Success story: Natalka Dmitrova, a top Freepik contributor
Greetings! Today we are excited to introduce Natalka Dmitrova, one of our Freepik contributors. Let’s start and get to know her better!
- Hi Natalka! Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where do you live. Do you have any hobbies?
I live in Ukraine. I love doing yoga, playing guitar and piano, and reading books. What I can suggest to all creative people is to read the books ‘Steal Like an Artist’ and ‘Show Your Work’, both by Austin Kleon.
Also, I like taking photos when I travel and, then, making fun collages of them. This is how I train my creativity: I am always trying to see things in photos that are not so obvious.
And I also try to meditate every day for at least 15 minutes. Meditation trains your brain to be productive.
Sometimes I draw Hindi calligraphy. I don’t know the language, but I like how it looks.
- Tell us about your portfolio: How many vectors have you designed throughout your career? When did you first start designing? What style are you most comfortable working in?
I have designed around 200 vectors.
I started designing around 5 years ago, but I have been drawing since I was a kid.
I work in different styles, but now I like creating fully hand-drawn vector realistic pictures. I like working in Adobe Illustrator with brushes.
Watercolor artists are my inspiration, so I decided to create something like they do but using Adobe Illustrator.
- How did you become interested in design? When did you start working in the industry?
I like graphic design and illustration. As we are surrounded by it, this is a part of our life.
I started working in the industry when I was around 20 years old. And I like the process of visualizing ideas and concepts. It’s like, “here is an idea, now give shape to it”. It is challenging but very interesting.
Then, you get some experience and, after taking a look at your old works, you end up seeing all the mistakes you made.
I like the contributor panel, you can see your income, how much downloads do you creations have and all that. It is easy to understand and to use.
- What made you decide to work with microstock platforms?
My friend suggested me so. Then, I looked on the internet all about working with microstocks. I liked that you get a basic income from it and you are totally free to create whatever you want. You don’t have to listen to a customer, or your boss or whatever. You just get inspired by something, and you draw what you like. You draw it with love and people can see it.
So if you want to expand your creativity, you should start creating a lot of artwork. Eventually, you will find your style.
- What advice or tips would you give anyone starting out as a graphic designer?
If you want to learn something, you need to copy and practice a lot. Copy designs or illustrations that you like. Go to social media for designers, find your inspiration, and copy their pictures to understand how they did it. And that is how you learn things.
If you are an illustrator, you can copy illustrators you like (to learn, not to sell this to anyone, just for practicing). Challenge yourself. For example, you saw that your favorite illustrator has drawn a squirrel in his style. So, you draw a mouse (or any other animal you like) in the same style. And that is how you will discover different techniques and styles.
And after that, you will find your own style and vision.
- And what about people who are thinking about getting involved with microstock platforms?
You will never know if you don’t try. You can spend your free time trying new stuff. For example, microstocks.
You can also find a lot of information on the internet about working with microstocks. I did a research about it myself and I liked the idea of using microstock platforms as an illustrator.
Now, I don’t regret it and I am quite happy with it.
Freepik is easy to use and you can even find a lot of inspiration there.
- What made you take the step to join Freepik?
I don’t remember it exactly, but I think it was at the suggestion of someone.
- Which do you think are the main advantages of working with Freepik’s contributor model in comparison with other platforms?
I like the contributor panel, you can see your income, how much downloads do you creations have and all that. It is easy to understand and to use.
- What advice would you give to other designers that want to be contributors on Freepik? Do you have any tips of how to succeed on our platform?
Just do what you love. Always remember about high quality, and spend some time on it. Be loyal to yourself, if you are happy with the result, that’s ok. If not, try harder, refine it or redo it. When I create my illustrations, I can spend a day or two, but at the end of the day I am happy with the result. And people can see if you made it with love.
Enjoy the process, and everything will be awesome.
- Would you recommend other designers to join Freepik as contributors?
Yes. Freepik is easy to use and you can even find a lot of inspiration there.
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