Diana Rute Costa's 2012 portfolio showcases illustrations created during her 2009-2012 graphic design studies. It includes traditional and digital works exploring fantasy themes like medieval costumes and fairy tales. Many depict the female form influenced by Pre-Raphaelite artists. The portfolio indexes over 60 illustrations across different mediums like watercolor, pencil, and vector art organized by year and project. Key projects include character generators, Greenpeace posters, and collections focused on themes like elves, vampires and flowery ornamentation.

1. p ort f oli o
Diana Rute Costa
2012

2. I nt r o d u c t i o n
The present portfolio displays a great diversity of
illustrations performed during my graduation in
Graphic Design at the Fine Arts College from the
Univesity of Porto, for the period of 2009-2012.
Additionally, this portfolio shows other illustrations
freely created outside the course context during this
time.
The work selection here exhibited demonstrates my
preference for traditional illustration, though I am
also able to digitally illustrate. The technical skills
employed to perform the marjority of illustrations
encompass watercolour or pencil colour painting
and vector drawing.
A common theme in my work is the representation of
the female body and costumes, deeply influenced by
the Medieval fantasy aesthetics. I am also inspired by
the paintings of the Pre-Rhaphaelite artists Edward
Burne-Jones and John William Waterhouse, which
portray females from ancient mythology, legends
and tales. In this connection, the beauty and fashion
illustration field is another of my interests.

3. I nd e x
2009 2012
Contrasts 70’s Rock
Makeup Medieval Anthology
Space Fantasy
2010 Romantic Vampires
Dog Fashion Generator Medieval Collection
Eyjafjallajokull Elves & Fairies
Fairy Tale Witch Flowery Ornaments
Nations
The Mists of Avalon
2011
Greenpeace
Hansel & Gretel
Moon & Sun
Orbis Color
Summer Flower
Spring Fashion
The Curse
Xeque-Mate

4. 2009

5. C o nt r a s t s
free work
The intention was to create high contrast images
by using the watercolour technique. Beauty and
fashion illustration were the main inspiration.
Watercolour on Paper

6. Watercolour on Paper Watercolour on Paper

7. Makeup
free work
Makeup trials by using pencil colour. I explored
bright and strong colours. mostly in the eye area.
Pencil Colour on Paper

8. Pencil Colour on Paper

9. 2 0 10

10. S lu m d o g G e n e r ato r
college work
In this project, I used the Nodebox software to
create an image generator that continuously
changes the picture of a slumdog wearing different
outfits and accessories.
The purpose was to hypothetically insert this
generator in a website that advertises clothes for
dogs.
Vector Illustration

11. Vector Illustration

12. Vector Illustration

13. E yj a fj al l a j o k u l l
college work
This 3D piece was exhibited in an exposition
organized by the Fine Arts College from the
University of Porto, whose theme was the eruption
of the Icelandic volcano “Eyjafjallajokull” in 2010.
I pictured the moment before “Eyjafjallajokull”
eruption as an asleep boy dressed with traditional
Icelandic clothes, laying on wood branches.
Colour Pencil on Paperboard

14. F a i r y T al e S o r c e r e r
college work
This project aimed to create a profile image of
a facebook group entitled “Old people that look
younger than what they really are”.
I represented a very old sorcerer whose
appearence is still young and somehow seductive.
I was inspired by the classical tale illustrations of
Eric Kincaid.
Colour Pencil on Paper

15. C u lt u r e s C o s t u m e s
college work
The three following images depict maidens wearing
typical costumes of spatially and temporally
unrelated cultures: Portuguese, Persian and Aztec.
Pencil Colour on Paper

16. Pencil Colour on Paper Pencil Colour on Paper

17. T h e M i s t s o f Av alo n
college work
I redesigned the cover of “Mists of Avalon” by
Marion Zimmer Bradley. Due to all the female
esoterism and mystical symbolism present in the
book’s story, I turned its cover into an inverted
triangle, a well known symbol of women.
Collage on Paperboard

