Illustrator Carolyn Vibbert draws consumers in

If you’ve ever sat through a focus group for marketing materials, you know why professional illustrator Carolyn Vibbert gets a lot of calls for people illustrations. “I don’t look like that,” “That’s not me,” “That’s a model,” are the typical cries of consumers judging a photo. 

But with illustration, you get a little more leeway. It’s easier for consumers to imagine themselves in the generalized, aspirational lines of a drawing than in the specifics of a photo that could never be all-inclusive. “Actually,” says Carolyn, “drawing truly realistic people is a challenge – it doesn’t take much to make a person look odd with a poorly placed line.”

Carolyn has been called on by clients from Oberto to Barnes & Noble, Las Vegas tourism to Voortman Cookies for people illustrations to be used everywhere from packaging to print ads, inviting consumers to see themselves in the product imagery. 

And though she ends with a highly relatable image, she often does begin with photo reference. “Especially when there’s a specific type of movement involved – like sports, it’s good to look at a photo to get it right,” explains Carolyn. She even recruits her husband to pose from time to time.

But when it comes to finalizing, she leaves some human detail to the imagination. “On small figures or icons, it looks better if not every detail is included. It’s nice if the image is simpler,” she says. Once she has the pen and ink perfected, she scans and paints digitally, converting the final image into pixel or vector art.

With well over a decade of experience and recognition from CA, Graphis and the Print Annual, Carolyn has amassed an impressive portfolio of people, places and things. Check out more of her charming illustration work here.

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