Today is an amazing visual treat! I’m interviewing Libby VanderPloeg, a Brooklyn based illustrator whose work I can best describe as, “things that make me REALLY happy.” I first learned about her work when she illustrated some of the maps for the 24 Hours In series on Design*Sponge. Libby mixes illustrating, hand lettering, the most AWESOME cut paper illustrations, and animations to round out an interesting portfolio that you can’t help but smile at.
Tell me how you got started in your professional illustration career. Did you go to art school? How long have you been a professional illustrator?
I’ve always taken my time figuring things out, and it was no different coming to the conclusion that I wanted to be an illustrator. I went to community college in Michigan after high school, and then moved to Chicago and took some time off from school to figure out what I really wanted to do with my life. I painted a lot, worked at an art supply store, even made some music, and eventually started working as a graphic designer. Eventually I felt I’d gotten as far as I could without a degree, so I went back to school and got my BFA at University of Illinois at Chicago for art, which was a really pivotal time for me. I studied video and animation with Jennifer Reeder, Drawing with Julia Fish, Painting and Creative Writing with Susan Sensemann, and Sculpture with Dan Peterman. All of these brilliant people made me a more thoughtful human being and artist. Looking back, I sometimes wonder why I didn’t major in illustration since it would have cut a clearer path for me, but I think studying art in general gave me more room to explore the range of communication possibilities. Long story short, after graduation I moved to New York and did a semester of grad school for art, hated it, and returned to working in graphic design at various places. All the while I continued to draw and paint, and slowly work more of my own art and illustration into my design projects. Eight years later and now I’m doing mostly illustration, with a bit of design work here and there.
You have a distinct style, and I love your animations! Can you describe what it was like for you to develop your illustration skills to the point where you felt like you had your own style?
There are so many tools that I enjoy working with as an artist, so I don’t think I easily landed on something that felt all my own stylistically. I learned how to make vector art pretty early on, so I used to make everything really cleanly and crisply on the computer, but the more design work I found myself doing the less I wanted to work on the computer. Eventually I started working more with ink and paint, like I had done as a student, because I liked the surprising results it yielded. Of course, I’d usually end up scanning and editing these hand-drawn works for hours, endlessly playing around with color possibilities. I’ve come to accept that I have a tendency to belabor things. I want to try things ten ways before I decide how I like them best. But regardless of the path I take, I tend to like my results to be clean, colorful, and organized.
What are the first steps that you take when you get a new illustration assignment? How do you get started?
First, I do a little dance, and then I sharpen my pencils and start sketching on paper. I like to work through ideas in pencil first because it’s a lot easier to work out ideas this way. If it doesn’t work as a scribble on a sheet of scratch paper, then it probably won’t work after 10 hours at the computer. I love and hate the computer. Mostly I respect the computer (because I fear the computer). But back to the question, after I figure out something on paper and get a color palette in my head, I typically scan it into the computer and start building the composition digitally. Big shout out to Adobe! I love Illustrator.
What is the best advice you have for new illustrators who are looking for work?
We all want to be working and getting great projects, but generally there will be down time and slow periods. When I’ve felt that way, instead of sitting by my inbox waiting for awesome projects to pour in I turned this into an opportunity to make my own weird and exploratory projects. That’s how I started doing Greenpointers Recipes Gone Wild Series, a column consisting of my friends’ and neighbors’ recipes which I wrote and illustrated for my neighborhood blog, greenpointers. By making time for your own projects, you’ll hone in on the type of work you want to do, find your voice, and bolster your portfolio with the kind of work you really want to make.
What are you working on now?
My winter and spring are consumed with books, which makes me really happy, having come from a very book-centric background (my mom and brother are both librarians). I’m illustrating a book about the history and contemporary usage of essential oils, a practical reference book about baking, a modern book about manners, and a fun, fashion-y book about the many fantastic ways to tie a scarf. And then there are the fun magazine and newspaper illustrations that throw a playful wrench into the schedule now and then. It’s all good. I love my job and feel pretty damned lucky to be able to make work that gets people to crack a smile.
Sigh…what a great way to start the week, right?! Thank you so much for sharing your work and story here today, Libby! It’s so inspiring. You can catch up on the rest of the Illustrator Interviews series right here.
Have a great day, friends! xo
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