Illustrating magazines, books, maps, and even product packaging has made Rebeka a versatile artist who’s always striving for more while raising her two little children who are the center of her life. She says she had never lacked inspiration and motivation for drawing, it’s the time that’s hard to find now. But when she gets to create something, she’s all in.
On life’s shortcuts to finding your passion and carving out a freelance business
Petra: Did you study what you do now?
Rebeka: No, I studied fashion design and got my Master’s degree at MOME as a fashion- and textile designer. During my years at the university, I already knew that I’d never work in this field, because I realized that my strength didn’t lie in constructing garments, and learned that it’s kind of impossible to launch a successful fashion brand here, in Hungary. I was simply into fashion so it seemed like a good idea to take classes related to this field, and, I didn’t know what was the one thing I wanted to pursue exactly. However, this episode of my life also led to where I am now.
Petra: How do you think your past in fashion design helped you to become the illustrator you are today?
Rebeka: The skills I learned there are definitely useful. Especially when, after finishing my diploma work, I started experimenting with embroidery and creating bridal accessories. I launched my jewelry brand, Studio Larinne, in collaboration with two of my dear friends I met at school, Zsófia Martinovszky and Lilla Szabó, who design the Hey Darling bridal dresses. We ventured into the bridal dress business together. Parallel to this, for five years, I was also employed by BigBag PR Agency, a boutique PR agency specializing in fashion and beauty brands — there, it was nice to be familiar with both sides of a fashion brand. Thanks to this “office job”, I gained overwhelming experience in other areas too that can help me and my illustration clients today to reach our objectives.
I have to say though that sometimes I feel like an impostor with my fashion background when I’m working on illustrations… But as time goes by, I feel more and more comfortable and confident in my “new profession”, and I try to keep in mind that the skills I learned while designing a fashion or textile collection can be applied to illustration and graphic design, or any other creative task as well.
Petra: You mentioned your jewelry brand and embroidery projects. What happened to those?
Rebeka: I had to let them go. Both could have been more successful, had a lot of potential, and were very unique in the market, but to make it more profitable it needed more time and care that I couldn’t invest anymore.
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Petra: So for now, you stuck to illustration and photography but you ventured into many creative fields before. Are there any more areas that you’d like to tap into?
Rebeka: Well, this is more than enough, but you guessed it right, I always strive for more. When it comes to photography, for instance, I don’t really remember a time when I didn’t have a camera in my hands. Starting from my teenage years, I just loved to take portraits of my friends and pretty things. I always took my small camera to school to save every memory, and this also led me to blogging. Then, later, I got some opportunities to take photos for the social media pages of brands like Rimmel and dm-drogeriemarkt, and for other beauty companies like Lima. This skill comes in handy when I need to take pictures of my own products or document my own work, as well. And, illustration was also something that was part of my life from childhood, no wonder this creative expression is still my favorite.
Do you think it’s important to have this many “legs” as a creator, either for financial safety, to practice creative expression, or for any other reason?
It’s definitely nice to have experience in several fields to support your main “gig”. This way, you can do most of the work related to your job, or you can delegate more efficiently since you understand each step. Also, Hungary is a very small country with limited possibilities. Most of the creatives and artists I know have or had a day job to get by, and usually, it takes years and years of hard work to get to the point where you can let go of everything else and focus only on your creative journey. On the other hand, doing so many different things at once is clearly unattainable after a while and leads to exhaustion and burnout. What I’m trying to do now is take one thing, illustration, and dive deeper. Well, we’ll see how that works out…
How would you describe the times when you were just starting as an illustrator?
Things were happening slowly and step by step. I got smaller commissions first from my acquaintances, and then from smaller brands. I tried myself in a lot of different areas of graphic design and photography, and as mentioned, created bridal accessories and embroideries.
To be honest, there was a moment when I felt really exhausted. My firstborn was one year old, I had smaller commissions, and they didn’t pay much, even though I worked on them in all my limited free and sleep time. I was getting nowhere. Then, literally in the same week when I decided to step back from the creative field a little bit, I got three amazing, big dream projects.
