Illustration with Ana Duje

Interview with Ana Duje, Illustrator and Print Maker

I met Ana in Hong Kong when she was here, sharing her excitement in having her work published on billboards and in magazines, she has since moved to Barcelona where her career is continuing to flourish.

What did you want to be when you were a child? 

It depends on the age, I did go through a phase where I would draw mannequins and design clothes, I wanted to be a fashion designer. I still have the binder with all those drawings! But for the longest time, during my later teenage years, I wanted to be an architect. And I actually started studying Architecture at the University of Córdoba (Argentina), but I quickly realised it wasn't for me.

What did you imagine adulthood to be?

I didn't think about that very often as a kid...I guess I thought it was all paying taxes and running errands xD. I remember I used to look at my 30-year-old mom and think she was old...

What was the inspiration behind your brand, your way of illustrating?

If you're talking about my style, this is a question I can never accurately answer. Same as for questions along the lines of "where do you get inspiration for your illustrations?"

I'm not really sure, I guess it was years of working in advertising and looking at other people's work. Also, experimenting with different projects that challenged me along the way contributed to developing my own style little by little.

I remember one of my first projects when I was working in an ad agency, I had to make a Valentine's Day campaign Key Visual, and I was so excited because I wanted to make an illustrated identity for the campaign (so far I had been working with graphic design, mainly incorporating graphic elements and photo to my designs, but not so much illustration). That's the day I realised that I enjoyed illustration so much more than graphic design.

What is a typical day like in your life?

That answer probably changes every 2-3 months, I'm always in constant motion and transformation. But right now I'd probably say a typical day is waking up, making coffee and toasts, giving my cat some food and then jumping on to my computer to see what emails I have for the day. If I don't have any appointments or anything that requires me to go out, I usually stay at home for the whole day until around 6.30pm, and then go out and meet some friends for a drink and tapas.

What made you want to start your business?

It was a will to be independent. To be my own boss.

How long in the making was this brand / has this been?

I've been illustrating for a long time (8+ years), but it's only been around 4 that I'm doing only illustration and I make a living out of that exclusively now. I think my brand is constantly in the making, and constantly evolving.

What has been your biggest challenge in your business journey so far, and how have you/are you overcome/overcoming it?

I think there's a couple of things that are challenging for me. In the beginning it was, without a doubt, dealing with clients and pricing my work. Overtime I've learned how to do that and I'm comfortable with it (that's not to say there aren't times where I feel challenged). Right now I think the biggest challenge is fighting imposter syndrome and some phenomena of the industry: I have to learn every day to feel like the business is worth it, like my work is good, like people appreciate it, I have to learn to stay relevant despite the copycats, haters, abundance of illustration as a resource, etc.

Any advice for people wanting to start their own business?

I could say many things, but I'd say the two most important things are:

1. If you wanna call it a business, charge for it. Don't work for free.

2. Build that portfolio, it really doesn't matter if it's amazing or not. You'll adjust it later, but it's important to be out there, to have something to show. Also, what you're not sure about or you don't like is always liked by someone. Someone will definitely appreciate it.

You can also check out my Instagram for tips that can help make your life easier as a freelance illustrator :)

Where is home for you?

Barcelona <3 I feel so strongly about this city, even more so than about my own home town or even my country! I love the climate, and the freedom to be whoever you want to be.

What did you love most about hong kong?

OMG where do I start. The aesthetics, the food, the rooftop bars, the nature.....I miss it! Will hopefully visit soon.

What inspires you when you’re in a creative rut?

I swear I can't answer this question in a simple way. Most of the time I'm completely uninspired, and sometimes it just comes to me. It could be that I saw someone's work on the street, or I saw a YouTube ad, or I listened to a song, or I was watering my plants and a train of thought started, culminating in an idea. It's so random, if I could ever have the answer or the recipe to what inspires me, believe me, I'd do that all the time xD

What would you like people to know about your brand?

That I genuinely worked for it very hard and every single achievement has been my own work and effort. Show some love to your artist friends, it sounds fun but it's not easy to do this for a living! Support small businesses and artists :)