How it started,
I was born in Bergen op Zoom (not far from Belgium) but later on I moved to Leidschendam a Village near The Hague. As a kid I always had a sketchbook under my arm and a pencil behind my ear. I drove my teachers and father crazy because I drew all over my books. When I saw a white piece of paper I just HAD to draw on it.

After that,
The drawing of cartoons was the love of my life. I won several national and international prizes and worked for advertising companies and other firms. I could not support a family with it so I also had to do other work . At one time I got the chance to go and work in a design studio. Working there was great fun but more importantly I learned a lot from all the creative people surrounding me

And now,
II am working as a freelance illustrator and designer, a very conscious choice. Working freelance has it's pro's and cons but I love doing it. If the sun shines I sometimes choose to go and walk the dog or ride my bike, then I work a bit later that evening. But it sometime also means working deep into the night to get the work done, it is all part of the job. Graphic and environmental designing (3D) are still very important but over the last few years I have been doing more illustration work. Fine by me, I still love drawing as much as ever.

I live in Boskoop in a old, cosy house that is tipping over a bit. It is  also here that I have my studio. Boskoop lies in a area that is called the Green Hart (near Gouda, where the cheese comes from). The small village has a lot of export-nurseries so it is very green. See on Google Maps to see how much water there is and how many ditches there are >>>>>. Cool huh?

Ilustrating,
Every illustration starts with a sketch; sometimes one, sometime over ten. After that I make a line drawing out of it and start colouring, a very time absorbing job. I mostly use markers, pencils, chalk and everything else within arms reach. For many, many years I have used computers for my design work, and more recently I have been using them also for illustration jobs, but I still do not mind ink on my fingers. The basic drawing is still on paper.

I sometime notice that people have a some kind of romantic idea about being a illustrator. Well lets end the dreaming right here, it is a job and it also can be very lonely sometimes. So you have to be someone that can deal with that. I do not mind and my other projects keep me in touch with the rest of the world.

I work for several publishers, governmental organisations and all kinds of companies. The commissions are very varied and interesting and I mostly deliver my illustrations digitally.

Disciplines:
Cartoon-illustrations
Children's book illustrations
Graphic Design and Corporate Identitiy
Environmental designing  as exhbits, displays and special projects
Visualisation of buildings and constructions

You can find more information about Designwork at www.vorza.nl