The illustrator Marylou Faure on the compilation of her first monograph
"I saw Malika Favre's book when it was launched and was amazed at all the work she had done. I wanted to take a look at what I had achieved over the past few years," says Paris illustrator Marylou Faure, who is now published her first monograph: "I tend to never look at projects again when they're done and move on to the next. So this was an opportunity to stop and actually acknowledge the work I was producing. "
Faure's style is bright and bold, and she's built a portfolio of strong work that's full of collaborations with brands like Nike, Spotify, YouTube, Apple, MTV, Deliveroo, and others. In addition, Faure has also maintained a self-initiated practice and this has allowed her to experiment with the feminine shape, color and composition.
Cover of Marylou Faure's first monograph
While she prefers to focus on large streaks of color in favor of fine details, her characters are playful, sassy, and full of personality. The design of the book reflects this, and in collaboration with Counter-Print's Celine Leterme and Jon Dowling, Faure wanted to make the book large with full-page illustrations so that it would really become popular. To reinforce this feeling of liveliness and joy, the book was also printed entirely in Pantone inks, raising the reproductions to the field of art books.
“My first thought was to only bring in the work that I still liked. I get bored very quickly and like to think my style is evolving. That's why I'm pretty hard with my own work when I feel like it's not that good or feels out of date, ”Faure says of her selection process. “After a few chats with counter-print, we found that the work fits well into three chapters and focuses on different aspects of my work. The female body had to be one of them as it really is the core of my work, and then I thought it would be interesting to explain a little more about how I create my compositions and talk about the message behind my work. ”
By dividing the book into chapters, the book becomes more than a sketchbook or archive of pictures, and alongside the illustrations are clippings and advice from Faure. Although writing about her own work was a new experience for the illustrator, the biggest challenge was putting the illustrations together into a deliberate collection herself. "While this was another benefit of using a strict color palette, I had to modify a lot of my artwork to match the colors, and it helped make everything look more harmonious," explains Faure. “I also had to vectorize all of my work, and that took a while amount from time."
The process of putting a book together made it clear to Faure how much work she has actually produced over the years, despite her initial concern of not being able to fill an entire book's worth. “It's a very interesting process where you see how much your style has evolved and since I usually pretty much disapprove of my work when it's done I had to sit down and go through everything I had done about the last one five years, ”says Faure.
At just over 200 pages, the monograph feels like a journey through Faure's imagination, but the illustrator hopes it will be more than a beautiful object. "I just want to pass on my experiences and advice to everyone who is interested in my work or who wants to become an artist."
maryloufaure.com; counter-print.co.uk