Russian Berries Mules Illustration. After I created the “Cuban Peach Mojito” illustration I decided to illustrate more “cocktail + culture” illustrations. So this “Russian Berries Mules” illustration is part of the series. I combined Russian folk dance and dancers with this cocktail. Even though this cocktail’s name is “Russian Mule” (some places call this cocktail a “Moscow Mule”, apart from the vodka, this has nothing to do with Russia or Moscow. This cocktail was in fact created in Manhattan, New York.

So I just used the name of this cocktail as inspiration to create this cocktail recipe illustration for submission to They Draw and Cook as well as adding it to my editorial illustration portfolio.

When I stated researching for visual references for this Russian Berries Mules Illustration, I struggled a little bit, as I don’t know much about Russian culture. So in the end, to keep this illustration fun, I decided to watch some Russian folk and traditional music concerts on Youtube. In one of the folk music concerts, all the male and female dancers dressed in beautiful blue costumes which performing a traditional Russian Dace, which I found really beautiful and interesting. That’s how I got my visual reference for creating this illustration.

Last week I illustrated a Cuban Peach Mojito. I really enjoy illustrating different cultures, people, dance, music, enjoying life and anything generally happy. So far I’m planning on illustrating Mexican, Spanish and Indian cocktails and possible more. So stay tuned for more “Culture + Cocktail” illustrations from me but today I hope you like my Russian Berries Mules Illustration.

In other news, I was recently headhunted by Snap Inc. (Snapchat) to design and illustration a series of geofilters for France. The idea is local people in France who use Snapchat can post a pre designed picture for their location with a focus on local things. It’s a really fun project and could possibly lead on to more work with them. Once the filters go live I’ll share all kinds of photos and illustrations here. I even want to go to France if I have to to try out the Geofilters!