Studio #2. Nastya Smirnova

Meet Nastya Smirnova - illustrator, art challenger and morning runner.

Nastya is the second person to let me into her wonderful house to talk about illustration, life and all around. Thanks, Nastya, for being so generous on your experience!

Nastya’s work is full of light, it is bright and gentle. Everyday sketches or book illustration - full of life, motion and color. Nastya says that her nickname is krasiver and when translated into Russian it means a person who creates beauty. I totally agree.

Nastya’s studio.

A bright flat in the green part of Moscow, full of light, books and drawings on the wall. Nastya’s idea of cozy and nice home is getting rid of useless stuff. So only best books, favourite materials and absolutely clean table.

Eating watermelon at lovely balcony, Nastya tells her story:

She’d been in drawing for ages: 6 years of art school, 6 years at Moscow State University of Printing Arts and a year at illustration course at British Higher School of Art and Design. Very useful 13 years lead to total abandoning of drawing and illustration. Being drawing all these years something she’d been expected from teachers and study process. It took a year to come back and to start again. Step by step, not expecting anything, just doing one picture a day (as working full time). So this become Nastya’s first challenge to draw one sketch during 100 days. After that there was another 100 days, then she started 365 days: #krasiver365 . Still working full-time in non-illustration field, Nastya teaches, founded illustration breakfast community with her friend Polina and have two books published.

First book.

The Ferris Wheel

Clever publishing house 2016 Moscow Russia

Have been recommended for the publishing house by her fellow classmate, Nastya did a lot of lettering for covers. Once she was sent a book with no pictures - just a book attached to the letter. It was the offer to illustrate the whole book. Big book - collection of modern poems for children called “ The Ferris Wheel”. As a collection it was divided into chapter and each chapter was illustrated in two colors like Ferris wheel cabins are! It is such an amazing idea for color coding the book for children poems! And also it has funny mystery - there is a bunch of elephants hidden in the illustrations and reader supposed to find them all. Great bright book, full of laughs.

Illustration breakfast community.

Two friends and colleagues Nastya Smirnova and Polina Novikova shared a studio in the center of Moscow few years ago. They loved chatting about illustration and art and it was never enough of time to discuss everything. So they’ve decided to meet in the cafe to talk more. But evenings were so busy they couldn’t catch up. So finally they have realized they should arrange the meeting in the morning! It was easier to find time in the morning. So they have been meeting in different cafes on Friday morning and decided that they want to share this illustrator community feeling with others and started project “Drawing breakfast”. It is a every week meetup, when illustrators meet at the different cafes to draw and talk. There are over 2000 people now and they celebrating their 2 years anniversary. There going to be the big exhibition in Moscow.