Illustration for a Magazine

“Taking in refugees.” Rarely do the first sketches of a project remain intact until the drawing has reached its final form. Typically, an illustration undergoes a multitude of small steps that do not necessarily move things forward… The process goes back and forth, and eventually, clarity arrives: “Finished!”. The German Transform magazine aims to dedicate itself to “impulses for societal change towards a good life for all”.

Step 1 – The Intention. How to approach the reactions to the “refugee wave” of 2015 in Germany with both humour and depth?

Step 2 – The Idea. A well-meaning and affluent person with plenty of compassion but little drive to act.

Step 3 – The Text. Realistically inventing and writing down the thoughts of the main character. Several drafts until the words sit right.

Step 4 – The Stage Decor. A living room in the style of an interior design magazine serves as my template. I draw it.

Black and white sketch on a white background. The ink drawing, created with a brush, shows a living room in the style of an interior design magazine.

Step 5 – Character, Decor, and Texts Combined. The thoughts start top-left and develop organically towards the bottom-right in the reading direction, leading to the woman who is thinking them. The handwritten text was too restless.

Drawing with coloured pencil: a woman sits on the sofa in a living room in the style of an interior design magazine. Text in handwriting.

Step 6 – Making the Text Readable for Print. I decide to use a computer font that allows the text to recede into the background, while the living room takes up more space.

Step 7 – Drawing Technique. Decision made: it will be an ink and brush drawing. Back to the style of the original decor sketch.

Step 8 – The Character. It needs to stand out. The simple contrast between two primary colours immediately draws the eye to the main figure.

Step 9 – The Title. So that the title of the illustration fits well into the drawing, it is written by hand – with a coloured pencil.

This blue ink drawing is the finished commissioned artwork. It shows a living room in the style of an interior design magazine where a seated woman, in a red dress, reflects on why she cannot welcome displaced people into her home.

Review – In retrospect, I would have preferred to choose a man as the main character, as statistically, the majority of women worldwide perform “care work”. But humour stops for no one…