EvokeOne - v5

Ted Yavuzkurt: {1} Who is Berthjan Achterop?

Berthjan Achterop: Well, I was born in Assen, a small city in the Netherlands. I grew up in Bovensmilde, which is a really small village in the north of Holland. Later on I studied Communication and Multimedia Design in Leeuwarden which I passed in 2007. After that I got a job as a corporate webdesigner in Groningen (where I live nowadays). Today I'm still working for that agency. In my free time I do a lot of design stuff. Also after a day at the office I really love to lift weights. Clears my mind every time! In the weekend I go out with my friends and girlfriend (how original ?).

Ted Yavuzkurt: {2} Tell us a bit about how you got started in digital art and where you plan to go with it. How does it feel to be featured artist?

Berthjan Achterop: I think it all started as a kid, I always enjoyed reading comic books like Spiderman. The drawings and the emotions that it contains really impressed me. Since then I became interested in the art and design thing. I always liked to draw in my teen years. Most where cartoonish and comic like drawings. When I was 20 years old, I started Communication and Multimedia Design. I think I was 20 or 21 when I first worked with Photoshop. Most were little experiments and small stuff, sometimes I made partyflyers to earn some money. I wasn't into the grapic design scene at all at that moment.

After finishing school I got a job as a corporate webdesigner. It was fun, but it was also another branch of design. I began to miss the more free creative work. So I began making free work after my job to still my creative hunger. Not really graphic design with concepts, more doodles and little experiments. But my colleague Sumeco was really into the graphic design scene at that moment. And I was amazingly impressed of his work. He told me a lot about graphic design and his work. He was a big inspiration for me. From that moment I began my first more serious work (which is not the kind of work you finish within three hours ?) . I was 24 at that time. I really enjoyed making bigger complicated pieces. Most of the time I finished something, Sumeco gave me some feedback to improve. Later on I was searching a way to improve and to get inspired by other artists. That was one year ago, it was the same time I joined Evoke. It's not that I have a specific goal with my free work at this moment, it's just so much fun to do and it is a good way to express yourself and your creativity. When working on a piece you come to yourself which is a good thing and is rewarding enough for me.

Ted Yavuzkurt: {3} Being 27, you are one of the older members in Evoke. Do you think those extra few years give you a different, wiser perspective on things? If so, how?

Berthjan Achterop: Well, fighting in the Vietnam war gave me a lot of inspiration. But to be honest.. no. I think technique is always relatively easy to achieve for everybody, young and old. Of course the concepts and thoughts behind the artworks are different. Someone in his 30s has different issues then a 16 year old. So they have different themes and concepts.

Ted Yavuzkurt: {4} You've been a member of Evoke for about a year, has this changed you as an artist at all? How do you feel about the online artgroup scene in general?

Berthjan Achterop: I really love the artgroup scene, it gives you so much inspiration and ideas. It certainly affects me. It's really cool to see how the themes are interpreted in so many ways. I get inspired by the other artists and the way they work and I really appreciate the feedback you receive to get better each time.

Ted Yavuzkurt: {5} How would you describe your style? You seem to be able to capture perfectly many different types and facets of digital art in your works. How is it that you are able to show such mastery over such a broad range of techniques?

Berthjan Achterop: Hmmm, I don't think I have a specific style. But I like to use a lot of techniques and combine everything. In real life I'm pretty impulsive and try lots of new things, I guess it's the same with my work. That's what I really like in digital art, there are no boundaries or whatsoever. You can combine tons of style elements and techniques to express your ideas. It creates a lot of freedom. With practice and reference I picked up the techniques.

Ted Yavuzkurt: {6} How have you developed as an artist over time? What is the most useful thing you have ever learned while developing your current style and technique (this doesn't necessarily have to be something you learned in an art class or something, it can be anything)

Berthjan Achterop: I think using good references. When I paint for example skin, I use a few skin pictures to see how it looks. Over time I put more effort in each work. Consequently I gained a lot more experience in the different techniques.

Ted Yavuzkurt: {7} Do you have any suggestions for new artists trying to develop yet stick out from the crowd?

Berthjan Achterop: Perhaps, if you want to stick out from the crowd, you have to make your work personal and try to be original. I find it really hard to make suggestions, it depends on so many factors.

Ted Yavuzkurt: {8} What inspires your work? Is it music, other artists, nature, or just random inspiration?

Berthjan Achterop: It's different every time. Some pieces have concepts, like paradox of freedom ( [link] ). I was having some personal issues about making decisions when I was creating this. Other pieces are less conceptual, like Dutch apocalypse ( [link] ) this was totally inspired by Mad Max and Fallout. I loved that game so much, the 50s propaganda, the style elements, the black humour and so much irony. I though it was kind of cool to make a fallout setting in my own country. I guess everything can be an inspiration