Illustrator Amber Vittoria challenges stereotypes in her elaborately posed drawings

New York-based illustrator and artist Amber Vittoria’s work is focused on non-traditional, or non-idealised, representations of the female form. Her characters appear in elaborate poses, with jiggly limbs, big thighs and prickly body hair; as exaggerated but essentially more accurate portrayals of women’s bodies.

It’s a stylistic tendency of Amber’s work that has kept us coming back to work over the years, whether it’s self-initiated projects or commissions for the likes of The New York Times and Gucci. The illustrator’s colour palette grabs attention too, purposefully bright in their selection.

To best display her use of form and colour, the illustrator’s final pieces balance a digital and analogue process — blocking in shapes digitally before printing out the forms and working with brush pens; intentionally balancing a vivid, inviting colour palette with more serious, challenging subject matter.

Along with her commissioned illustration, Amber maintains a personal practice that informs her client work. Due to their personality, her drawings manage to balance being funny and light, with a more pertinent goal to depict women’s bodies from a woman’s perspective, in a way that challenges stereotypes and shift perceptions.