Nina Stajner’s Instagram page is a place of whimsicality and comfort. An illustrator and graphic designer, her work is traditionally drawn by hand and then painted patiently with watercolors and gouache with some digital finishing touches. “First layers are quite relaxed,” she explained her process in an interview with Society6’s blog, “but at the end I somehow find the patience to make all the tiny details and make my characters come to life. I do all the repeat patterns digitally in Photoshop or Illustrator.”
The result is a soft, nostalgic landscape colored in light pinks and browns. Common themes include wood critters, illustrated playfully in ways that appeal to both children and adults. Featured on products like enamel pins, notebooks, coloring books, notepads, and greeting cards, her work makes for ideal gifts, aimed specifically at young parents.
And with clients including brands like Papyrus, Little Blue Nest, Craft Consortium, Lilipinso, and Lake Coloring, as well as a massive following online, the demand for cute animal prints is clearly high.
“I love creating animal characters,” says Stajner. “In my body of work, they are mostly coming from a woodland environment—that is because I draw things that are close to me and I can see in person if I am lucky,” she adds.
Follow her Instagram page for more.
