ok, i’ve decided to start officially using instagram! for a combination of personal life and artwork purposes. feel free to add me @loisvb :)
artblog of lois van baarle | www.loish.net
a short interview i did with the official dutch tumblr blog, which might be interesting for you dutchies (or flemish) out there!
Tumblr-gebruiker in de spotlight: Lois van Baarle
Vertel eens wat meer over jezelf - wie ben je en wat doe je zoal?
Ik ben Lois, en ik beschrijf mezelf als illustrator/animator. Ik ben in verschillende landen opgegroeid (Amerika, Indonesië, Frankrijk en België), maar ben toch weer teruggekeerd naar mijn “home country” om Animatie aan de Hogeschool voor de Kunsten in Utrecht (HKU) te studeren en een carrière te beginnen als freelancer.
Hoe is het je op professioneel vlak vergaan na je afstuderen? Vond je het lastig om als freelancer werk te vinden in jouw veld of viel dat eigenlijk wel mee?Eigenlijk vond ik het wel meevallen. Dankzij het internet kun je snel in contact komen met klanten uit alle hoeken van de wereld. Als je werk op internet goed bekeken wordt, krijg je al snel verzoeken (waarvan niet alle interessant zijn, maar tot nu toe ook wel veel leuke!). Ook merkte ik dat het heel handig was om zowel met illustratie als met animatie bezig te zijn, waardoor ik veel verschillende soorten opdrachten kan doen. Tot nu toe gaat het in ieder geval best wel goed!
In hoeverre spelen de sociale media en een online aanwezigheid in het algemeen een rol in jouw werk?Een online aanwezigheid hebben is voor mij heel erg belangrijk. Ik heb over de jaren heen een fanbase opgebouwd die ontzettend handig bleek te zijn toen ik klaar was met school. Mijn werk wordt daardoor veel verspreid, gedeeld en bekeken op internet, wat er weer voor zorgt dat potentiële klanten mijn werk zien en sneller contact met me opnemen. Het is dus een bron van inkomen voor mij en ik ben er dus veel mee bezig. Ik heb geleerd dat als je een actieve fanbase op wil bouwen, je verder moet kijken dan alleen een website met je portfolio. Mensen willen op de hoogte gehouden worden en ook een beetje achter de schermen kunnen kijken. Daarvoor is mijn blog heel erg belangrijk: daar kan je zien waar ik mee bezig ben, en post ik ook regelmatig schetsen en WIPs (work-in-progress). Dit vond ik sowieso altijd leuk om te doen, maar nu is het ook een belangrijk onderdeel van mijn carrière geworden.
Dit is een vraag die je ongetwijfeld vaak zult krijgen, maar ik stel ‘em toch: Hoe ga je als professional om met die gevreesde art block? Ik kan me voorstellen dat je niet 365 dagen per jaar even geïnspireerd bent?Zeker niet! Voor mij helpt het dat tekenen een essentieel onderdeel is van mijn werk. Het is niet alleen maar een hobby of iets wat ik even voor de lol doe. Dus of ik het nou leuk vind of niet, ik moet wel aan de slag. Vaak is art block een soort drempel waar je overheen moet en als je even doorbijt, komt de inspiratie weer terug. Vaak denk je ook dat je werk waardeloos is en vraag je je af waarom je het doet. Maar als je een maand later terugkijkt naar wat je gemaakt hebt, zie je dat het best wel meeviel. Voor mij werkt het dus om gewoon te blijven tekenen, zelfs al zijn het ‘stick figures’ of iets simpels.
Je hebt in 2009 met het Trichrome-project de HKU-Award gewonnen (deze wordt uitgereikt aan de meest vernieuwende en ondernemende afstudeerder van de HKU, red). Zou je ons wat meer over dat concept kunnen vertellen?Het Trichrome Project is een concept voor 3 korte animatiefilms. Trichrome is een fictief bedrijf dat ik heb bedacht, en dat geen producten verkoopt, maar 3 verschillende emoties. Elke animatiefilm gaat over een karakter die één van de emoties ervaart en in een kleurrijke wereld terechtkomt - een soort droom. Tot nu toe bestaat alleen de eerste, Trichrome Blue, die ik als afstudeerproject destijds heb afgerond. Op dit moment ben ik bezig met het afronden van de storyboards en wil ik zo snel mogelijk Trichrome Red en Trichrome Yellow animeren. Keep an eye out! :)
Zijn er hier op Tumblr nog blogs die je ons kunt aanraden?rennerei.tumblr.com - de super inspirerende artblog van Maren Marmulla. Goeie schetsen en WIPs.
loldutchpeople.nl - blijft grappig.
marleenhoorn.tumblr.com - blog van een vriendin van mij, Marleen Wellen (a.k.a Menah), die prachtig werk maakt.
