Portrait
“Dag, lieve kijkbuiskinderen”
Meneer de Uil is a character in the popular Dutch television series ‘De Fabeltjeskrant’. He is a somewhat long-winded and forgetful owl who often interrupts his sentences with “Eh…” and ends with “Jawel!”. Well-known sayings: “Dag, lieve kijkbuiskinderen” and “Oogjes dicht en snaveltjes toe”. In 2022, this permanent farewell greeting was included in the Dutch Dikke Van Dale [dictionary].
I’ve drawn this pixel character for my family social media group [named ‘From the archive’] and as an icon for my digital archive [extended hard disk].
Monkey Mind
2025/02/15 08:36 Filed in: Product Design / Branding
Monchhichi is a line of Japanese stuffed monkey toys first released in 1974 (when Arda was born). They were licensed by Mattel in the US until 1985. These adorable monkeys were created in order to inspire respect and love in young children. There name is derived from the words ‘Mon’ (which translates to ‘Mine’) and ‘Chichi’ (which closely resembles the sound of baby sucking on a pacifier [Dutch: zuigspeen]). This is a special edition to celebrate the brand's 50 years. Straight from Japan! Wearing a T-shirt with the famous Hokusai [Grote Golf] wave. For Arda, for Valentine’s Day. I have added her little monkey from 1984(!) to this short stop-motion movie.
Everybody happy
2024/12/26 15:44 Filed in: Product Design
The smiley icon has been around since 1972 and remains relevant and inspiring. This bright light serves as a gentle and joyful reminder. Switch the led light on for 15 minutes at a time. Just enough to give the little moments in life that extra shine! A gift from ‘Schoonmoedertje’ for X-mas.
No Pain, No Gain
2024/12/26 14:47 Filed in: Advertising / Product Design
SpongeBob SquarePants pal: Patrick Star—a dimwitted yet friendly pink starfish who resides under a rock. Patrick considers himself to be intelligent, with his ignorance of his stupidity being a key trait of his. By chance I came across this muscular starfish during X-mas shopping this year.
Kung Fu Fighting
2024/12/26 13:08 Filed in: Advertising / Product Design
SpongeBob SquarePants pal: Sandy Cheeks—a thrill-seeking and athletic squirrel from Texas who wears an air-filled diving suit to breathe underwater. She lives in a tree enclosed in a clear glass dome locked by an airtight, hand-turned seal and is an expert in karate.
“Moksi baby!“
The lion-dragon Barong is the king of the spirits and leader of good forces in Indonesian mythology. Very cool—and rare!—T-shirt for my son Niels (a.k.a. ‘Buffeltje’).
TTYL ;)
2024/12/26 13:07 Filed in: Illustration
Since their international roll-out by Apple in 2011, little colorful icons known as ‘emoji’ have unstoppably infiltrated our (digital) communication. I draw and animated this one for my Divoom device (divoom.com). Reaction to tasty food (or person)—sometimes misunderstood as teasing.
Curiosity is the life force in all of us
2024/09/26 20:44 Filed in: Product Design
When imagination, creativity and play are your fuel, your limitless potential can take you anywhere you imagine. This remarkable LEGO® set—created in collaboration with visionary designer Pharrell Williams—reflects his unbridled creative optimism + undeniable creative influence.
This exclusive set [a pre-order] is a special gift for my boys Niels and Sjoerd, as a sort of ‘old-age reserve’. ;)
Baartman
2024/07/06 21:22 Filed in: Product Design
Aardman is the world famous four times Academy Award® winning animation studio, the creators of Wallace & Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, Chicken Run and Morph. This is their interpretation of DC Comics superheroes Batman and Robin.
Good luck to you
2024/07/02 20:36 Filed in: Animation
I simply love this concept: maneki-neko is a common Japanese mascot which is often believed to bring good luck to the owner. The figurine depicts a cat—traditionally a Japanese Bobtail—with a paw raised in a beckoning gesture. They are often displayed in shops, restaurants, pachinko parlors, dry cleaners, laundromats, bars, casinos, hotels, nightclubs, and other businesses, generally near the entrance, as well as households. Some maneki-neko are equipped with a mechanical paw which moves back and forth. My collection started with this one, which I bought for Arda a few years ago.
Powerful Jedi
2024/06/08 18:36 Filed in: Product Design
Darth Vader is a character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. He is the primary antagonist of the film trilogy. Born into slavery, he eventually becomes a powerful Jedi. He is lured to the dark side of the Force by Chancellor Palpatine, and transforms from Anakin into the Sith Lord Darth Vader. Here in LEGO® BrickHeadz style. :) A gift from Niels. THX gab!
“Hulk SMASH!“
2024/05/12 17:16 Filed in: Digital
In this game, the player controls the Incredible Hulk through the four arrow keys. He must get 20 eggs from the dragon’s lair to win. Each dragon sleeps, but wakes up at different times. If the Hulk is near an awake dragon, he loses a life. The game ends when the player runs out of lives or collects enough eggs. This simple game is written in Python to sharpen my programming skills.
Monkey Mind
2024/05/10 23:27 Filed in: Product Design
DONKEY KONG is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto for Nintendo. The franchise follows the adventures of DONKEY KONG, a large, powerful gorilla.
While he is content to relax on his island with his family and banana horde, it seems he can never catch a break. DONKEY KONG is one of Nintendo's bestselling franchises, with more than 65 million units sold by 2021. This deluxe character is a souvenir from the BIG APPLE (NY). BIG shout-out to Marco (@Happy Horizon)!!
Back on track
2022/08/06 14:54 Filed in: Animation / Illustration
SUMMER 2022: On a road (+ boat) trip to København!