One of them was the “Balatoni Gasztrotérkép” [a map, last year printed in 50,000 copies, that presents the best gastronomic destinations around Lake Balaton, the largest lake in Central Europe]. Then there was the Fatimapanka Lifestyle Book planner which was a beautiful commission. They trusted me with almost full artistic freedom to illustrate. It turned out to be a real love project and the prettiest thing I have worked on. I’m really proud of it. And, there was the dm Lifebook planner that was published with four different covers each presenting a different woman archetype. These projects helped me truly establish my illustration career.
What are some key lessons you’ve learned about starting as a freelance illustrator?
You have to really love what you do. I mean really-really love it. This is the only thing that pushes you through hard times. I can’t imagine my life without creating something, anything. I need to make pretty things. This is the only thing that helps you keep on working when you could rest as well… Because starting a business or going freelance is really hard work.
Looking back, what advice would you give someone starting a similar journey?
Experiment, explore, and practice a lot! Look around and examine other’s businesses and work. This is tricky because I believe it can be a huge source of creative inspiration, you can learn a lot from others, but you have to be careful not to copy anybody or compare yourself to others. You have to find your own place and rhythm.
What is it that makes you stand out?
Each artist has a unique style or something different in their creations. My work is cheerful and detail-oriented, decorative, I like to experiment with pencil-like brushes and a warm color palette. I can help to create a friendly, kind, and welcoming atmosphere with my illustrations. Since I have experience in different design fields and photography, and I even worked at a PR agency, I can understand marketing goals and brand identities very well, and I believe that is a valuable attribute to my clients.
On the importance of figuring out your worth, being present on the right channels, and working with the right partners
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What strategies did you use to build brand awareness around you in the first place, and attract your first customers?
I always tried to establish a kind and easily recognizable style and atmosphere when it comes to my illustrations.
It was really important for me from the very beginning to take my online presence seriously. I was one of the first fashion-related bloggers in Hungary, and I developed my online portfolio since then.
The way you present your creations and your “persona” on social media as an artist is crucial, and I recognized this very early.
Still, I’m no expert and to be honest, I’m way too slow nowadays to follow trends, I feel like I can’t compete with the newer and newer apps and algorithms anymore…
That is why I’m trying to develop my newsletter and my website which is under construction at the moment — these are the platforms that are not affected by any algorithms and are entirely my own. For instance, my Instagram profile can be gone in a minute for various reasons, so it’s really important to have some other online venues where your clients, customers, and followers can find you and your work.
Have you ever done market research, in your case, checking out what other illustrators and creators do, whether it’s their work, their marketing, or other activities?
Following the work of other artists in your niche is really important. On one hand, it’s fun and inspiring to see what they are up to, on the other hand, it helps you to find your place in the industry, and maybe to keep up with the others. I don’t believe mine is a competitive field. Every illustrator and graphic designer has a distinctive and very different style, so clients can choose what fits their project best. The illustrator community in Hungary is very supportive of each other, at least I found an amazing community and friends where we help one another in a lot of ways. For example, if I can’t take on a commission, I always try to recommend someone else. We also compare our prices or advise each other.
Speaking of prices, what pricing strategies did you employ for your illustrations in the beginning and what strategies do you use now?
Oh, pricing! The hardest part of the freelancer life :). I used to work ridiculously cheap because I didn’t think I was good or experienced enough. This is still a work in progress, but I am starting to know the worth of my skills and time, especially now that I have a family and I have limited hours, I can only take on a few projects. I don’t really have a strategy, I try to consider how much time it takes to create the project, licensing, my experience, my tools and subscriptions, taxes…
What would you recommend to other illustrators, how should they figure out the price of their skills and time invested in their work?
I, personally, raised my fees slowly and steadily, but in the past, I really worked for crumbs. Since then I have tried to investigate how much others asked for similar work, and I have tried to relate my skillset and experience to their prices… Also, now with the limited time I have, I really start to feel how much I should charge so it would be worth it.
