Interview with TJVerhagen

Time to get to know a bit more about TJVerhagen. You've seen the work, let's hear a little something about the person.

Give us a short introduction about you.
My name is TJ Verhagen, TJ being short for Thijs Johannes (ssht, don't tell anyone).
I was born march the 15th, 1980 and have been drawing for as long as I can remember

Where did you grow up? Tell us a little story about the young you.
I grew up in Amstelveen, located just below amsterdam which, of course, is the capitol of The Netherlands (for all you topographical challenged folks ) I grew up with an insatiable urge to draw...
following in my father's footsteps I joined the Grafisch Lyceum (Graphic school) in Amsterdam to study.. what else.. graphic design. However, there I realised I was more into the digital aspect and multimedia part of the whole deal and so changed my direction.

What aspect of yourself really stands out? Any peculiar habits or odd fascinations?
Umm.. from reactions of the people around me I'm somewhat of an odd guy from time to time.
My worst habit probably is to totally lock out everyone when I'm focussing on a project. I guess thats because I used to get so easily distracted that I could hardly get any work done at all.

What is that common every day thing that can really make your day?
Heh... god thats a tough one...
To be honest it takes just something small to light up my day.. like a bit of good weather or a great piece of art I see on GFXartist.com

Visual artists and music is like cookies and milk, does music do anything for you?
Music is what drives me in my artwork. I listen a wide variety of music, from rock to classic and from pop to electronic.
Good music and good art are driven by emotion. If I need to draw something dark I put up some dark inspiring music and if I need to draw something happy I put on the happy stuff.

So yeah.. music does it for me

Which artists really influence you?
Ouhf.. okay here we go.
My influences vary from the old masters like Rembrandt and Van Gogh to great comic artists like J Scott Campbell and Joe Mad!(Madureira). Also great artists, as  Anry and  vacher for example which you can find here on GFXArtist.com have great influences on me in form of style, mood or just their sheer power of imagination.

There are a lot more which I draw inspiration from and which I admire... and their numbers are growing every day.

How would you describe your style?
Comic-ish and playfull. Both serious and funny. *shrugs*

Is there something specific that sparked your creative side?
Comics. I've always wanted to start my own comic.. and I'm working on one right now with a buddy of mine. Perhaps you'll read it some time.. who knows?

What's your opinion about traditional media? Is it an advantage to have experience with real pencils, paint or conventional camera?
I still use traditional... I sketch on paper and then scan it in to go digital in Photoshop or anything.
I definatly think one should have experience in working with traditional media to get his/her digital skills to greater heights.

Do you strive to be as versatile as possible or do you stick to one thing?
Im trying many diffrent things, to learn from. I think its important to broaden ones horizons and increase your range of MadSkillz.

Is there a certain ritual that takes place before you start working on something?
Ritual? Well first I sacrefice a.. oh wait. forget that.
Actually I just start right away.

How do you work? Describe the process you go through.
I make a fast, thumbnail like sketch on paper which I translate to a more detailed sketch or line drawing. Then I scan it in and start to work on it in photoshop, and illustrator if needed.

What equipment do you use to create your work?
Pencil + paper, Photoshop + Wacom Intuos2 A4.

Wich programs do you use and what do you use them for?
Photoshop for coloring and "painting". Illustrator sometimes for inking artwork.

How do you work on improving yourself? Any secrets you'd like to share?
Practice. Its no secret that with practice comes experience. Draw what you see, look at what is around you.

Do you work in the creative industry? Describe your job or the work you do.
I work as a Web graphic designer at TomTom in amsterdam where its my job to come up with cool new ideas for web and graphics.

What makes your job so much fun?
Creative freedom.. well, most of the time anyway. I love making pictures that (might) make people go: "OOooooh"

Describe your dream job. Where would you love to let loose your creativity?
Oh.. thats actually a tough one for me. On one hand I'd love to do concept design for computergames, on the other I'd love to make comics for a living.. then again I'd like to make 3D animations that would blow you away.

Hey, I can dream can't I?

Any final words for the readers?
Final words? Yes I do.
Keep your eyes open for my/our webcomic Vyswyk. We're working on the episodes right now so it shouldnt be too long before we have something to share.