Irene Neyman is a self-taught illustrator and graphic designer based in Calgary, Canada. Her creative practice spans commercial illustration, packaging and character design, motion graphics, and editorial work. With a distinctive style that balances bright colors, simple shapes, and experimental textures, Irene brings clarity and charm to every project she takes on.

She also runs her own design studio, Deeply, where she collaborates with artists and clients around the world. In addition to her studio work, Irene is passionate about supporting fellow creatives — offering thoughtful, well-prepared consultations to help freelancers navigate the business side of the creative industry. For those just starting out, she shares practical advice, lessons learned, and honest insights through her blog.

We asked Irene about her art, creative process, and inspirations.

Can you tell us about your background as a digital artist? How did you get started in this field?

I always loved drawing, but many years ago I never thought of making it my career. My partner saw potential in me and directed me toward online education, which quickly made me realize that I wanted to make design and illustration my profession. Of course, at first I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted, but over time my preferences formed, and today I've been doing commercial illustration for 5 years, helping clients all over the world. Besides that, I work with graphic and marketing design, covering many client needs even when illustration isn't the primary request.

As a self-taught illustrator and graphic designer, what were some of the biggest challenges you faced?

The biggest challenge is definitely staying visible everywhere, all the time. A freelancer's income directly depends on the number of projects and their value, which in turn depends on how we try to always be on potential clients' radar. Being simultaneously a project manager, content creator, planner, while also keeping up with passion projects for your portfolio and client inquiries can be quite a big task for one person! But this is what ignites me and makes me stronger – I strive to improve my online presence and ability to be more well-known.

Work-life balance is also a challenge, because as a freelancer and, in my case, working from home, work and life exist in the same space, which often prevents me from focusing on rest when work is done. But I'm working on it.

You work across various mediums, from editorial to packaging design. Do you have a favorite, and how do you adapt your style to different formats?

A long time ago, I tried to reduce the number of "options" for applying my illustrations, but I quickly realized there was no point – being a professional illustrator, I cover various areas where my art can be applied. It's incredibly inspiring to see how my illustration works on packaging, or on a company website, or on a blog cover! It's an endless series of "wow" effects for me, and it ignites me even more. Each project is unique, and the most important thing here is to understand how to apply your skills to a specific medium. This helps adapt the style or techniques used in the work. You need to know how to ask the right questions to the client during the briefing phase.

Among my favorite applications, I would name brand illustration! It's a broad application, but it can be called part of a company's identity and positioning, and I'm very interested in working on such projects, because everything created should work for the entire business now and in the future, not just momentarily for a specific medium or occasion.

How did you start offering coaching sessions, and what do you enjoy most about mentoring other illustrators and designers?

We all have had (and still have) hundreds of questions, fears, doubts, and other things that we sometimes just want to talk about with someone who understands and has been through it. When I was just starting out, I had a lot of questions, but I didn't know who to turn to, and those who inspired me didn't offer consultations at that time.

At one point, I realized that many creative folks were asking me about various aspects of freelancing, and since there's always little time for lengthy conversations, I didn't want to leave these questions "unclosed," but I also didn't want to give a short two-line answer. So I decided that I could help creatives by dedicating time to them personally, focusing only on their questions and goals, and it worked. I offer a discount on consultations for students, but I'm also usually open to a call format, regardless of the fact that I have several formats mentioned on my website. I prepare extensively for each consultation to ensure my recommendations and vision are valuable.

For those who can't afford individual consultation yet, I write a blog where I try to briefly highlight some tips, failures, and other experience that may also be useful to freelancers (and business people as well tbh!).

What I love is seeing how people apply the recommendations I give – I've seen the results it produces. Being in love with what you do is simply wonderful, and I'm so happy to be part of it by helping with answers to many questions that exist in this field.

What advice would you give to aspiring self-taught illustrators looking to break into commercial work?

Don't be afraid to ask questions. Many of those who inspire you might be happy to help. Also don't be afraid to experiment. If you aspire to commercial illustration, it's important to understand who you're doing it for and how it will look where the client needs it. What problem will it solve? How will it blend with the rest of the brand identity? What can be improved? Experiment and test your theories on personal projects, and then with real ones, it will be much easier.