The Illustration Interview is (hopefully!) a series of interviews with deviants who work professionally as illustrators, hoping to eke out tips to help us aspiring illustrators out a little!

Hi there *trenchmaker!

My name is Anne, i´m 26 and live in Berlin.

What do you currently work as?

I work full time as a manager in the creative field for a bigger company in Berlin and next to that I work for Tokyopop Germany as an author & illustrator. If I have some time left I freelance for other companies as well.

Did you do an art related course at university?

I went to an art school next to normal grammar school for two years. After that I went to Berlin and studied graphic-design (including art courses).

Do you think a degree in art helps you become an art professional?

Um... I think there are enough people who proved that you can do art without an art degree. I work with a lot of people who haven´t studied art or anything alike and even without they rock. I guess it does matter when it comes to better understanding and practice if you have a course and somebody (hopefully good) who shows you the different aspects and techniques. But still I think it shouldn´t matter when you apply for a freelance/ normal job. If I had to choose between a bad illustrator with a degree and a fantastic illustrator without obviously I would choose the second one.

What advice would you give to anyone wanting to become a professional illustrator?

It´s very important to do be one of a kind. That´s what I think. For example agencies for illustrator stock up the portfolio with artists who are very unique and which you can identify via illustration. Don´t change you style too often, even if that is hard at the beginning.
The other advice would be: Talk. A lot. Talk to people who are already working in the business and keep your eyes open. A big plus is being able to do small talk. Most beginners underestimate it but if you talk with a customer it´s important to be nice, easy going and not insecure or totally annoying. Listen to others and understand how everything works.

And of course: Don´t do price-dumping. Sooner or later you have to live from your work and if your prices are too low you won´t be able to explain a customer why you want to raise them. And a "Because now, I´m a pro" is never a good explanation.

What are your tools of the trade? Why do you use these?

At the moment I am working a lot on canvas. Like... still 30 canvases flying around here. I have been working with canvas and acrylics for over 7 years now and it´s mostly because I was contracted *because* this was kind of special. Everybody is fussing over digital art and I am still sitting in my working room brooding over canvases. It´s funny that people want to see traditional art and most are suprised when they see the book-illustrations and realize it´s traditional.
On the other hand -of course- i do a lot digital art. Mostly when I have to (commission, job) and when I need a break from the canvas.

What tools would you advise someone starting out to buy?

Regarding digital: Photoshop and a wacom and a very good monitor (maybe even a little "spider" or another tool to calibrate the screen). Of course you need a good computer and since my home computer just crashed and I have to do the main part on my humble netbook at the moment: Buy something to save a back-up. Really. Trust me. You don´t want to cry over your high resolution PSDs all gone.

Regarding traditional: I can only give an advice for acrylics and most things are posted in my material introduction. Buy good linen canvas if you want to do an illustration, buy the cheap one if you want to try out how acrylics work. Buy only the basic colors and mix. I have dozens of colors but normally even now I stick to 10-12 shades and mix the rest out of them.

Who or what inspires you?

My cat Kiki and mostly memories of my childhood. Sometimes I see or hear something and a new ideas pops into my head. I can´t really say where my ideas come from. Maybe a muse is sitting on my shoulder and punches me every time she thinks I have to do something new. Who knows

9. Show me your favourite works from your gallery.


10. Show me some of your favourite art on DA (preferably illustration!)

because I see the frog at least once a week here and there....

because it just makes me laugh every time I see it (even if most people don´t understand it)

because it reminds me so much of my childhood

because I work a lot with bunny characters and... just look at it... of course it´s funny (and it tells a whole story within just one image)

because it´s calming and i love the style...

Thankyou so much for your time *trenchmaker