Celebrating creativity with Denise Van Leeuwen
We took the opportunity to interview Denise van Leeuwen and ask her various questions about who she is and how she works. She provided us with an amazing wallpaper set. So in case you’re wondering who this lovely lady is that, keep on reading!
Who is Denise van Leeuwen?
My name is Denise van Leeuwen, I’m 30 years old and a passionate illustrator. I can truly say that I love my job. I live and work in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. I share my home with my great love Teus (35) and my even greater love, my son Gijs (1) and two cats (6). Besides illustrating I sometimes take on some graphic designing jobs. I like designing websites, I did my own and a few others.
How did you end up deciding to do illustration?
I always knew my life would involve a lot of drawing. I figured the best way to earn a living while doing that was by becoming an illustrator. When I was little I wanted to be a comic artist or work for Walt Disney. I was fascinated by the way the creatures were animated; sheet by sheet.
What (technical) gear do you use?
There is a special type of recycled paper, that is very smooth and yellowish with little impurities that worked very well for me. It has been taken out of production. Now I use plain white sketchpaper and add some dirt in the computer with a scan of the old paper. I use Copic Multi Liners and Conté graphite pencils to draw, various hardnesses, and sometimes colored pencils that I bought at Hema. With my MacBook Pro, my Wacom Graphire4 Classic and Photoshop CS4 Extended, I turn the black and white drawings into full-color illustrations.
Who is Denise van Leeuwen?
My name is Denise van Leeuwen, I’m 30 years old and a passionate illustrator. I can truly say that I love my job. I live and work in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. I share my home with my great love Teus (35) and my even greater love, my son Gijs (1) and two cats (6). Besides illustrating I sometimes take on some graphic designing jobs. I like designing websites, I did my own and a few others.
How did you end up deciding to do illustration?
I always knew my life would involve a lot of drawing. I figured the best way to earn a living while doing that was by becoming an illustrator. When I was little I wanted to be a comic artist or work for Walt Disney. I was fascinated by the way the creatures were animated; sheet by sheet.
What (technical) gear do you use?
There is a special type of recycled paper, that is very smooth and yellowish with little impurities that worked very well for me. It has been taken out of production. Now I use plain white sketchpaper and add some dirt in the computer with a scan of the old paper. I use Copic Multi Liners and Conté graphite pencils to draw, various hardnesses, and sometimes colored pencils that I bought at Hema. With my MacBook Pro, my Wacom Graphire4 Classic and Photoshop CS4 Extended, I turn the black and white drawings into full-color illustrations.
What does Kuvva mean to you? (Wat vind je van Kuvva? Wat zie jij er in? etc.)
It’s awesome for people like me who are given an enormous platform to showcase their art. Immediatly after my work was featured I got an e-mail from Guadalajara, Mexico. Guillermo wanted to tell me “I was just finishing a design after a hard day, your wallpaper makes me laugh and feel happy finishing the day, thank you!”. It made my day too!
What was the focal point of/thought behind the set that you made for us?
Well, not every illustration I make is suitable as a wallpaper. I must say that I was quite puzzled to come up with these seven designs. The landscape view is uncommon and most of the illustrations belong to a story, in a magazine or a book… I wanted these to be autonomous, happy, fashionable and to reflect my work.
Almost all your work seem very joyful. Is that just your way of working or is it a reflection of your own personality?
Hm, I think I’m that particular woman that always sees the bright side of life. Most of the time I can shake off negativity easily. But it’s also the demand of my clients to bring joy and happiness into their magazines, even when the theme of the article might be troublesome. In a way I was shaped that way in the first few months of working for womens magazines. Edgy was out, lovely was in.
Do you do other things besides illustration?
I don’t see myself as a graphic designer (yet), but I did some work for a foundation lately, after which my graphic designing sister told me I should expand my skills. Maybe. For now I can only deliver photoshop PDF’s. Not something printers are delighted to receive.
And I can bake a nice cake. You know, with the marzipan figures and all.
What is your inspiration walhalla?
Not a very exciting one, but I Google a lot. A neverending source of images on every topic comes in very handy. I search for beautiful people like Natalie Portman who gives me inspiration for facial expressions or poses.
I keep track of drawn.ca, behance.net, screenfunk.com. There is dafont.com for typography, but also a 60’s ads book that is full of post-it’s till 2004. Every now and then when I get really stuck, I flip the pages of my Illusive books, by Gestalten.
What are 7 of your favorite songs that you can’t seem to live without?
All I need – Air
Skinny Love – Bon Iver
The Great Escape – Patrick Watson
Merge – Lamb
Infinity – The xx
Ghostwriter – RJD2
Everything In Its Right Place - Radiohead
Got any essential tips for beginning illustrators out there?
Try to find your own unique style and get it out there. Illustrators are usually not the most outgoing people is my experience, but you have to get past that and make your work visible. Also a good agent can help you to become more businesslike, get a fair price for your work and a good contract.
Do you got any running or upcoming projects that you want to tell us about?
Now and then I show up in Lof and ELLE, and every week in Folia. All dutch magazines. I’m talking with a publisher of children’s books, so who knows, there might be another one of
my hand someday.
It’s awesome for people like me who are given an enormous platform to showcase their art. Immediatly after my work was featured I got an e-mail from Guadalajara, Mexico. Guillermo wanted to tell me “I was just finishing a design after a hard day, your wallpaper makes me laugh and feel happy finishing the day, thank you!”. It made my day too!
What was the focal point of/thought behind the set that you made for us?
Well, not every illustration I make is suitable as a wallpaper. I must say that I was quite puzzled to come up with these seven designs. The landscape view is uncommon and most of the illustrations belong to a story, in a magazine or a book… I wanted these to be autonomous, happy, fashionable and to reflect my work.
Almost all your work seem very joyful. Is that just your way of working or is it a reflection of your own personality?
Hm, I think I’m that particular woman that always sees the bright side of life. Most of the time I can shake off negativity easily. But it’s also the demand of my clients to bring joy and happiness into their magazines, even when the theme of the article might be troublesome. In a way I was shaped that way in the first few months of working for womens magazines. Edgy was out, lovely was in.
Do you do other things besides illustration?
I don’t see myself as a graphic designer (yet), but I did some work for a foundation lately, after which my graphic designing sister told me I should expand my skills. Maybe. For now I can only deliver photoshop PDF’s. Not something printers are delighted to receive.
And I can bake a nice cake. You know, with the marzipan figures and all.
What is your inspiration walhalla?
Not a very exciting one, but I Google a lot. A neverending source of images on every topic comes in very handy. I search for beautiful people like Natalie Portman who gives me inspiration for facial expressions or poses.
I keep track of drawn.ca, behance.net, screenfunk.com. There is dafont.com for typography, but also a 60’s ads book that is full of post-it’s till 2004. Every now and then when I get really stuck, I flip the pages of my Illusive books, by Gestalten.
What are 7 of your favorite songs that you can’t seem to live without?
All I need – Air
Skinny Love – Bon Iver
The Great Escape – Patrick Watson
Merge – Lamb
Infinity – The xx
Ghostwriter – RJD2
Everything In Its Right Place - Radiohead
Got any essential tips for beginning illustrators out there?
Try to find your own unique style and get it out there. Illustrators are usually not the most outgoing people is my experience, but you have to get past that and make your work visible. Also a good agent can help you to become more businesslike, get a fair price for your work and a good contract.
Do you got any running or upcoming projects that you want to tell us about?
Now and then I show up in Lof and ELLE, and every week in Folia. All dutch magazines. I’m talking with a publisher of children’s books, so who knows, there might be another one of
my hand someday.