Bedankt Lois!
update on the art theft! the publisher, Puerto de Escape, has apologized (both publicly and personally). i woke up this morning to find a statement on their website that they will remove the covers from circulation, which i am pleased with! i am still undecided on what to do by way of legal action, but i’m happy that the publisher has responded! thanks everyone for all your help (almost 17,000 notes!! you guys are INCREDIBLE). it’s thanks to you that i was taken seriously.
the latest in the lois-gets-her-art-stolen chronicles: a chilean publisher has decided to take this artwork, drag it through photoshop hell, and use it as a cover for this book, obviously without permission or compensation of any kind. not only is it copyright infringement but making book covers this ugly should be outlawed too.
anyways, i went through this before when i found my art printed on sweaters in south korea. i talked to a few different lawyers at the time, who told me that i needed a lawyer in the actual country that the theft was taking place.
The thief is Puerto de Escape in Chile (a publisher) and i intend to go after them. however, i need someone who is familiar with chilean law and ideally could hook me up with a lawyer in chile to help me out and give advice. i could also use advice from anyone familiar with these situations and how they can be resolved. if you guys could spread the word and e-mail me at loishh@gmail.com with any information, that would help me SO much! thanks a ton for reading!!
Here’s what I worked on for most of October/November - animation sequences for Bearkatt Productions, who made a Channel 4 (U.K) documentary about Tanya Kach’s life (warning: the documentary deals with very shocking subject matter). 14-year-old Tanya Kach was held captive by an older man, phsyically as well as emotionally, for 10 years of her life - a truly heartbreaking story. The animations were intended to illustrate her emotions when she met her captor at a young age. She rationalized the situation by believing that she was in love and had found someone to take care of her for the rest of her life, something she longed for as a result of not feeling loved or wanted anywhere else. Of course, this was far from the truth.
The animation sequences are basically romantic fairy tale scenes with a ‘dark’ edge, showing a princess falling in love with her prince. They were edited into the interviews that were conducted with Tanya. What you see above is some artwork which was integrated into the final sequences, to which my awesome boyfriend Arjen Klaverstijn contributed animation and effects. For more artwork, storyboards and concept art from this project, check out my website.
starting today: loish prints and merchandise on society6! first time selling prints outside of DeviantArt…
the 2013 calendar featuring my artwork is online! buy it now through deviantart, and you basically get a bunch of close-up prints of most of the artwork I’ve made in the last year (but then in the form of a calendar).
short update on last week
Hey everyone! Just wanted to post an update to let people know what I’ve been up to. If you’ve been following my twitter or facebook account you might have heard that I did a small exhibition at TedxUtrecht last thursday (November 8).
I don’t do a lot of exhibitions and I felt this one was a success! I got some big canvas prints made (for the dutchies out there, I definitely recommend A.I.S art for their great quality and service) and the event itself was awesome. So many people came, the speakers were great (unfortunately I had to watch many of them through a livestream from a few kilometers away in my office, since I had to work as well!) and #TedxUtrecht was number four twitter trending topic in the entire Netherlands on that day, so I think my work got a fair amount of exposure!
The next day I went to KLIK! Amsterdam Animation Festival to be interviewed during two programs: “Animation + Comic = Motion Comic? - A look into The Art of Pho” and “3 Steps to Becoming an Online Sensation.” I arrived early to attend a program by Wouter Tulp and Patrick Schoenmaker about creating concept art, which was mindblowing. They are incredibly talented and also so kind and friendly! You have to check their work out if you haven’t heard of them yet. SERIOUSLY!
