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For many years, art director and illustrator Viktoria Åström has worked extensively as a freelance animator, but as she proves, it never hurts to have a creative side hustle. Going from the digital screen to analog art, Åström has returned to her roots as someone who has always loved to draw and paint. By carving rubber, she produces portraits inspired by nature, including woodland creatures, ocean inhabitants, and our feathered friends. The etched drawings are then used as custom art rubber stamps that adorn handmade prints and cards.
Åström chronicles her artistic pursuits through Instagram, where she offers insight to how her rubber stamp art is made. Using a tool to pierce the soft material, she carves small details like feathers and fur into it. Then, she rolls the ink over the stamp and places it face down onto the sheet of paper. Everything is reversed, so anything that she has extracted from the rubber will not appear on the page. To demonstrate this, Åström often places the stamp and print side by side. It also shows the precariousness of her process and the need for a steady hand—one little mistake can mar an otherwise perfect drawing.
Åström sells her work—including paintings—through her Etsy shop. If you’d like to experiment with custom art rubber stamps, she sells tutorials that will get you started on your printmaking journey.
Art director and animator Viktoria Åström shows how carving rubber can create beautiful illustrative works.
Her intricate custom art rubber stamps are inspired by Earth's creatures, large and small.
Viktoria Åström: Website | Etsy | Instagram
h/t: [So Super Awesome]
All images via Viktoria Åström.
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