The Design Business Show 126: Custom Illustration with a Creative Perspective with Anahitta Mian

Director : Melissa Burkheimer | January 11, 2021
Check out episode 126 of The Design Business Show with Anahitta Mian to learn all about her graphics and illustrations!

Anahitta Mian is a US based multidisciplinary Creative. She’s have been a freelancer for a while now. A few of her recent projects includes; Aqua Mat (Amazon best seller) for a U.S. company, the book “Three sisters” on Amazon (where she was featured and was an illustrator!) and multiple artworks in Canton Fair 2020. Check out her Disney Princesses in Pakistan Series below!

Here’s what we covered on the episode:

  • How Anahitta and I met through my free Facebook community and how I saw her posting beautiful artworks, which she calls her, Disney Princesses in Pakistan Series
  • Anahitta shares how she started drawing on CorelDRAW and made her first portrait at age 12 or 13
  • Because there wasn’t a school for art in Pakistan, Anahitta’s mother suggested pursuing art as just a hobby, but she was not convinced
  • While Anahitta pursued her degree in B.C.S. honours and software engineering, she worked as a freelancer and was the graphic designer for every other society at her university
  • Anahitta realized that the graphic and illustration was something she could take from “hobby” and turn into a job, so after she had her baby she started doing freelancing full-time
  • Anahitta expresses her love for drawing and explains the change she made from software engineer to creative after she moved back to the U.S. and started drawing more
  • The inspiration behind Anahitta’s Disney Princesses in Pakistan Series came from her dad buying her Disney princess items when she was young and their trip to Disney, which sparked a conversation about what the princesses would look like if they were dressed in the same outfits as Pakistan women
  • Anahitta had her followers pick their favorite Disney princesses and their favorite Pakistan street wear brands and drew the princesses in formal wear, bridal wear, casual wear or night wear and then shared the drawings online and tagged the follower who had done the request
  • After graduation, Anahitta worked in a software house where she was working on a computer that had Illustrator – she started drawing and someone from the graphic department saw and that’s when she started making graphics for them
  • How Anahitta requested to work as a graphic intern, which she ended up doing and how that helped her become more comfortable with her drawings and helped her find her own style
  • After becoming a mom, Anahitta decided she would pursue her passion for graphics and art, and chose not continue with software engineering
  • How Anahitta got her first freelancing job doing graphics for different societies at her university and how they then recommended her for jobs once they graduated and were in the business world, but how at the time she wasn’t open for orders
  • The story of how one of Anahitta’s friends asked her to create a company profile for the Pakistan business she was working for –  she charged $5,000 for it and was then given two more projects because they were very happy with the results
  • Sometimes Anahitta would pause her freelance work when life got busy, but after having her baby she decided she needed to pursue it because it’s so much fun for her and explains she’s never really done it for money, she does it for fun
  • Anahitta explains that she defines her own hours and describes herself as an active person and a multi-tasker who’s always up for work if she has time on her hands
  • What Anahitta charges for her work and explains how it really depends on what the customer is looking for that determines her prices –  she does prints, online invitations, home decor, large paintings, etc.
  • Anahitta explains what it’s like having a 19-month old at home while she’s working and says that when he’s sleeping, she’s doing client work and when he’s up they’re playing
  • How there are a lot of viz artists in the world, but few viz gurus, which Anahitta is and how she worked in a media house but came to the U.S to get her viz art certification
  • What viz art is and how Anahitta compares it to augmented reality, like when you see someone on TV with rain behind them, that is created by a viz art team
  • For someone who is interested in the viz art certification, Anahitta says they should visit the Viz University website 
  • Anahitta’s advice for people starting out with graphics is that it’s okay to start small and do it part-time and then work into doing it full-time, but you should never give up no matter what anyone says
  • Connect with Anahitta on Instagram  

 

Links mentioned:

Viz University Website

Check out Anahitta’s portfolio

Connect with Anahitta on Instagram