Is the limited amount of time why your Etsy shop is empty at the moment?
Yes. I welcomed my second baby recently and this meant I had to take some steps back. My illustration style and my service offering also changed a lot in the previous years so I’m building a new website at the moment and planning new strategies.
Do you think though that it’s important for a creator to be present on several comms and marketing channels at the same time?
I believe you have to experiment and find out what platforms and channels work for you, and then build your brand on those pillars. And, as mentioned, what I find truly important is to have platforms that you have full control over, like your own website or newsletter, as opposed to social media, for instance.
How much time does it take to maintain the comms and marketing channels where you’re present?
It varies. I used to plan content ahead of time rather strictly and post regularly, but as I’m getting older and these platforms change, my priorities have changed. I don’t follow trends or strategies anymore, though I probably should 🙂. But even if I would get to know a trend, by the time I get there, they have already changed it twice. For a long time, this was really frustrating but now I simply don’t have the capacity to even care about it because of my children, so working and posting regularly is unattainable for me at the moment.
On the other hand, if there’s a trend or format that can really add value to my work or my online presence then yes, let’s do it. For instance, you can fit Instagram Reels to your work as an illustrator organically, they can help you tell a story better than a picture. And, I post when I have something to share whether it’s personal or work-related. I have a more relaxed approach now.
Where do you have the most active community and followers? And is that the platform you would recommend for other visual artists like you to be active on?
Instagram is where I have my community. My advice is to be active on the platform you feel most comfortable with. Instagram and TikTok are visual platforms so if you create visual art then probably these are the ones for you at the moment.
What platforms or channels have been most effective for selling your illustrations?
Also, Instagram.
Are there any particular analytics or metrics you track there to monitor how your business is going?
I used to look at numbers, but I realized these don’t really matter. If I had a webshop and tried to sell products, then yes, but I’m aiming for editors, publishers, and businesses. If someone would like to hire me as an illustrator, they are going to look at my portfolio and not my numbers. At least, I hope so.
And, you have proof of that. Could you highlight some of your major partnerships and collaborations?
Apart from Balatoni Gasztortérkép, the Fatimapanka Lifestyle Book, and the dm Lifebook that I mentioned, I created illustrations for the Hungarian editions of the magazines ELLE, Marie Claire, and Glamour. I also illustrated a children’s book and created a cover for HVG Könyvek [one of Hungary’s top book publishers] and NIOK magazine [a Hungarian magazine for book lovers].
Do you take personal, non-branded commissions as well?
To be honest, I don’t really accept personal commissions anymore, because I can’t charge them the amount of money my work is worth, and usually, it’s a lot of back-and-forth emails and requests and corrections, and overall an awful experience. These projects are personally important to the commissioner person, they have a sacred vision, and they would like me to call to life that exact vision, but it’s impossible because I have my own style… It’s really subjective. Business queries are much more objective and they trust me and my work more. At least, this is my experience, I know that a lot of illustrators adore working on smaller, personal commissions.
Have you had any commission queries that you turned down and why?
Yes, naturally! If something doesn’t feel right, I have to say no. Whether the client feels off, or I realize I’m not the right person for that specific task, or I can’t fit it into my calendar…
What would be the number one marketing advice or tip you would give to someone who would like to work in your field?
Use social media like a portfolio, but try to give a peek behind the scenes, and include your personal life a little bit. I mean it’s up to the brand you are building, but people love to get to know the person behind the camera and art, love to get in touch and are more likely to commission someone with whom they have a connection. You can build a lovely community!
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On the balance between family and a creative career, finding inspiration, and managing self-doubt
What is your process of illustration, where do you start and when do you feel like you’re finished with something?
I work with Adobe programs (Photoshop, Illustrator, Lightroom) and Procreate for my illustrations, and sometimes Canva for social media. As for the process, I start with rough sketches. First, the overall composition, then I move on to the smaller details. I try to come up with different compositions and color palettes so I can choose the best variation. It’s finished when it still feels fresh but every detail and brushstroke finds its place, or when the client says so.
