@corina.plamada

Instagram: @corina.plamada

1. What’s your story? Where are you from?

Hello, my name is Corina Plamadă, I am a full time UI/UX designer and a free time illustrator and I live in Cluj Napoca, Romania. I came in Cluj almost 10 years ago to study design and I decided to stay here after that. When I started working as an UI/UX designer almost 7 years ago I stopped drawing because I didn't have time anymore but a few years ago I rediscovered my passion for illustration and since then I draw whenever I have free time.

2. Tell us about your aesthetic.

I like to experiment, to try new things and new styles. Two years ago when I began illustrating again after a long period of time I was more into cute animals and animations but starting last year I began to focus on portraits, plants and abstract illustrations. The abstract illustrations is an ongoing project that helps me learn how to better combine colors, patterns and shapes.

3. What is your favourite medium and why?

I used to illustrate on my Macbook in Adobe Illustrator but after I bought my iPad Pro I switched to Procreate. I still miss Illustrator sometimes because it’s vector based and I was able to reuse my illustrations but I really love drawing on my iPad since it's so much easier and I can take it with me everywhere I go.

4. What is your artistic process like?

When I have an idea in my mind I just grab my iPad and I start to draw. I rarely sketch before doing an illustration, and when I do that is because I don’t have time to draw in that moment and I don’t want to forget the idea. Even though this process is not the ideal one because sometimes I start with an idea and I end up with a completely different one, I think that for me this is a good process at this moment since I’m still experimenting and I want to let my creativity go wild without having any limits.

5. Who and/or what inspires your work? 

Most of the time, people and nature inspire me. Every day I search for inspiration mainly on Pinterest and Instagram and I like to save everything that I find interesting. I also like to take pictures of plants, colors and patterns and use them as an inspirations for my illustrations.

6. What role does art play in your life? How does it change the way you view the world?

Art is definitely a part of my life and it helped me discover the beauty in the small things around me.

7. Where did you study?

I studied at UAD - Universitatea de Artă și Design din Cluj-Napoca (Art and Design University of Cluj-Napoca) and graduated with a master degree in design. In my second year I went with Erasmus in Logroño, Spain and I studied a year at Escuela Superior de diseño de la Rioja.

8. Where do you see yourself in five years?

Hopefully I will be healthy and happy. I want to evolve more as an illustrator and to be able to create more art. 

9. What about in ten?

Ten years is a pretty long time but my top priority is to be healthy and happy.  I really hope that I will evolve enough to actually dedicate my full time to create art and illustration and to be able to support myself from this.

10. What do you hope to achieve with your art?

I started illustrating again two years ago after a really long period of time. I also created an Instagram account to post my art and the main purpose of it was to keep me motivated and to see my progress. I became really engaged once I discovered the art community and I saw that there are so many amazing and talented artists. I love seeing my Instagram feed so inspiring and creative everyday and I really hope that the people who follow me enjoy seeing my art in their feed as well and maybe get to be inspired by it.

11. Now, tell us a little more about you as a person: what is your favourite food?

I love all kinds of food and I am open to try new things when I travel to new places. I also like cooking and trying out all kinds of recipes when I have the time. 

12. Favourite book?

I don’t really have a favourite book but every time I go to a bookshop I like to go to the children’s books section to search for new illustrations.

13. Favourite genre of music? 

I’m a really moody person and the music that I listen is based on my everyday mood, therefore I can’t really say that I have a favourite genre of music but I can say that I enjoy silence sometimes as much as I enjoy music. 

14. What are your hobbies? 

I like spendings as much time as possible in the nature. I live next to the forest and taking walks with my dog and hearing the sound of the birds is quite nice. I also like to travel, to discover new places and go to unpopular locations and of course to capture each moment by taking photos. 

15. If you weren’t an artist, what would you be?

I think that I would like to be an archaeologist.