The hardest part of developing a story (in my opinion) is creating a storyboard. The early development stage takes a lot of brain work and energy, but it’s also the most rewarding. For me, there are 3 different “techniques” I use in this stage; the storyboard, the dummy and the thumbnail.

As an illustrator I’m writing about the process of making a picture book, from the first sketch and idea to a finished, published book.

I used to feel like the cover is the most important part of a book, it's what the people see first - so it needs to be done first. But I've learned, that when working on a book, the art goes through so much changes during the process. The characters might change, or your technique, or the color palette. Maybe at the end of the process, you need to re-paint the first couple of pages, because they lack what you've learned during the creation process. So maybe do the cover at the end?

The last couple of months I’ve been working on a really exciting project: I collaborated with my favorite sketchbook brand Odd Orange to create a limited edition sketchbook. It still feels a bit like a dream! In this blog post I’m taking you along on the journey, from the first DM to holding this book in my hands.

on taking a break, logging off and keeping a travel sketchbook.

I turned in my phone for late night talks on the terrace, burning my bare feet in the hot sand, evening swims in the sea, sweaty backs, sunburnt cheeks and messy hair.

As many of you probably know, I spent the last five of months on a semester abroad in the lovely city of Edinburgh in Scotland. I was lucky in that my studies allowed me to spend a lot of time exploring the town and drawing - I took my sketchbook everywhere and really tried to capture my time here. I collected all of my drawings, sketches and thoughts and turned some of them into a Zine - 143 Days in Edinburgh.

I think all of us know this feeling: you want to draw something, you sit at your desk, sketchbook in front of you, art supplies laid out neatly, you look at the blank page - and then your head is empty. Either you’re lucky and an idea strikes, or, more often than not, you start scrolling though instagram, pinterest, getting distracted, maybe you even put on a Netflix show and forget about the drawing you originally wanted to do. I hope to help you a bit through these moments - this blog post is here for whenever you need some ideas on how to fill your sketchbook.