Yvan Duque
ART . January 30th, 2016
Interview with the illustrator, Yvan Duque from Nantes, France.
Yvan is one of the 5 illustrators of the really nice association L’Encre Blanche.
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Hey Yvan, who are you?
I am an illustrator and background designer. I currently live in Quimper in France.
What do your days look like?
I get up early and I reply to messages, then I prepare the work of the afternoon. I do not paint in the morning usually.
I work at home and I try to do office hours, but sometimes I’m so busy my day’s really look’s to nothing.
Can you tell us more about the steps of your creative process? Let’s say for this image below for example.
I start with a really kick and small sketch, and I start painting with gouache, I begin by placing dark masses then I add details and light trying to keep the colorful mood I was thinking on.
I read that you grew up between Tahiti and La Réunion. First, how’s it possible to have a childhood between 2 islands so distant from each other? :) and then, obviously, do you feel the direct influence of these places on your work now?
I have not lived in the two places at the same time, but I take the plane a lot of time :)
Yes growing with the ocean is one of the most important things in my life, I think it is not a coincidence if I draw so many islands.
How did you become an illustrator?
I would preferred to be a professional surfer but I am not good enough.
There’s a clear evolution in the works displayed on your tumblr. The spirit and the shapes are the same but the style of the characters and the way your paint is quite different. It seems that you reach a new step. What can you tell us about this?
I try to challenge myself constantly, I always have the feeling to do things too classic or too clean.
Right now I work with completely different medium trying to get out of my comfort zone.
What are these ‘completely different medium’ you’re exploring ?
I try things in digital, but actualy I do a lot of papercut illustrations just for pleasure.
Can you tell us more about the impact of internet on your life ? If this recent and big renown allows you to achieve new and unexpected projects?
Not really, but internet is the best things for sharing projects, for exemple for our crowdfunding campaign in Katarakt, it would have been impossible without social media like facebook, tumblr, behance.It’s not really easy to be active on all of it but we want to make others crowdfundings so we think our projects with the social media.
What are your current projects and plans for the future?
I want to finish a children book I’m working on. I work with the guys of L’Encre Blanche on really exciting project, probably about crowdfunding ;)
Maybe a word about Miyazaki?
One of the three persons who inspire me the most with Lewis Trondheim and Tayiou Matsumoto.
What are you going to do after having answered to this final question?
I’ll go catch a shiny on Pokemon.
Merci Yvan!
