Dalia Awad

All

Animals

Cartoon & Humour

Character Design

Children

Fantasy

Nature

Whimsical dinosaur and boy riding bicycles together in the city by Dalia Awad

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Child washing a whale in a bathtub with soap bubbles by Dalia Awad

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Animals ice skating and playing in snow, illustrated by Dalia Awad

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Person and boat caught in a large ocean wave by Dalia Awad

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Smiling shark underwater with fish and divers by Dalia Awad

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Dalia Awad illustration of a child exploring a whimsical underwater world with whales and fish.

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Three smiling bee characters with wings in a colorful garden

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Dalia develops her illustrations from analog sketches and combines digital painting with a narrative, heartfelt visual language.

Dalie invites you: go swimming with whales and ice skating with rabbits!

Like many artists, Dalia’s journey to become a professional illustrator began with her love of drawing. She honed her skills throughout school and got her break in the creative industries as a pattern designer with a ceramics company. All the while, she has practiced her drawing, painting and software techniques and she continues to explore with different tools, colour palettes and approaches – it helps her bring something fresh to every project. With the publication of Wake Up, It’s the Ramadan Drummer, she’s become one of the world’s up-and-coming children’s illustrators. Dalia’s influences include animated films and her Nubian culture.

Approach

Each project begins with lots of thumbnail sketching to build up strong compositions. Then Dalia moves into Clip Studio Paint to add line work, before bringing the right mood to the image with a carefully chosen palette and her digital painting skills.

Style

With plenty of charming characters, expressive faces and dynamic body language, Dalia’s images present a strong narrative but in a soft and welcoming way, grounded by natural media textures.

Languages

Dalia is fluent in English and Arabic.

Impressions

Interview

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Interview

What led you to become an illustrator?I used to draw since I was a kid, however it was just a hobby and I didn't think I could take it as a career then. After graduation some friends got me a job offer as a porcelain designer, I had such a successful 9 years there but my passion towards illustration was still running inside me so I decided to quit my job to start my journey as freelance illustrator.Did you study illustration in college?I went to media and communication college, though I took a lot of illustration courses, the most recent one was SVS learn for children's book illustration.Where did you grow up?In Alexandria, it's a coastal city in Egypt.Where do you live now and what drew you there?I still live in Alexandria, I've travelled to many places, but I always feel that there is a strong bond between me and this city, maybe because I have many memories here.Describe your studio for us?I set up my studio inside my house so it's easy for me to get in there at any time, especially if I have something urgent to do, it's very simple and cosy, I'm surrounded by plants and my lovely two cats.Who or What is your biggest inspiration?I have many sources of inspiration, like famous painter's work especially the abstract artists like Willem de Kooning and Lee Krasner, I like how they play with colours. Also I get very inspired by animation movies.What do you listen to when you work? I listen to illustration podcasts like SVS learn, creative pep talks and the art side of life.What are your interests outside of illustration? I like swimming and travelling.What was your favourite assignment ever?It was my first commission, it was a small one but I felt that I could get money from art and it propelled me to take serious steps in my career.What would be your dream commission?I find licensing art in various products is really cool, so my dream commission is to see my illustrations on many products around the world.What is the best use of illustration you have ever seen?I'm not a medical illustrator but the best illustration I saw was a medical book illustrating the anatomy where each page represents a layer of the human body. So page 1 represents the skin and page 2 represents the fascia and muscles, and page 3 represents the organs, it was like a live journey inside the human body.How much of your work is hand drawn?I consider all my work is hand drawn, I'm a digital artist but I use a Wacom Cintiq tablet so I draw everything by hand, but to be honest we can say 80% percent is hand drawn because of the use of brushes and other tricks. How do you envisage illustration evolving?We are now in digital ages, so it's vital to develop the programs we use to be more flexible and creative. It's all about finding a brilliant idea and a talented illustrator who knows the tools to develop it.Who is your art hero?My father, he used to draw as a hobby but I always see him as a great painter.Who is your music hero?The Egyptian composer Omar Khairat.If you were not an illustrator, what would you be?I would be a solo traveller or maybe a journalist - according to my college degree.What's the best advice you've ever been given?'Good things come to those who expect them'.How would someone who knows you well describe you?Optimistic and persistent.If you could live anywhere, where would it be?Any place in front of the sea, I have a sea view from my house so if I would live in any other country it must be in front of the sea.If you could travel back in time, who would be the one person you would want to meet and why?My mother, just to spend more time with her.How do you keep on trend and up to date in our quickly changing industry?I follow a lot of artists on social media so I keep up with their work and I try to attend the online events about illustration as much as I can. And of course the podcasts that I listen to always keep me up to date.What is your go-to comfort food?Anything easy to make and doesn't require much time!What is the last show you binged?Around the World in 80 Days.What is your favourite book?4 Hour Workweek.What do you do when you have creative block?I don't deal well with art block, most of the time I prefer not to draw and do a lot of physical activities to clear my mind and get refreshed.What is your favourite way to fill free time? I watch Netflix and hang out with my friends.Which languages can you speak?Arabic and English.What is your favourite quote?'Live your life as you are immortal.'What is your favourite ice cream flavour?Lemon.Is there any random thing you consider yourself an expert on?I'm good at planning, I always know what my next step is and what I have to do for my future.