Inspiration for the Eclectic colouring book.
My inspiration for my second colouring book The Eclectic Colouring Book, available on Amazon, was plenty. I really felt it inspirational to come up with ideas, mixing references, sources by starting to draw two eyes, a tilt of a head position, and then go with it.
A lot of my references for each drawing, illustrations, was from all over the worlds continents. Including my own country history Sweden. For two and half months I searched inspiration from Hopi native american tribes in Arizona, US. To Africa’s tribes. As well as both popular and old culture, from Asia for example. Bringing them into various world’s. Such as a steampunk world. A fantasy world. A science fiction world. I tried my best to not draw the usual viking stuff, now when it’s so popular in TV and movies, games and what have you. And me being a swede living in an area were the vikings lived, fought and trade. But then, summer of 2016, my Mia and I walked with our dog Bella, on the old viking/ pre – historic viking graves, tall and wide like hills in a row in Old Uppsala, an hours drive from my town Stockholm. It influenced me enough to make a drawing inspired from those hills. And a woman walking that land. It suddenly felt so appropriate to include some viking reference, because they had contacts with the world. They were fighters yes, but they also made trade. They got influences from the world. They saw the world. They didn’t run away from the world, and wasn’t afraid of it. I don´t like to romanticise them. So to make a book including drawings of women with references from the world, it was correct to make one.
I’ve always loved everything about the universe and space travels. And what would be better than a woman in a sort of space suite with jet engines on her back. And dreads, hair style inspired by African tribe women, who colour their hair and body in read. like the sand of Mars.
As a kid I just loved watching Akira Kurosawa’s samurai movies. Great movies. So intricate and stylish – and full of action when the story needed it. And the TV show Shogun with actor Richard Chamberlain. So I just had to subconsciously draw a Japanese, Korean, Chinese woman with a sword – and headphones.
I really enjoyed deeply to draw each drawing for my self published coloring book The Eclectic Colouring Book. It was pure joy. A journey in itself.
I also wanted very strongly to draw strong and independent women. No male manga fantasies of Pin Ups with huge – chests. I wanted to draw only women. And cool, interesting women. And make it beautifully told. I hope I managed it. I am proud of the book.
Stefan Lindblad
Illustrator & graphic designer