What does your daily or night routine look like, especially as a working mom? How did your routines change with one and then two kids?
I have never worked as a full-time artist, so I have always worked on my creative projects at night, which is awful because I’m a morning person. My creative career picked up around 2022, and in 2023, I gave birth to my daughter, my second child. Since then, my days have been completely devoted to my children and building a safe and comfy home for them, and I work when they sleep. I honestly don’t know how other mamas do it, who have to get back to the office to a full-time job… It’s really hard to balance between your roles. When I have a huge project or a tight deadline, my husband or the grandparents help me with the kids, they are amazing.
How do you prioritize tasks and manage your time effectively on a daily basis?
I’m a crazy list lady! Whatever I do, I always write lists, I have a ton of notebooks and notes on my phone with them. They help me clean up the space in my head, and find the right order for the tasks. Also, if I don’t write them up somewhere, they’ll get lost in my chaotic life with the little ones 🙂.
How do you prevent burnout and ensure your emotional well-being while managing the demands of entrepreneurship or creatorship, and managing all your roles in life? Do you follow any specific strategies for maintaining work-life balance while running your business?
My family and my faith are really important to me. I always try to get some perspective to never forget the priorities in my life. My children need a mom who is fun, not over-stressed, who is always there for them, and who can make them feel safe and loved at all times. Naturally, my husband also needs me to be there for him. Everything else comes after them.
When my son was smaller, I took on way too many projects and the lack of sleep and time made me feel very stressed and I wasn’t my best self. I realized that I needed to step back, especially when my second baby was born… It’s just impossible to be perfect in every area of your life, so I have to be mindful of this balance.
To be honest, my faith in Jesus helps me to clear my head, to practice patience and gives me the power to push through even when I feel completely overwhelmed and exhausted. I also remind myself every day how blessed I am. A grateful heart can also give me perspective and clarity about every situation.
How do you consistently tap into your creative mindset to develop new ideas for your illustrations? Where do you get your inspiration from?
Inspiration and motivation are something that I have never lacked. The problem is that I have too much 🙂. Probably because I have so little time to focus on my art, when I get to create something, I’m all in.
I also follow amazing artists and creators on Instagram, like The Illustrator’s Guide. I listen to a lot of podcasts, like Design/Unfiltered by Abby McGrew, and most recently, I started to listen to the Risen Motherhood podcast which is amazing for creative mothers. I also love period dramas with beautiful cinematography and costumes, and we try to get to fine art exhibitions as often as we can. Naturally, I browse Pinterest and Instagram daily, and I like to visit the pages of my favorite artists, including Jamie Beck, Melinda Berti, Bijou Karman, and Jasmine Dowling. I learned a lot from them.
Can you share a moment when you faced a significant challenge that tested your resilience as an entrepreneur or creator? How did you overcome it?
Something always comes up that needs a solution. I usually try not to rush anything, and when I give it time, I can always manage to resolve the problem. The only thing that bums me out is when despite all my efforts and corrections the client doesn’t like my work. This happened before when they didn’t exactly know what they wanted and they imagined something completely different from my style… This is a really awkward situation, and I try to make sure to communicate everything very clearly to avoid anything similar happening again. To be honest, this is my biggest fear related to my work, it really feeds my impostor syndrome.
How do you manage feelings of self-doubt during challenging times?
I turn to my husband for comfort and advice. When something is really disappointing, I cry and rant a little to him. Then I get up and try again, or I let it go. Unfortunately, it happens quite a lot. Maybe less and less nowadays, because I try to be better at avoiding misunderstandings, and planning, but a negative case can tear down my confidence. My husband is also in the creative business (musician and videographer) so he understands my challenges.
Finally, a question we ask from all the creators we interview. How would you describe a creator in your own words?
It’s a cliche, but someone who can see the beauty in life’s small moments, and can create something even when the circumstances don’t feel right.
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Featured image by Borbála Zergi for the Yama Art Gallery
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