Hannah Emmett

Hannah Emmett is an Illustrator from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. She moved across the continent to attend San Francisco’s Academy of Art University, graduating in 2014 with her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration. While in San Francisco she interned for a small creative business, volunteered at an independent art gallery, and got a job at Gap Inc., where she worked for a year after graduation as the Design Coordinator for the Men’s Design Team.

Hannah is now back on the East Coast working as a freelance illustrator. She enjoys working in traditional mediums, specifically graphite, and loves working digitally as well, oftentimes combining mediums to create mixed media works. Her work is heavily influenced by the music industry, as you can see through her abundance of portrait illustrations. Hannah’s strongest interest is in portraiture, but she has been venturing into the world of album art, and also enjoys working on posters as well as editorial pieces and various other things that land on her drawing table.

Website: www.hannah-emmett.com
Instagram: @hannahemmettartwork
Other: www.behance.net/hannahemmeebdeWhat stands out for you as one of your favourite career highlights so far?

One of the highlights of my career so far has been breaking into the music scene in my hometown as a visual artist. I’ve always loved music but don’t have a single rhythmic bone in my body. Illustration has given me the ability to connect with an artform that doesn’t come so naturally to me.

How’d you get started as an artist?

I’ve been drawing ever since I was a little kid. Visual art and athletics are two things I’ve always been pretty good at and I was lucky enough to have a support system that encouraged me to pursue these skills. I ended up getting a soccer scholarship to the Academy of Art University in San Francisco and through everything I learned there I have been able to make a modest living doing what I love.Who or what influences your art?

People are my biggest inspiration. Not only do I find drawing portraits endlessly interesting but my personal relationships also inspire me to be creative. Music is definitely an important part of my creative process as well. Whenever I sit down at my desk to draw I put music on and whatever I’ve chosen to play has to fit the mood of what I’m working on. I also find it extremely motivating to look at other artists and hardly ever start a project without first checking out what awesome new works my favourite illustrators have created.

What is your creative process like?

I have a few different styles that I regularly work in and my process for each is unique. My mixed media style is definitely the one I get asked the most questions about. I find the mystery around it to be a fun secret to keep.What are you currently working on?

I recently completed posters for Halifax Bike Week as well as Halifax Oceans Week. It’s my second year in a row taking on these two projects and it’s been so fun. Now I’m working on a piece of portraiture of a local folk musician to be used for his next album cover. Gig posters and album art are probably my favourite types of projects to work on. I tend to become consumed when I’m excited about a piece so the portrait is taking up most of my creative focus right now but when it’s finished I’ve got work lined up to create a series of travel posters and t-shirt designs and I have some personal projects on the back burner that I’d like to get to.