Line = duckThe Japanese are especially good at it: they draw a single curved line, and you immediately see the duckiest duck or the cattiest cat you can imagine. There’s no doubt: that grey, somewhat woolly line IS a duck (or a cat). There’s a story about this. A man wants a drawing of a duck. […]

Indescribably difficult simplePictures are effective. You don’t have to believe me, I will prove it.Attach brace to shelfStep 8.There are three kinds of cross-headed screws. Two of these are very much alike (their thread runs along their entire length, the other one has a smooth surface half way, but anyway: you’ve used that one in […]

In the beginningIn the beginning was the word. But that doesn’t make sense at all. In the beginning there mainly were very hungry hominids, who could eat a bison. Luckily they didn’t just know what bison tasted like, but also what it looked like and how fast it could run. And especially how angry it […]

Just a cartoon this monthThe flu got me for a week. I have an article ready but illustrating it this month is not an option as it is the last day of May. But I give you a random cartoon to snigger at. Do you ever feel out of your depth like that? I do. I […]

Inside out(Almost) everybody agrees: beauty is what’s on the inside. That’s bad news for a character designer. I have to make do with the outside. But how do I show whether somebody* is wise, mischievous or sympathetic? *   This character can be anything: a human being, an animal, a plant or an alien. It even may be an […]

​What experiences will stay with you forever? What images are still vivid in your mind? What films and books are still part of your repertoire? Exactly: the experiences, images, films and books that touched you. That triggered emotions in your soul.Laughing or crying It’s a fact long known that learning with the help of emotions has […]