Agathe Sorlet, Illustrator

Graduated from the Graphic Motion Designer course at GOBELINS Paris in 2015, Agathe Sorlet already has a great career behind her. Now an illustrator, she has collaborated with Princesse tam tam, WWF and Netflix. She also opened an e-shop on which she sells her creations. Passionate about drawing, she regularly publishes touching and poetic illustrations around the themes of the couple, love and the female body on her Instagram account.

In 2015 right after graduation I went to London to learn English. My stay there lasted for a year as an au-pair. I worked part-time and took advantage of this free time to improve my illustration style and draw as much as I could.

It was around that time that I made my social media accounts, to show my work and make myself known. I came back to Paris in 2016. My publications on the social networks brought me my first clients. I started by a few small projects that did not pay that well but allowed me to grow, after which I worked at Konbini as a freelancer for Netflix.

It's with these first contracts that I realized that I had more of an artistic profile than that of a technician and that I belonged in illustration more than I did in motion design. My first big collaboration was for Princesse Tam Tam, which really kickstarted my career as illustrator. I made two lingerie collections for them. All their store windows had my name on them, which granted me a lot of visibility and I’ve been receiving a continuous stream of job offers ever since.

After that, I created my online shop in 2017 to meet the demand of customers who wished to buy my artwork. I started off on my own, but now I have the help of a logistician to manage shipping. I also have an associate employee who handles negotiations, contracts, and two assistants in charge of all the accounting, which allows me to focus on art. However, I'm the one who takes care of the website and its contents, I am very free in the things I do, I can decide to add or delete products as I please.

It's hard to capture the inspiration, it's not conscious, it's a mixture of many things. For example, in one day, I'll go to the cinema, share a drink with a friend, go for a walk and it's this combination of events that will get my brain going and give me ideas.

Emotions give me a lot of inspiration as well; they're what makes me want to draw. My love life, which had been chaotic for a long time, really nurtured my drawing ideas, even if I re-framed everything in a very positive light.

It's difficult, it's something you can't control but you have to work at it. One thing that motivated me a lot was looking at the works of other artists, it lets you figure out what works and doesn’t. Style has to be something sincere, it has to really suit you. You shouldn't do something only to please audiences.

WWF, Agathe Sorlet 

Recently I really liked doing collabs that meant something to me. I worked with WWF on the protection of China's giant pandas. I loved drawing the panda. The collabs also allow me to work on subject matters that I wouldn't normally have considered approaching had it been just me, pandas are not part of my daily life so I never would have thought to draw one.

I absolutely love subjects related to women and womanhood as well, I believe it to be very important. I drew menstrual panties for example and was very happy to be able to popularize this item. I also did a collaboration on menstrual precariousness and a collaboration for a brand of sex toys. Those are projects that I love so much because there is a message behind them. I'm glad to be able to contribute a little to change on my scale, even if it's a drop in the ocean.

I'm lucky enough to be able to choose my own projects, especially thanks to the financial independence granted by my shop, and to be able to decide not contribute to projects that do not suit me. I had the chance to be able to work in collaboration with Tomo, my favourite Parisian bakery, and so on top of being able to draw in a tea shop that I love I was able to eat lots of cake.

There are many illustrators so having a twin sister in this field did help us stand out. We’ve collaborated together but always a bit in parallel, we never did a four-handed collaboration. For example, we've each published a different book at Robert Laffont in 2020 with a drawing which can only completed by sticking the two covers together, as a little nod to each other. We've also collaborated together for a beauty box by both illustrating a different box.

There are lots of things that I'd like to do, I like being an entrepreneur.  I'd like to create a new brand, which wouldn't be called Agathe Sorlet, would not rest upon my name nor my image. The project is not defined yet but I would like to collaborate with other artists and delegate much more than I do now so that I can have some free time for myself. It's a bit blurry, I still have a ton of ideas.

Topless, Agathe Sorlet 

For this kind of job, you've got to be organized. I remained very focused on my drawings at first, but the practical and administrative aspects of one’s work should not be neglected.

It's like being on a boat: the more you draw the faster you feel like you're going but if you don't take the time to take care of the boat by doing some lowly tasks (like administrative stuff) the ship’s risks of sinking grow exponentially. You should be careful with accounting and respect timing and deadlines thoroughly or you'll be at risk of losing clients or having problems.

You should really be thorough when working independently, otherwise stress creeps up on you and you're less productive, it's a disservice to our creativity. 

To make yourself known, Instagram is an amazing tool, it's an international window, but it is also a job in itself. You have to produce content regularly all the while making sure to remain sincere for it to work. These days it's a real business and we risk forgetting that first and foremost we must build a community and share our work with honesty and positivity before selling anything. 

You have to keep practicing but shouldn't burn yourself out. I used to draw all the time, because I had a lot of time. Today I set myself a goal of one finished piece a week and try to stick to it. I have my personal projects too, my drawn secret journals, you shouldn't forget your secret garden, not everything is shareable, not everything is business and social media. We should nurture lots of different things to feel fulfilled and so as to not forget why we draw.

The reference I give all the time is Riad Sattouf, he gave me a ton of motivation. Loraine and I were lucky enough to meet him and now he's a friend. He talked about our work to radio stations and to the media, it's very uplifting to know that an artist like him likes what we do, it's amazing. Illustration can sometimes be unforgiving so to have the support of someone like Riad Sattouf is an insane help. We help each other out, for example we gave him tips and advice to get started on Instagram.

Interview by Sophie Jean