Evolution of Spiritual and Cute Illustrations by Lovely Kukreja
Lovely Kukreja talks about his famous series of illustrations, the artist’s mindset and the state of art education.
For Delhi based artist Lovely Kukreja, the choice to become a full-time illustrator was a spontaneous decision. He moved away from his commerce studies to become a graphic designer, eventually specialising in digital art and illustration in 2005. Interestingly, he was not an avid reader of comics while growing up and favoured the available animated shows like Chip ‘n’ Dale, Talespin, and Duck Tales.
Currently, he leads the content department at Bobble AI, where he helps develop virtual avatars for stickers and gifs to enable a personalised experience for their users across messaging apps. A classic example of where modern technology meets traditional art forms.
Lovely is best known for his adorable illustrations of Indian mythological figures. The series depicts various gods and goddesses in a cute, child-like form combined with a soft yet vibrant colour palette. When creating pieces linked to heritage or religion, Lovely believes that the artist is responsible for balancing their personal style and the sanctity of the depiction itself, where cultural boundaries should be respected. His inclination towards children’s content and spirituality motivated him to create something that everyone, both young and old, could enjoy.
Having dabbled in children’s illustrations, medical illustrations, and UI design (to name a few), Lovely’s philosophy is that “evolution is the only key to survive and grow”. One of the major challenges during his career was “selling himself”, which he overcame by staying updated with the latest technology, constantly developing his skills, and making sure to market his development on social media and not simply posting to keep with the trends. Favouring freehand drawing for concept development, Lovely avoids references as much as possible and instead goes with his instincts for composition, character, emotions and colour to create an original piece. The aim for him is simple – try to be better than yesterday.
