Celebrating 125 years of the Noris: Live Portrait Illustrations for Staedtler

Oct 1

2 min read

How live portrait illustrations helped to celebrate and spread brand awareness for the Noris birthday 2026.

Getting to know the product

Staedtler kindly sent me lots of pencils to try out ahead of the event! It was daunting for me to stray from my usual set up for live portraiture. I tend to use mixed media - ink, watercolour and water soluble artist crayons for my live portraits. This time I had to use Staedtler products, because I was showcasing them with my live portraits!

Live portraits with pencil and water

I settled on the Mars Lumograph Aquarelle, an amazing pencil which is water activated! It allowed me to get soft and detailed pencil drawings, and add water to give them a painterly flair. I was so pleased with how they turned out!

Live portrait illustration using the Mars Lumograph Aquarelle

Live portrait content for socials and brand awareness

I painted live portraits sat in the window of a bustling Covent Garden shopfront - providing entertainment to passers-by, with queues and window watchers coming to see what I was up to.

london based live portrait illustrator painting a portrait in covent garden of person in a Noris pencil costume — A family watches while I draw THE Noris Pencil

People inside the pop up got to have an interactive, creative and personalised experience. I had really positive feedback, and had wonderful discussions about art, drawing and creativity.

To round off, this was a brilliant use of live portrait illustrations to boost brand awareness and engage with audiences.