Aurora James

I was commissioned by Courier to paint a portrait of business woman and entrepreneur Aurora James for their October/November 2020 edition. The commission also included two spot illustrations, which are on the third page of the article.

A mock-up showing the spread form the article about business woman and entrepreneur Aurora James. Beneath it lies the third page underneath it.
The three page article about business woman and entrepreneur Aurora James.
Media: Digital.

This commission really helped me evolve this portrait style further, and I honestly found the work so much fun, and the designer who worked with me super helpful and friendly. I am so pleased that they got in touch and wanted me to work more in this style.

I wanted to share how the illustrations look on the individual pages, though I know it might be tricky to read the actual article itself. But fear not, if you are wanting to read it all, it s available online. Keep scrolling for a larger view of the illustrations.

The portrait of Aurora James, painted in Procreate.
Media: Digital.

A more detailed view of the portrait. I used multiple reference images for this portrait, and some of the colours are also mirrored in the spot illustrations (see below). The background colours are all based on the colours from Courier’s design manual, which are therefore often used in the magazine.

Two spot illustrations in she shape of two clogs and a shopping bag with a tag that reads
Media: Digital.

The spot illustrations are meant ot go well with the text in the article, but contain things which signify things that Aurora James has worked towards. The clogs represent her business, Brother Vellies, which sells luxury fashion items, many of which are made in Africa. The bag signify her 15 percent pledge initiative, which aims at getting as many shops to pledge 15% of their shelves to Black-owned businesses, as 15% of the US population is Black.