INTRO
There are those who have ideas, and those who bring them to life. Among them are illustrators.
A world of its own, which intersects with advertising to create original campaigns—sometimes award-winning in tailor-made categories. Illustration as a means of advertising expression raises questions for advertisers. It is neither the free drawing of children nor the paintings we admire in museums. It is applied art, so vast that it overflows into other boxes. Some illustrators will tell you they are graphic designers, artists in the broad sense, or simply drafts people. It is a universe that advertising has fully embraced, and yet one that can sometimes feel completely foreign to it. There are masters, movements, and many trade shows.
Our role as art directors is often to guide the illustrator, but also to filter client requests. To protect the artist, and to know how to respect each individual creative process.
But what do they think?
Jenna Haugmard is an art director. Within her agency, she has worked with dozens of illustrators. She regularly shares her favorites on the Instagram account @he_lo_ilu. She is also an illustrator, and has served as an illustration juror for the Club des DA and D&AD. In short, she is in a strong position to go and meet these creatives.
Hi Wiebke, Could you draw yourself ?
Where are you from ?
I was born in Düsseldorf (Germany) but I am living in Berlin since 2011.
How did your professional journey begin and evolve over time?
Since I was little my passion was drawing- I really wanted to be a children’s book illustrator since I started school.
Every teacher told me I should pick another path. They said you can’t pay your rent from drawing… but anyway,
I went on drawing and began to study Communication Design in Düsseldorf. Before getting my diploma there, I had to make an internship.
It was the animation studio HahnFilm AG in Berlin, where I really learned so much about drawing, and especially about character design.
I have had the chance to work with really talented artists and get to know the animation scene.
Which illustrators, books or visual worlds influenced you growing up?
I didn’t have a favorite book or comic as I was a child. My mum always tells me that I picked always the extremely weird looking children’s books from the library ;D But in animation movies, I always admired Disney movies (of course) especially „the lion king“. I grew up with a lot of „Janosch“ (the animated series) and „Augsburger Puppenkiste“ (marionettes series from Augsburg, Germany).
Did you ever hesitate before working for advertising ?
No. I think a good advertising can give you a laugh or a good time.
Is “Le mal aimé” your first commercial project?
Yes, its my first commercial 😉
Which projects are you particularly proud of so far?
Well of course I am really proud to be part of « Le mal aimé! »
And I am also proud to be part of the video on „The Meeps with Love louder“.
I have had the chance to do some character design there aswell.
And there is a german children’s book series thats very popular here, its called „Furzipups“ written by the talented Kai Lüftner and illustrated by me (published by Coppenrath). We are already working on the sevens book here…
https://weakshop.de/collections/furzipups-spielzeug-kopie
What tools do you rely on most in your daily work?
I am working mostly digital (its just faster working in Photoshop on my Wacom Cintiq) but whenever I work on paper, I use my colored pencils.
What makes a great illustration brief, and what tends to be most challenging for you as an illustrator?
I think the ideal brief would be if the client really knows what he/she is looking for and being honest in the feedback is really important to me.
The worst thing is truly to work in different directions and the client doesn’t even know what he/she is looking for. So this could get endless…
Which illustrators do you personally admire today?
Oh there are a lot! I love the work of: Torsten Schrank, Max Fiedler, Uli Meyer, Nikolas Ilic, Tony Sandoval, Guillaume Fesquet, Juliaon Roels and Marc Boutavant… and there are a lot I surely forgot 😉
Finally, what advice would you give to fellow illustrators to keep enjoying their work?
Go and put some music and that make you fell really good. I am sure the good vibes will transfer into your work 😉
https://www.instagram.com/wiebkerauers
Thanks!
BONUS :
JULIEN BON & VICTOR CHEVALIER
The creative team behind the famous christmas commercial for Intermarché
Why did you choose to tell this story using a hand-drawn illustration style
The idea came from the story itself: this child imagines the wolf in his mind. And the representations of a wolf that a child of that age is exposed to are mainly found in children’s fairy tales (or as a stuffed toy, but that was less appealing visually).
We also wanted a unique, recognizable style for the brand. A hyper-realistic 3D approach diluted the fairy-tale aspect; it felt too ‘Pixar-like,’ not distinctive enough, and we wanted it to remain accessible to a broad audience.
It took a month and a half of R&D (yes, really) by Illogic (WIZZ) to find the right visual rendering, especially considering that it had to work alongside food shots that needed to be mouth-watering.
Which Christmas tale is your favorite ?
And which animated film do you consider the best of all time?
Julien : Best Christmas ad :
John Lewis – Publicité Noël 2014 – Monty le Pingouin
Best Animated movie : La Trilogie Dragons
Victor : Best Christmas ad : Spare the Act
Victor : Best Animated movie : Shrek
Merci !