Malika Favre: Feminine Vector Illustration

We spoke with the French illustrator Malika Favre about her creative process

She is one of the most successful illustrators in the world at the moment and her style is 100% recognizable. She has designed almost a dozen front covers for the New Yorker and has worked with big brands and publications across the planet.

Her work is purely vectoral and, between negative spaces, the optical illusions and plays on perspective tend to hide themselves in the female form, which has become a staple of her illustrations. We spoke with her about her work and her creative process.

Where do you find inspiration?

Inspiration is a mystery. I couldn’t identify people, things or activities that inspire me, it’s more a mix of everything, from everyday situations to far-off places. Everything can inspire if you look at it and live it with intensity.

The only time I felt uninspired was when I worked too much and I had to keep drawing, so I try to feed the creative part of my brain with every possible input: travelling, meeting new people and seeing new things.

What’s your creative process?

I do a lot of photographic research to start the process, I skip from image to image and bring together everything that interests me or seems relevant. Once I’ve collected this images, I put them to the side and begin to sketch concepts, but I never draw directly from an image. I use the images to help me begin and the rest comes from me.

I’ve stopped sketching by hand. I now sketch with Illustrator, sometimes in black and white, other times in color, to draft the composition and idea. The most important part of the process is to generate ideas. Everyone has their own way and there aren’t any rules. Whatever works best for you.

Many of your illustrations include women, what do you find so inspiring in them?

As a woman, it makes sense that this was the first topic I explored as a child and I haven’t stopped since then. I love the inherent sensuality of women, the curves of their bodies, the red lips, the defiant looks. I draw women who are independent, free and strong.

What would you do if you weren’t an illustrator?

I’ve got no idea. Maybe I would do something related to understanding people. Patterns of behaviour and the complexity of the human mind have always fascinated me, so maybe I would’ve been a psychologist.

How do you overcome creative blocks?

I sleep on it. It doesn’t make sense to put pressure on yourself and normally a few hours of sleep will solve it.

How do you choose your color palette?

To be honest, almost always by instinct. I don’t tend to overanalyze my color choices, but I love to play with combinations and somehow I realize when something works and tells the story well.

As always, it’s a question of looking at the world and assimilating all that information in order to then put it on paper.

What do you think about online learning and autodidacts?

I think many artists are self-taught. You don’t start to be creative when you start a course, it’s something that starts in childhood, thus teaching, online or in person, is a question of direction. We all need tutors and guides you serve as critical eyes over what we do. That’s how we grow as artists.

What illustrators or emerging talents are you currently into?

I love Quentin Monge and Agathe Sorlet.

You may also be interested in:

- Introduction to Adobe Illustrator, by Aarón Martínez.
- Vectorial Illustration with Style, a course by Ely Ely Ilustra.
- Vector Illustration for Amateurs, a course by Aarón Martínez.
- Digital Illustration with Geometric Shapes for Beginners, a course by Pablo Lobato