A Cottagecore Freebie For You - 6 Days Left! 🌻

My second cottagecore-themed freebie for you is a printable 4x6 art print of a cozy cottagecore illustration! You’ll find these line art illustrations featured on various pages in Cottagecore Galore, my new adult coloring book that celebrates the timeless simplicities of country cottage life.

Download the PDF here, then print on heavy cardstock and cut out along the faint border. Then place the print in your favorite 4x6 frame!

Cottagecore Galore will be in stores on April 19th but you can pre-order from your favorite bookseller now!

A Cottagecore Freebie For You - 7 Days Left! 🍄

Now that we are a week away, I’m going to be offering a “cottagecore freebie” every day here on my blog to count down the final days leading up to the release date of my newest coloring book, Cottagecore Galore! 🥳

My first cottagecore freebie to you is a lovely wallpaper for your desktop, tablet, and phone! The pattern is created from some pieces that I’ve colored in from my favorite illustrations in Cottagecore Galore. You can download the desktop version here, and the mobile version for tablets and phones here.

Copyright Katie Vaz 2022. Not for commercial use. Free for personal use only.

@katiemarievaz My newest coloring book COTTAGECORE GALORE will be here next week! In the meantime, you can pre-order at your favorite bookseller and download this free wallpaper on my blog (link in bio). @andrewsmcmeel #cottagecore #cottagecoreaesthetic #coloringbooks #colouringbook #coloringbooksforadults #honeycore #farmcore #morikei #softgirlaesthetic #fairycore ♬ Take Me Home - Aron Harper Robinson

Stick Figures to Illustrated Portraits

Earlier this month I was commissioned to illustrate portraits for a communications company based in Paris to celebrate International Women’s Day. I’ll share more about the project soon, but it had me thinking about how much I’ve grown when it comes to drawing people. I love drawing people these days, but if you asked me 10 years ago to draw a person or even just a face? I'd get all sweaty and panicky, then absolutely find a way to get out of it.

I thought it'd be fun to take you on a chronological journey to see how my people illustrations have evolved over the years. It feels important to me to show how practice and putting in hours is more important than talent (because clearly I wasn't born with the talent to draw people, as you'll see below).

2013

Take a look at one of the first times someone paid me to draw people. It's…not great, but the client was really happy and honestly it did fit the kid-friendly brand! It was the best I could do at the time, so that's okay.

2014

This is from an online illustration course I took where I really started to fall in love with illustration even though I was grumpy about having to draw people in this particular assignment.

2015

I was commissioned to create the marketing materials for one of my favorite Upstate indie craft shows. I was thrilled but so nervous to take on the project because I knew they needed an illustration of a girl included in the artwork. She turned out okay, but really I felt like I was making it up as I went. I enjoyed the hand-lettering aspect of the project so much more.

2016

This was my first major commissioned project, which was for a Homecoming event at Syracuse University. It paid well and they liked me for my illustration style, so of course I had to say yes to it even though I knew I’d be forced to draw people! It was becoming a little more enjoyable to draw them, but the process still felt a bit clunky to me.

2017

My overall illustration style was starting to emerge and be refined around this time. I started drawing more freely and allowed myself to draw in a way that seemed charming to me, rather than drawing in a way that I thought everyone else was. I started playing around with a more stylized version of a person, though I was still very intimidated by hands and faces (notice the sunglasses and ice cream cone props?).

2018

I developed an idea for a book that was all about being an introvert (based very much on personal life experience) and got very attached to it (so did the publisher) before I realized that the illustrations in it would have to involve people. Crap! Sometimes being forced to draw something (even if it was my own fault) has been the most motivating thing for me. I surprisingly had a lot of fun drawing these people and it gave me space to play around with adding more personality and character.

Early 2019

Look who’s not afraid of drawing people anymore! Me! By this time I truly was enjoying the process of drawing people. It was time for a new challenge though: drawing myself in my illustrated memoir. Illustrating imaginary people was easy, but trying to capture the essence of a person? That was completely new territory for me, especially having to draw myself in various ages. Working on my memoir was challenging in that aspect, but very fulfilling to work on.

Late 2019

I started watching online tutorials taught by a portrait artist, Charly Clements. This one was a portrait I drew from imagination for fun after watching one of the classes. It’s still one of my favorite illustrations. This is actually the portrait that caught the eye of the Parisian client and led them to hire me.

Early 2020

In 2020 I started a personal project where I planned to draw 100 illustrations of my dog, Tater. I think I originally intended it to be a quick 100 day project, but because it was for fun and I could do whatever I wanted, I ended up drawing a lot of scenes like this that included me in them as well. I’m discovering that I like playing around with the proportions of things and it’s visually amusing to me to have some contrast in sizes (long legs, small hands and feet, etc.). I like that my people are starting to look more stylized. I’m only about halfway done with this project, but I’ve been chipping away at it slowly when I have the time.

