Slovak illustrator Martina Paukova has come a long way from originally studying politics to completely switching gears and moving to London — studying at Camberwell College of Arts — to now settling in Berlin. On her path, she developed a distinct style marked by her trademark vector lines, bold color palettes and flat character-driven subject matters, allowing her to accumulate an impressive client list spanning from Google, Apple and The New York Times to IKEA, The Economist, Die Zeit, and many more. 

Starting out in the illustration world as a “late bloomer” in her mid 20s, Martina relied on three different ways to land her first clients: University connections, referrals from previous industry projects and competitions (a.k.a. self initiated work). 

She explains how one job led to another and how having a set of recurring clients can bring financial stability to one’s career, but can also lead to stagnation and hindering growth. As clients usually hire based on previous work to ensure a safe outcome, it is easy for artists to get stuck in the hamster wheel of repetition. 

Martina also points out the importance of not relying on a single way of finding clients (like an agent or referrals or one social media platform) and that as professional freelance illustrators we must be our own agency and find ways to motivate ourselves to grow both creatively and as a business. Even though life tends to get in the way and time for personal development is limited, Martina wants to keep experimenting — dabbling in 3D and textile illustration; maybe even knitting or sewing quilts — to keep herself and her clients excited for what’s to come. 

We are definitely excited about Martina’s path to becoming a professional illustrator, just as much as her useful industry insights and hilarious anecdotes like the one where she lost her Apple Pencil on the day of a deadline.

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MENTIONED LINKS: 

• Reps: Agent Pekka & Making Pictures

• Camberwell College of Arts

• Illustrator on the iPad 

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FOLLOW MARTINA: 

Instagram: @martinapaukova

Website: martinapaukova.com

LinkedIn: Martina Paukova

Twitter: x.com/martinapaukova

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If you liked this episode, please subscribe and leave a review.

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Hosted by Vicky Cichoń and Dave Leutert.

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This interview was recorded on May 5th, 2024, during the 20th annual Pictoplasma Conference at silent green in Berlin. Each spring, Pictoplasma transforms the city into an international meeting point for a diverse scene of artists and creatives, trailblazing the face of tomorrow’s visual culture. The central conference brings together 900 key players on a global scale and features 20+ lectures by forward-thinking creatives. The accompanying animation screenings showcase cutting edge short films, with most of the filmmakers present in Q&A rounds. The character lab offers hands-on workshops, immersive media demos, panels and networking. 

Get your tickets for Pictoplasma Berlin 2025 (May 1st–4th).