ILLUSTRATION: MIA OVERGAARD
It wasn’t hard for us to fall in love with illustrator Mia Overgaard’s style; beautifully drawn animal portraits in street wear – what is not to like? The freelance Danish artist talks us through her processes…
You have a beautiful style and we LOVED the animal / fashion images – what were the inspiration for these?
I have been doing these dressed animal portraits for a while and the initial idea was to add some character to the animal, without necessarily making it look like a children’s book illustration. The inspiration for these images were the street scene. Street style. People you see in the streets of big cities that have a personal style and express themselves through what they wear. Hipsters you may want to call them. Youth culture and subcultures. I wanted to only use animals that you could actually meet in the city, and was considering rats, cats and birds as well, but ended up with the city pets like the poodle and the pug, as dogs are so common yet already have quite a lot of character to build on. And the ferret I associate with vagabonds and city-outsiders, so would fit in the street theme – also it was just a fun animal to draw.
What is your favourite type of project?
A project that gives me that bubbly feeling in my stomach is my favourite. That’d be whether it is a very tight brief or if I am completely free to do whatever I’d like – I can get that bubbly feeling in both cases.
How did you get started in art and illustration?
Before entering my 5 year fashion design study at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Art, Schools of Architecture, Design and Conservation I spent three years taking art courses at private art schools in and around Copenhagen. So painting and drawing has been a huge outlet for me all through my life. It is not really something that I feel I have decided I wanted to do, it has just always been a way for me to ”be in the world”. Sounds so pretentious that way, but it started out the first time I picked up a pencil when I was just a kid.
I realised that I could make a career out of it when I interned with illustrator and artist Underwerket/Lisa Grue in Copenhagen. Until then I hadn’t had the guts to believe that I could make a living out of creating images. She made me realise that there was a path for me to follow and that I needed to look abroad the boundaries of Denmark.
What tools/materials do you use to create your work?
Graphite is the base of all my work. The way I see it it is the most sincere tool of all. It is really hard to hide behind as it gives everything away. At the same time it is easy to learn to master. I love it for its preciseness and for its primitiveness.
Watercolour and coloured pencils are also on my tool/material list, but always comes second. I use these for coloring the pencil drawings and for adding splashes and backgrounds to the illustrations. I also use the computer in my commercial work. Mostly for colouring and layering effects.
Right now I am working in bigger formats on which I mix different media and also use acrylic paints, crayons and spray cans. Those pieces are much more personal and are made to try out different ideas and to challenge myself. It is good to have an outlet like that, when so much time goes by with doing the commercial work a certain way, because this is more along the lines of the what the client expect or this is ”how you do it”. Then the experiments can happen ”on our own account”.
If there had to be a soundtrack to your art, what would it be?
I don’t have a single soundtrack that I work to. That would be like a nightmare! Actually in the summertime I just like working to the sound of birds chirping outside my window, but mostly I pick different music for different projects. Not all work benefits from being produced to the sound of Leonard Cohen nor Nina Simone. Though these are two classics of mine.
Who are your heroes?
Yoko Ono + Astrid Lindgren. My friends.
What inspires you to keep going and how do you keep yourself motivated?
Just the thought of where this path may lead keeps me motivated. All of the ideas swimming around in my head that need to be realised. The thought of all the hours ahead creating lovely work. To be an inspirational source to others – inspiring others to do great work. On a higher level being able to make a living like this for the rest of my life keeps me motivated. But actually I am mostly driven by the mere urge to sit down, concentrate, zoom out and create. It is almost therapeutical or like meditation to me.