Late 2020

I took an online illustration course about illustrating for children’s books. I gave myself space to experiment with a slightly different style where I pushed the body proportions even more. In the class we learned more about how to draw facial expressions and how to show movement with the body. I really like the direction that this is going, so maybe I’ll experiment with this a little more.

2021

I’m comfortable drawing myself now after having to do it in multiple book projects by now. I’m starting to experiment with panel art and learning how to draw quicker and simpler. I want to make a graphic novel style book, so speeding up the drawing process seems necessary to tackle such a big project like that.

2022

I drew this self-portrait style illustration for fun after feeling like it had been too long since I let myself play around with drawing. I felt like some of my illustration work had lost some of the exaggerated proportions that I find so charming, so I made sure to draw that way here.

2022

This is one of the first drafts for the recent portrait project. In the end I had to shift this one to be a little less stylized, but this one here represents my own style more. I like the process of picking out the outfits and accessories, choosing the facial expression and poses. I don’t know this person, but doing these things feels fun to me, like I’m imagining her life story or something.

I like where I currently am with drawing people, but I know there’s plenty of room to grow and evolve even more. I guess the summary of why I’m sharing all this with you is just to say that improving a certain skill is less about being born talented and more about chipping away consistently over time. It makes it all sound much more attainable to me, and I hope you find that thought just as comforting as I do.

A Decade of Working for Myself

Yesterday my Etsy shop turned 10 years old!🎂🎉 It’s crazy how fast time has flown by, and yet so much has happened since then. I opened my shop for fun but had no idea how it’d change the whole path of my career.

To celebrate this major milestone of mine, I’ve launched a new product in my shop: STICKERS! And, for the rest of January, I’m doing a BOGO sale on all 8x10 art prints (buy a print, get a print for free)! 🥳

And bonus, all 8x10 prints and stickers ship for free in the U.S.! No offer code needed for the BOGO sale, just let me know in the “note to seller” box during checkout which print you’d like for free.

Speaking at the Artist to Author Virtual Summit!

I’m so excited to share that I’m going to be a speaker at the ‘From Artist to Author’ Summit in January!  The virtual summit features over 30+ industry professionals (yours truly included!) and is designed to totally immerse you in the world of publishing. Whether you want to DIY your book and self-publish or work with one of the big publishing houses, the goal is to give everyone a really well-rounded understanding of the industry so they can pick the right path for them.

Don’t have a book idea yet? No worries! This is a chance to get your wheels turning, and it’s up to you what you’ll decide to do next. Either way, this is an awesome chance to hear from the best of the best...and to see where that takes you.

You can learn more about the summit and get your ticket HERE. Hope to see you there! (Full disclosure, this is an affiliate link and if you purchase through it, I’ll earn a commission. I appreciate your support!).

Enrollment is open until January 9th, but there is special early bird pricing until December 22nd! Use the code EARLYBIRD to get $50 off your Unabridged (Tier 3) ticket.

I’m super honored to be included in this amazing lineup! Check out the other speakers below:

A Book Tour Weekend!


I’m doing a little book tour weekend in my neck of the woods on the first weekend in December! 🎄If you’re local to the area, I’d love to see you there!

December 3rd | 4–6 PM | Owego, NY

First event will be a book signing for Life with Plants: A Coloring Book on Friday, December 3rd at Riverow Bookshop in Owego, NY! I’ll have copies of my book for sale, plus some fun plant-themed freebies! 🌿The signing coincides with the village’s Lights on the River event, so come and also enjoy holiday cheer and sparkly lights!

The event is free and all are welcome! For everyone’s safety, masks are encouraged! Want to RSVP on Facebook? You can do that here: https://fb.me/e/Qoyldxoq

December 4th | 3–4 PM | Ithaca, NY

The second stop in my book tour weekend will be a book signing and talk at Buffalo Street Books in Ithaca, NY on December 4th from 3–4 PM! I'll be joined in conversation by Kristina Thelen, my friend and Business Development Director at the Downtown Ithaca Alliance. I'll be reading an excerpt from My Life in Plants, sharing behind-the-scenes illustrations, talking about the inspiration behind both books, discussing the journey of my illustration career, and answering any audience questions!⁠

At the event, there will be copies of both books for sale, plus some fun plant-themed freebies! You are welcome to submit questions for the Q&A ahead of time by sending them to katie@katievaz.com (go ahead, ask me anything!).⁠

The event is free and all are welcome! For everyone’s safety, masks are encouraged! Want to RSVP on Facebook? You can do that here: https://fb.me/e/3WVe8SCjY