It was pretty surreal to be interviewed about being an online sensation, as this is something I would NEVER call myself! Many of the questions revolved around dealing with lots of messages and fans who expect things from you, as well as tips on how to build an internet fanbase. For those who are curious, my answers mainly consisted of “share everything you make with the internet!” and “put lots of effort and care into your art and web designs” and “love your fans and thank them when you can” and “JOIN TUMBLR!”
Here’s a shot of me during that program from one of the front rows, sitting next to fellow ‘internet sensation’ Gijs van Kooten and being interviewed by Ernst-Jan Pfauth.
For anyone in the animation world, KLIK! is a festival worth going to. They host it in an incredibly beautiful building smack in the center of Amsterdam and the general vibe and spirit of the festival is really inspiring and fun. Try to come next year!
Next to these things I’ve been working on an animation with the deadline approaching tomorrow, so it’s been really exciting but overwhelming too. Once this deadline passes I’ll get more time to relax and draw loish-y things and basically spam Tumblr with drawings. Can’t wait!!
check out my website for a showcase of Leonardo artwork, including sketches, concept art and progress pics.
Hello ~21,000 tumblr followers! I’m uploading this to grab everyone’s attention about messages! I’m signed up to a number of social network sites (deviantart, facebook, twitter, vimeo, linkedin, behance), which I try my best to keep up with but it isn’t always easy!
Lately i’ve noticed that I’ve been getting more and more private messages on all these different websites. Some of these messages contain important questions, information about my art being stolen, or even job offers. The problem is, I just can’t keep up with my private messages on all these sites. I usually end up reading them way too late or never get around to checking them.
So my reason for uploading this is: PLEASE, if you have any important questions or basically any kind of message that requires a quick answer, send it to my e-mail (info@loish.net)! If you send me a tumblr PM, deviantart note, private message on facebook, or anything else besides an e-mail, I just can’t guarantee a reply within a reasonable time frame.
Thanks for reading!
So my reason for uploading this is: PLEASE, if you have any important questions or basically any kind of message that requires a quick answer, send it to my e-mail (info@loish.net)! If you send me a tumblr PM, deviantart note, private message on facebook, or anything else besides an e-mail, I just can’t guarantee a reply within a reasonable time frame.
Thanks for reading!
Finally, I get to share this project with you guys! I’ve been making comic sequences for CBBC’s Leonardo: the game since May and just finished last month. This is the promo image I made for it.
Leonardo is a Children’s BBC television show, aired in the U.K, about the adventures of a teenage Leonardo da Vinci (warning: in no way historically accurate). The second season of the show is being released around now, together with an online game for kids on the CBBC website. It’s a mix of a race game with storytelling sequences throughout, which is what I contributed. You can play it here.
Credits go to:
- Plug-in Media, who made and directed the game. It was so much fun to work with them!
- Kindle Entertainment, who produced the TV Show and also worked on the game.
More artwork to follow, since I drew a good 60 or so comic pages and have a lot to show, but for now if you want to see the other artwork you gotta play the game!
new workspace with cintiq
the cintiq has arrived! i chose a 24HD since the price difference with the 21UX was not that great, yet the quality of the product is said to be much better. it’s gigantic! the package weighed 34 kg. thank god the delivery man was willing to help me drag it up the stairs otherwise i still wouldn’t have it set up by now :]
One downside is that the brightness and contrast of the screen is not as good as my dell screen. it’ll take some getting used to, but is of course worth it! above is a preview of a commission i hope to post soon. and since i was taking pictures of my workspace, i figured i’d show you guys some more:
old art and layouts
i’ve been getting a lot of requests from people to see my old artwork lately, so i uploaded a ton of it into my picasa account. you’ll find old traditional work (pencils, markers etc), old cgs (photoshop, painter, opencanvas), old layout screencaps and old oekakis there. some of it is embarassingly bad but whatever - i put a ton of work into it so why not put it online? enjoy, i hope!
thanks to the lovely allie jane, i am now aware of the fact that Chunji, a kpop idol from the group Teen Top, has been prancing around with a very peculiar sweater on. it’s got my art on it! undoubtedly a result of the recent art theft that took place in which my artwork was printed on a bunch of sweaters (for more info, click here).
even though it’s just WRONG, this video of the group performing did put a smile on my face. i’ve never seen my art on a dancing kpop group before!
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