Interview with Brindha Kumar: Infusing Digital Illustration with the Colours of Malaysian Heritage

Could you describe your practice in your own words? What characterizes a "Brindha Kumar" artwork?

I've developed my style over the years. I like to include a lot of colours, a lot of patterns, and a lot of details in my work. I've also recently started liking to add movement to it, to give it more impact, because I think nowadays people like to see something that moves rather than just a still illustration. Alongside that, I work as a tattoo artist, hopefully getting better at it over time, and I mentor young creatives who've just come into the industry and want to know more about working full-time as an illustrator. That's basically what I do.

Could you walk us through your creative process? With Spring Bloom, for example, what was the initial inspiration, and what's the step-by-step process?

I always love drawing animals and birds. With my personal work, that's just an outlet where I can let go and create something that's fully me, without having to follow a specific brief. With Spring Bloom, I wanted to evoke that sense of emotion when we transition from season to season. I wanted to create a scene like a triptych setup, because that's how I wanted to show it on Instagram as well. I focused on each section and developed the animals and the nature within it.

I usually start out drawing, because I do a lot of vector work in Adobe Illustrator, so I begin with all the outlines. Then I slowly bring in colours and see how they harmonize with one another, and include patterns where I can in certain areas. That's how Spring Bloom came to be.

All of my work has been done digitally. When I was studying in Malaysia, where I did most of my degree, we were very much focused on using computers rather than being hands-on, and I think that's where it developed. With the animals, I source references from images I find online. With the patterns, I create those on my own, but I also take inspiration from existing traditional patterns from Malaysian culture, from the Chinese, Indian, and Malay traditions, and see how I can bring them all together into one setting.

You mentioned Malaysian heritage. Could you tell us more about the influences we can see in your work?

In Malaysia, we have three races: I'm Malaysian Indian, and there's also Malaysian Chinese and Malaysian Malay. Each culture alone has so much richness, whether it's the traditional clothes, the celebrations, the food, even the packaging; literally everything in Malaysia always has some sort of colour, some sort of energy around it. Even for my final year, when I was doing my degree in London, I wanted to showcase Malaysian food for my final project.

It's only recently that I've realised how much of an inspiration that actually is for what I create; I hadn't noticed it as much until now. I think the main thing you can see from it is just the colour, because everything back home is so vibrant. That's what makes me happy. When I create, I like to fill things with colour.

Animals seem to be the protagonists of your work. How do you select them? Do they carry symbolic or personal meaning?

Actually, they don't have a symbolic meaning. It's more that I like to draw them, I think more than people. If I can draw animals, I'll somehow include them, especially in my personal work. I just love drawing them, that's it. And it's true that there's almost never any people in my work; I'm slowly trying to include more, but when you do see them, it's mainly because it was a project for a client who needed a human figure, and I'd draw them for that.

You also mentor emerging illustrators. Can you tell us more about that?

Adobe started an apprenticeship program, I think it's been almost two years now, and they reached out to me to be one of their mentors. I've done one-on-one mentorships with fresh graduates who want to ask me questions: what it's like to talk to clients, how to price things, what's involved in running your own practice. Those are things we never really learned in school, so it's nice to give them some insight so they're a bit more prepared going out into the world on their own.

I've also gone to Adobe events and done talks and Q&As, including with the Art Directors Club, for young creatives who want to know more about the industry. I never thought in my life I'd be someone who mentors, or speaks in front of people, because I'm very much an introvert. But I think you get better at it over time, and it's really nice to be able to share some insight, or help in any way you can.

You also have work as a tattoo artist. How does it feed into your digital illustration practice?

I always wanted to learn tattooing, and I did, before coming to London, through an apprenticeship in Malaysia years ago. But it was hard to juggle both, and I ended up focusing fully on illustration. Now, with things a bit slower, I have more time for tattooing, and it's nice to have that shift, something else to do. Skin is such a different canvas compared to a screen. I do hand-poking rather than machine work, I like the individual dots you get rather than a clean line. It's also a good thing to have as a freelancer, because the work is quite volatile: sometimes it's very busy, sometimes it's quiet, and that's where illustration and tattooing balance each other out.

Have you felt your practice evolve? Your Artpoint profile spans work from 2024 to 2026.

Maybe my colours: previously they were more pastel, more muted, but now I think they're more vibrant. It's always been colourful, but I think there's more contrast in the palettes I use nowadays. Over the past few years I don't think it's changed all that much; the bigger shift happened around graduation, over about four years of working freelance and part-time, that was the main shift in style. Since then it's mostly been minor changes. I'm quite happy with where I'm at now, though I'd like to push the animation side further, create more movement in the illustrations rather than just small bits.