The gestures and movement of the female body in the “fashion” illustrations by Marta Bianchi
A gentle and refined soul, this is how Marta Bianchi, aka Mb Lines, introduces herself to our microphones. Her style is highly recognizable, refined and unique, so we decided to let her tell us her story.
Welcome Marta, and congratulations for all your “fashionable” illustrations! Tell us about yourself, your educational and work career to date. I grew up in the metropolitan area of Milan and have always been attracted to the world of art and creativity. After years of studying and developing my drawing, painting and sculpture techniques, I decided to move to London where I spent 5 years of my life. After getting other experiences, knowledge and inspirations, I came back to Milan where I did my master in Interior Design at IED – Istituto Europeo di Design. Today I’m totally dedicating myself to my true passion, drawing, and growing as a professional illustrator.
Regarding your creative process and in particular your style: are you inspired by anyone in particular? Any artistic current? What inspires me the most are people’s gestures and movements. At the beginning of my projects I do a lot of research of images from magazines, movies, I go out to see as many people as possible. The idea takes a while to arrive in my mind but when it does it is always very clean and clear to represent. I start with a pencil to sketch (which I hardly ever erase) and then proceed with the color and finally outline everything with the pen stroke. Many times when the work is finished, if I’m not satisfied, I start all over again until I’m completely satisfied with the result! The digital has undoubtedly changed my approach and for me editing the final work is definitely much faster and more immediate! I admire many artists and illustrators (my favourite will always be Frederic Forest) but my inspirations come more from contexts, atmospheres and people.
As we mentioned in our title, in your pictures you often represent “women”: is there a particular reason? I love the female world in toto and I prefer to draw their sinuous and expressive bodies. I grew up in an all-female family (I have 6 aunts and 1 sister) with many friends who were part of my daily life. I love the innate diversity in each woman and their respective quirks. I illustrate stolen gestures from their everyday lives.
Are there any illustrations to which you feel particularly attached and if so why? Yes, indeed! They are a series of illustrations made in watercolor at the very beginning of my career, when I was looking for my own style. It was from this very moment that I considered becoming a professional illustrator.
How do you see yourself in five years? I see myself as busy! I would like to have a dynamic life, full of creative projects. I see myself still living in Milan, where I currently am, because I find it to be an increasingly international city that can offer a lot in terms of art.
Contacts: @mb.lines
