About the Materials I Use
Over the years, I have experimented with many materials to see what works best. I now have a few favourites that I enjoy working with the most, which are described below.
Watercolor paint
I love the layering process with watercolour and how the water interacts with the colours. Watercolour always creates a surprising effect, and it never turns out exactly as you imagined. I usually use Van Gogh watercolour paints.
Oil paint
When creating an oil painting, I use Georgian water-soluble oils. These have less odour than traditional oil paints, and there’s no need to work with turpentine. The paint spreads beautifully on the canvas.
Gouache
The advantage of gouache is that the colours are generally brighter than those of watercolour. So, if you want an illustration with vibrant colours, gouache can be a great option. With gouache, you typically work from dark to light, although I often use it in the same way as watercolour. I work with gouache created by Miya Arts.
Acrylic paint
When I started painting, I mainly worked with acrylic paint. The advantage of acrylic is that you can work quickly because it dries fast, unlike oil paint. The downside is that you *have* to work quickly, as the paint dries so fast. These days, I primarily use acrylic paint to add highlights to my watercolour and gouache illustrations.
Color pencils
For a long time, I worked almost exclusively with coloured pencils. My go-to coloured pencils are Prismacolor pencils. The coverage of these colours is beautiful, and they can be blended to some extent on the paper, especially when using a blender (a colourless pencil).
Digital programs
I used to work with Photoshop until I discovered Procreate. It’s an accessible, user-friendly program that makes it easy to create stunning effects. It has many of the same features as Photoshop, and the interface is very intuitive. For my 3D prints, I use Nomad Sculpt. I use both programs on my iPad Pro.
Brushes
When it comes to brushes, I’m not loyal to a specific brand. However, I must say that the brushes from Trekell Art Supplies and Gerstaecker’s own brand work very well for me.
3D resin
For the resin used in my 3D prints, I use liquid, water-washable resin from E-sun. I like that cleaning the prints only requires water, with no need for additional chemicals.
Do you have questions about my process?
Feel free to contact me via the contact form or take a look at my Instagram account. I often post reels about my work processes there.
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