Student Spotlight- Katrin Wiehle

Time to shine the insanely bright Illustration Student Spotlight on ILLU MA candidate Katrin Wiehle. Katrin won one of the big prizes at last fall's Generate event, and has been creating remarkable work ever since she arrived. She's heading back to Germany in a few weeks after she earns her degree, and we wanted to make sure to brag on her a bit before she leaves us. As usual, we forced her to answer a few questions so we could get to know her a bit better, so without further ado, heeeeeere's Katrin!


Katrin Wiehle



Where are you from?
I grew up in the countryside near Hannover, Germany and now live in Hamburg, Germany.



Where have you been to school?
I studied Communication Design with a focus on illustration at the Muthesius Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Kiel, Germany, where I got my diploma (it is like a combination of bachelor and master and took me five years.)



What attracted you to Illustration?
My older brother brought me to graffiti, graffiti brought me to fine art, fine art brought me to graphic design and graphic design brought me to illustration. I happily arrived.



Who are your biggest influences?
I guess it's everyday life: people around me, all the small things I see and places I go. Somehow all these things appear on my paper later on. It is also all these incredible artists and creative people that I find in books, magazines and on websites or meet in school. I'm addicted to drawn.ca and illustrationmundo.com.



If you weren’t studying illustration at SCAD, what would you likely be doing?
Maybe starving as a freelance graphic designer in Hamburg. But definitively art somehow and somewhere.



What do you like to do in your spare time?
You mean when I'm not drawing or doing art somehow...I like to look at things: cities, books, exhibitions, stores and nature. I like walking barefoot in the grass, and I'm from Germany so having beer with my friends.



What is something that most people don’t know about you?
I don't think that I know everything about me.... I grew up in a commune, I can tile floors and I was dancing ballet, but I don't tell.



What would your dream job/client be and why?
It is more the perfect job situation that I dream of: having my own little shop where I could produce and sell my drawings, like an open studio. But wait, of course I would take that children's book series, too. I just hope to do many different things to see what it' s like.



What’s your typical process for creating your artwork (technique, media, etc)?
I draw with a mechanical pencil doing a lot of sketches until I like what I see. Then I trace it and do the color in Photoshop. To give it a handmade look I use texture, old paper or whatever material I find. I also enjoy handwriting the type. Lots of coffee and less sleep. Hating it – loving it – hating it – loving it.





Sum up your personal philosophy in 25 words or less.
Just living is not enough ... One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower. (The Butterfly – Hans Christian Andersen)