08: Brazilian Illustrator & Graphic Designer Niege Borges

Draws in Spanish | Conversations with Latinx Visual Artists and Designers

This week’s artist went from buying second-hand Vogue magazines to illustrating Vogue covers! Niege Borges is a Brooklyn-based, Brazilian-born illustrator and graphic designer who creates vivid, bold, and movement-driven illustrations of figures and faces.

She kicked off her creative career studying graphic design, but an ad agency internship revealed her knack for illustration. Niege eventually made the leap to freelance illustration after exploring her style and sharing it with the world through Instagram. She took a leap of faith and went to visit New York City for 3 months — which quickly turned to 5 months — eventually deciding to make New York home.

In this episode, we discuss the details of Niege's creative process including how she starts her illustrations, her favorite illustration tools, and how she discovered to her style. Niege also shares a few words of wisdom for artists who are still finding their voice and identifying the type of clients they want to work for.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Topics Covered:

1. Brazilian influences in her artwork
2. The over-sexualization of Brazilian women
3. Working with Vogue Brazil
4. Getting a U.S. Artist Visa
5. Niege’s TikTok Campaign for Latinx Heritage Month
6. Using Illustrator for Sketching
7. Finding Your Own Illustration Style
8. Working with Photo References

Guest Info

Check out Niege’s work on her website.

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