Artist Interview: Isabel Seliger

Isabel Seliger's work is a beautifully harmonious combination of ink drawings and digital color. The way she works with scale and her intricate linework is entrancing. It was a pleasant discovery to find that she has published books through Rotopol Press, which I definitely recommend checking out. Below she shares her sketches, process, and coincidentally, her recent fascination with sci-fi and the work of Philip K. Dick.

Tell us about why you chose the subject of your piece. Is it something you’re familiar with?

I am familiar with the subject of epic landscapes/sceneries. 

In contrast to the vastness, I love those little observers, because that's what we are… in the eye of God or whatever. Or when you are able to [move away from yourself] and look [at yourself] from a different perspective.

I didn`t choose the topic "minerals" myself, but I am happy that Light Grey Art Lab [sorted me into this category]!

Explain a little about your process in creating this illustration.

In the beginning I drew tiny sketches, to help me visualize the composition for my ideas.

For this project, I drew many sketches but ended up using my first idea of a museum. I knew that I wanted it to be a very large hall and I had already done some drawings of big floating stones earlier. That is how the stone came into my museum.

Then I had to figure out what the stone should look like. I searched for minerals on the internet and drew some of them. I also made different designs for the museum. In photoshop I combined one of those with one of the stones and repainted the design with a final sketch of the room and plants outside the windows. 

The next step was printing and tracing. After that I started inking with a brush pen and then finally coloring in Photoshop.

Are you reading anything currently? We’d love to hear about it!

Currently I`m reading The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson. After that I have to read everything by Philip K. Dick! I am very excited since I have read two of his books and presently I am really into science fiction.

There are so many other great books I don`t know yet and authors of which I would like to read more.

If you hadn’t chosen art as your career, what would you be doing?

I never really thought about doing something different than art/illustration. Presently I am working on my final project to finish my studies at the School of Art and Design in Kassel, Germany.

The only thing I want to think of right now is that I hope everything will be fine and that I soon will be able to live on making illustrations.

You were given a free science class, just for the heck of it. You even get to choose: Biology or Chemistry. Which would you pick?

I was better in biology than in chemistry so I guess I should pick biology…

Both are interesting. Chemistry even more because to me it`s a bigger mystery.

You can view more of Isabel Seliger's work on her website, or follow her blog or Flickr!