{"id":103642,"date":"2019-10-03T09:46:32","date_gmt":"2019-10-03T07:46:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=103642"},"modified":"2026-02-10T15:23:50","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T14:23:50","slug":"political-cartoon-becomes-a-tightrope-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2019\/10\/03\/political-cartoon-becomes-a-tightrope-act\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Illustrators have a superpower: reflection\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

In light of the exhibition \u2018Illustratum\u2019, EM\u2019s illustrators reflect on their craft. Teacher and illustrator Rachel Sender about the power of the iconic pencil.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRachel Sender<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

\u201cI consciously decided to draw a woman, since 70 per cent of all illustrators are women\u201d, says Rachel Sender, illustrator and teacher at Rotterdam\u2019s art school. \u201cHer arm holding the pencil is clearly very strong. It stands for the illustrator\u2019s main strength: a kind of superpower of reflection.\u201d According to Sender, the pencil is the icon of illustrators\u2019 profession. \u201cOr it could be a huge cliche \u2013 it depends on your perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n

You can find all sorts of work as an illustrator, in her experience. And this is also something she keeps telling her students at the Willem de Kooning Academy. \u201cIllustration is booming. You can find a job in branding, communication, animation, but also work on children\u2019s books or infographics.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sender herself was trained as a graphic designer. \u201cAnd you can still see this in my work. It has a minimalist style and sparse colour schemes. And when I do use colour, it\u2019s often quite two-dimensional.\u201d She enjoys editorial work most of all. \u201cYou get to sum up an entire article for the reader in a single image. And you\u2019re adding a whole new layer that can\u2019t be captured in words.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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