18. Pencil Colour on Paper Demonstrative Photography Pencil Colour on Paper

19. 2011

20. Gr e e n p e ac e part I
college work
I am sorry
Greenpeace folks, BRA
ND
bad packaging is
The top poster criticizes the waste resulting
such a waste...
from bad packing, whereas the bottom poster how I wish BR
AN
D
criticizes the fact that most people ignore the risks I had been more
responsible
associated with nuclear energy. Such posters were
ND
hypothetically meant to be part of a GreenPeace BRA
environment campaign.
ND BR
BRA AN
D
I am sorry
Greenpeace folks,
I always thought
you were a
bunch of hippies
trying to do your thing...
how I wish
I had faced the facts
Vector Illustration

21. Gr e e n p e ac e part II
college work
I created a one minute video for Greenpeace
concerning the consequences of forest destruction
by fires, which has been a major problem in
Portugal during the summer seasons.
The characters and scenerios were made with
paperboard and colour pencil and were manually
animated. The following images depict captures of
the video’s narrative.
Color Pencil on Paperboard

22. Some screencaps of the video sequence

23. Ha ns e l & Gr e t e l
college work
In this project, I illustrated the pages of the famous
tale “Hansel and Gretel”. I drew the characters
in a very classical way keeping the background
minimalistic, so that the story course could be
understood based on the charaters’s expressions
and features.
Colour Pencil on Paper

24. Colour Pencil on Paper

25. Mo on & Su n
free work
The antagonistic concepts of moon/night versus
sun/day were personified as human characters,
with influences of arabian culture.
Watercolour on Paperboard

26. Watercolour on Paperboard

27. O r b i s c o lo r
free work
The diversity of characters here represented
belong to an imaginary world populated by many
different fantasy cultures.
Colour Pencil and Collage on Paper
24

28. Colour Pencil and Collage on Paper

29. S p ri n g P ri nt
free work
Through the use of wood stamps, I printed flowery
patterns on the character’s clothings.
Colour Pencil and Wood Stamps on Paper

30. Colour Pencil and Wood Stamps on Paper

31. Th e C u r s e
college work
In this project, I created 3 villains cursed to be
depressed, broken hearted and crow shaped. In
opposition, I invented an optimistic and laughable
hero resembling Charlie Chaplin, that possesses a
very intellectual bulldog as a sidekick.
Colour Pencil and Collage on Paper

32. Colour Pencil and Collage on Paper

33. Colour Pencil and Collage on Paper

34. X e q u e - m at e
free work
The following sequence of illustrations represents
the clash of the white and the black chess kings, in
which the black chess king decides to interrupt the
marriage between the white king and queen...
Watercolour on Paper

35. Watercolour on Paper

36. 2012

37. 70’s Rock
college work
This set of images were meant to illustrate a
magazine about rock and pop music of the 70’s.
The idea was to correlate each person’s favourite
kind of music with its respective fashion style.
Colour pencil on paper

38. Colour pencil on paper

39. M e d i e v al A nt h o lo g y
free work
This set of illustrations was created for a small
sized book, which gathers several texts about the
Portuguese medieval literature and its authors.
Watercolour on Paper

40. Watercolour on Paper Watercolour on Paper

41. S p a c e F a nt a s y
free work
The following illustrations depict various characters
with a fantasy futuristic look.
Watercolour on Paper

42. Watercolour, Graphic Pencil and Ink on Paper

43. R o m a nt i c V a m p i r e s
free work
A collection of Romantic vampire characters,
inspired by the 19th century costumes.
Watercolour on Paper

44. Graphic Pencil on Paper

45. Graphic Pencil on Paper

46. Zen
free work
This work was inspired by the Buddist symbolism
and I tried to represent characters that would
express a certain meditation pose.
Ink on Paper

47. Ink on Paper Ink on Paper

48. M e d i e v al c o l l e c t i o n
free work
Image collection of female characters and outfits
inspired by medieval fantasy.
Ink on Paper

49. Graphic Pencil on Paper

50. Ink, Colour Pencil and Watercolour on Paper

51. E lv e s a n d F a i ri e s
free work
Image collection of female characters and outfits
inspired by fairies and elves from the celtic
imaginarium.
Ink on Paper

52. Watercolour, Pencil Colour and Graphic Pencil on Paper

53. F lo w e r y O r n a m e nt s
a nd he ad p i e c e s
free work
The following set of illustrations focuses on female
decoration by using flowery ornaments.
Pastels on Paper

54. Ink on Paper

55. Ink on Paper

56. p ort f oli o
Diana Rute Costa
2012