My name is Daniela Schurig. On the 24th July, 1993 I went to kindergarten, where a box of wax crayons was pressed into my hand. From that moment on, there was no going back. But it didn’t stop at wax crayons. By the time I went to school I was after the hard stuff. Wax crayons became coloured pencils, coloured pencils became acrylic paints. I left no stone unturned: lino printing, clay figures, collage. “You can’t keep doing this” said my maths teacher one day with tears in his eyes as he looked down at a portrait of him, instead of an algebraic formula.
I wasn’t actually all that bad at maths. Honestly! But after finishing high school I was relieved that I could dedicate myself fully to design. And because my course in communication design was so broad, I got the chance to design everything: a cookbook, a font, a magazine, various logos, packaging for soap, packaging for bread. There was nothing I didn’t design. But I decided to specialize in illustration. Because drawing is simply wonderful. I love to work in analogue, with an actual paintbrush in hand. The advantage is that it feels more real – for myself and the viewer. The disadvantage is that you can’t turn up to a gala dinner with dirty fingernails. But that’s no problem, as I’m happier outdoors in the countryside than I am at a gala dinner anyway.
The attentive reader may well now ask “OK great, but how did she end up doing animation?”
It began on a sunny afternoon, sitting on my balcony with a friend:
Friend: “I was wondering, can you do animation as well?”
Me: “No! Haven’t got a clue how to do it.”
Friend: “Oh that’s a shame, cos I had a cool project for you.”
Me: “Okay, well…I can always give it a try!”
That’s how it all started. And I can tell you, it was love at first sight. I remember our first time like it was yesterday. The moment when my illustrations came to life. An incredible feeling. And unlike other love affairs, the relationship is still going strong.
“I can always give it a try” might sound banal, but it’s the motto I live by. It encompasses curiosity for the unknown, the courage to throw yourself into a challenge and confidence in your own strengths paired with a dose of level-headedness. What else can you do, other than give something a try?
I just recently started eating raw tomatoes. I reached the age of 29 and thought it was high time I find out what all the tomato hype was about. And I have to admit: they really are delicious.