere and narratives. But I also get inspired by what I read, mostly graphic novels and mangas, and of course by my own life, the encounters that I make and my surroundings.
I mainly work in black and white for my illustrations so I felt that the best way to match the energy and artistic line of Gucci was to understand their colour palette and make it work with my girls haha.
I always try to create a story, even if it’s a single illustration with no text, by adding some simple details that invite people to imagine what happened or what is going to happen. You can ask yourself why is there flowers on the table, did someone bring them or were they already here, what does it mean to the character and the list can go on! Sometimes I work around small texts or poems that I’ve done and I use them as the storytelling of my illustrations to give them a second depth that you can’t see.
I always try to create a story, even if it’s a single illustration with no text, by adding some simple details that invite people to imagine what happened or what is going to happen. You can ask yourself why is there flowers on the table, did someone bring them or were they already here, what does it mean to the character and the list can go on! Sometimes I work around small texts or poems that I’ve done and I use them as the storytelling of my illustrations to give them a second depth that you can’t see.
I always try to create a story, even if it’s a single illustration with no text, by adding some simple details that invite people to imagine what happened or what is going to happen. You can ask yourself why is there flowers on the table, did someone bring them or were they already here, what does it mean to the character and the list can go on! Sometimes I work around small texts or poems that I’ve done and I use them as the storytelling of my illustrations to give them a second depth that you can’t see.
I guess it’s because I make them for me first!
