From Saturday till Wednesday it’s mini drawing-week on our blog. With blogs about drawing and being creative. Today: What is it about illustrations that makes us love them so much? Jocelyn de Kwant investigates.
Even though it’s the digital world that has had such a huge influence on the rise of illustration, of course the best part is that the illustrations themselves are handmade. While there are fantastic illustrators who swear by their computer software, more and more illustrators are returning to watercolors and inks, or starting to use them for the first time. Other popular techniques are oil paints, etchings and silk-screening. “There was a kind of digital era for a while, and this probably is like a countermovement now,” says Dutch illustrator Sanny van Loon.
“The software is great, you know, because Photoshop and Illustrator enable quick editing of your images. But I find the result a bit impersonal. I only work with ink and watercolors. It takes longer, but it feels like the end product has more love in it. It has some imperfections, but people like that. Even if it’s a print: It feels like you have something exclusive, something made especially for you.”
- You can read more about the love for illustration in Issue 20.
Text Jocelyn de Kwant Illustration Sanny van Loon
