Vicky Scott

I am a freelance Illustrator originally from London and now relocated to the sometimes sunny seaside city of Brighton. Over the last 10 years, I have worked on a diverse range of projects from CD covers to painting murals onto giant models of baby elephants, owls and eggs for wildlife charites.

My style is graphic, colourful, nostalgic and quirky. I find inspiration almost anywhere; from the natural world and my urban surroundings to stylish Art Deco architecture, psychedelic posters of the 60's and the wallpapers of William Morris. My illustrations are created by stating out with a pencil sketch, which I then trace onto pieces of paper, fabric and other surfaces. I then assemble all the bits and scan into Photoshop. I like my designs to have an uplifting feel and tell the viewer a story.

Have you always been creative and artistic?

Yes I think so, always remember being covered in glue at nursery school. One of my early memorable pieces was a short (and apocalyptic!)story called the Apple on fire. Terrifying stuff!

How would you describe the style of your work?

Retro, whimsical, calming, psychedelic, eccentric, colourful, and sometimes a little bit mad

What’s in your pencil case and what’s your favorite tool?

I am very untidy so a pencil case is unlikely! Bit boring but a HB pencil and scalpel are my prized possessions.

Who is your favorite superhero?

Spiderman. I like spiders and I like that he is a geek in real life.

If you could have one super power what would it be?

Time travel. I'd love to visit different periods in history for fun and inspiration, but also on a more practical level as I often don't leave enough time to travel to places.

Where do you look for inspiration?

Walking around Brighton city centre and the laines is pretty good, it's brightly coloured, full of interesting things and people and occasional art galleries and magazine shops too! I also look on Pinterest a lot for vintage travel posters, to find photo inspiration and cool illustrators and have lots of 60's and Art Deco source books. Print Pattern Blog Spot, Bored Panda, Twitter, Etsy and Hire An Illustrator, Dribble are some of my other favourite places to look.

Who are your favorite artists or comic book authors?

Really tricky! My favourite artists of all time are Erte (an Art Deco illustrator and costume designer), William Morris pattern designs, Matisse during his paper cutting period, Mucha, Kay Nielsen and Aubrey Beardsley. More recently I love the illustrations of lush designs, Camilla Derrico and Aurelie Henquin although too many more to mention!