IllustrationX - Martyna Nejman portfolio

Meet the Polish children’s illustrator Martyna Nejman – creator of imaginary worlds that look warm and enveloping, intriguing and exciting, and sometimes a little mysterious too. Depth, detail and beauty are balanced with charming little characters, each with a life to lead.

Based in Warsaw, Martyna has developed her own unique style – a fresh and different way of creating children’s imagery that highlights her individual hand. Frequent brush strokes and multiple objects – from balloons to snowflakes, from leaves to swarms of bees – speak of the dedication she puts into creating a special atmosphere in each work. In addition to children’s book illustration Martyna has experience in character design and concept art for computer games. Her influences include the great masters and the Polish painter Zdzisław Beksiński. Clients love the way she communicates with them, explaining what she’s doing and why, and implementing their feedback.

Approach

Martyna’s technique is based on pencil sketching but she paints digitally in Photoshop using pastels and brushes to create softer backgrounds juxtaposed with focal areas of highly defined forms for impact.

Styles

Martyna has developed two styles. One is pastel-based – scenes are highly rendered with thousands of brush strokes forming leaves, grass, fur textures and the like for a dreamy atmosphere. Her second style is more graphic, used for posters and drawings of single objects.

Languages

Polish and English.

Client list

Clients include ASUS Computer International, Rabkoland Family Amusement Park, Dziwimisie Publishing, WSiP Publishing, Za Górami Publishing, Olesiejuk Publishing, Wilga Publishing, Neuron Publishing, Little Fig, and Lajka Studio.