Jennifer Lilya - Fashion Illustrator
Talk a little bit about yourself
I’ve been illustration fashion since graduating from FIT in the early 90’s. Some of my clients include Elle, Timex, WWD. I do a lot of work for magazines, websites, ad agencies & fashion designers. And I absolutely love it!
What/who inspires your work?
Anything that I deem to be ‘pretty’ inspires me. I get giddy just thinking about the runway shows each season- there are so many yummy things that I want (or “need”) to paint.
On a daily basis it could be a cool girl I see on the streets on NYC, a sweet gesture or movement, some random pattern of texture & color I find in the city landscape or even just some upbeat music like Billy Idol or Blondie that makes me want to paint. It’s no surprise that I’m unabashedly an 80s NYC girl at heart.
What kind of art supplies do you use? For what kind of purposes?
I work in acrylic & ink on 90lb Stonehenge paper. I use Golden or Liquitex paint, Higgins Black Ink and Winsor & Newton University Brushes.
I work the acrylic like one would watercolors-really watery & loose. I find that acrylics give me the density of color I prefer, as well as good coverage. I use black ink to bring the whole piece together & create details and movement.
I also like to add some quirky fun lettering to my illustrations to tell the story of my girls- the black ink is obviously perfect for that. After the art is finished, I use my Epson GT-20000 to scan the art into Photoshop. I have a very basic understanding of Photoshop to clean my scans & resize them for clients, but other than that, I work strictly by hand.
What websites do you use to promote your artwork and why?
I love promoting my work online. Long gone are the days of schlepping my portfolio around the city! I use many different sites to promote my work, but here are some of my favorites: my website,
My Facebook Fan Page, Directory of Illustration, Fashion Industry Network, BlackBook, Twitter, Dripbook.
I love the ease of promoting my work online. So many more people are exposed to it than ever before. I try to keep my sites updated as much as possible.
Recommend 3 books that inspired you and helped you to developed your artwork?
I became interested in fashion in the early 80’s- one of the most amazing books from that time is ‘Antonio’s Girls’ by the awesome Antonio Lopez. His use of line & color just blew me away, not to mention that all of his girls were super cool.
I wanted to be them & draw like him. I was also really into Rene Gruau & Andy Warhol’s whimsical fashion illustrations.
In which online fashion communities are you involved and why?
I recently joined the Fashion Industry Network & I’ve already gotten work from it! I’ve been contacted by a few indie designers who want me to bring their ideas to life, so that’s really fun for me.
The most time I spend online is with my Facebook fan page. I upload work as soon as I’m done with it, I get instant feedback & it’s so easy to interact with my fans. I’ve met some really amazing people through that alone, not to mention getting even more jobs from it with minimal work on my part.
I also love ‘Would You Rock This?’- a site for illustrators & designers set up to get feedback on their work.
I’m also on Style.com almost daily, Elle.com, The Cut & Nylon.
What would be some tools that you would love to use but you’re currently not using?
I think I’m pretty set on the tools that I use. It took me quite a few years to find the perfect paper- the 90lb Stonehenge - so at this point, I’m not switching to anything else! It’s a pretty simple set-up, but every morning I see my palette filled with fresh color, the possibilities to me are endless.
Is there anything else that you use to get your work done?
It differs with each project, but I also need to use trend research for color inspiration & old magazine tear sheets for model poses & reference. A good part of my painting process happens at the beginning with solid research & reference. Along with Style.com, I use Trendstop.com or Fashiontrendsetter.com for color stories.
What would be some tools that you think anyone should use it?
While I think passion is the greatest tool you can use, my best investment to date is my Tom Lynch palette. I’m pretty much in love with it!
It’s so easy to keep my paint fresh for days - I’ll start a new palette of paint on Monday, and with just a few spritzes of water during each day, the paint will stay fresh through Friday! I’ve probably saved hundreds of dollars in paint over the past few years using this palette. It’s also got an awesomely smooth surface to mix colors on & it’s so easy to clean.
And of course the inspiring color combinations get to me every time!
Don't miss out on exciting news and updates about fashion creatives.
