Erika LeBarre has always been exposed to art one way or another as she grew up. Her father worked as a car designer for the big three, and her mother was a potter. Erika's parents always encouraged her creative side. Drawing was her favorite thing to do. Erika graduated from the College for Creative Studies with a BFA in illustration. Initially she worked at an art studio with other illustrators and designers for several years. Since then she has worked on her own for a wide variety of clients and projects such as product and packaging labels, posters, point of purchase, signage, direct mail, magazine ads, editorial, greeting cards, children’s books, grade school textbooks, gift books, eBooks, websites, textiles, logos and character development. Erika is also an instructor in the illustration department of a prestigious art college.
Erika’s working techniques are both traditional and digital including pastels, acrylics, Photoshop, and vector-based illustrations using Illustrator. She creates illustrations using textures, smooth gradations and intense color that can create a look that is anywhere from stylized, whimsical, editorial, conceptual and graphic to realism with a twist of fantasy.