Interview with the artist: Iris van den Akker

Meet Iris van den Akker, a digital illustrator, a queen of color, and the creative mind behind three coloring books in the Lake app: Females & Florals, Culinary Color, and her latest New Heroines. Iris has built a dedicated following of colorists who keep coming back for her bold palettes, expressive characters, and the unmistakable positive energy that runs through everything she makes.

Iris has been part of the Lake family for a while now, and late last year our marketing team had the chance to meet her in person for the first time while visiting Amsterdam for a conference. After years of working together virtually, it was really lovely to finally put a face to the name.

If you want to get to know her a little better before diving in, she writes on Substack where she shares behind the scenes of her life and work, including a post about how our collaboration first started and how it works behind the scenes (you can read all about it HERE). We asked her about her creative process, her recent move, and what it feels like to hand her work over to colorists around the world.

Q: Your work ranges from digital illustrations to collage-inspired animations. Do you have a favorite style to work in, and is it also the one you spend the most time on?

Definitely my illustrations! I love working digitally as I like to see the illustration evolve while I’m working on it. Often, I decide on another color palette halfway through, or I’d like to add in details or delete things that don’t work, so I like that I have the complete freedom to change my mind with digital illustration. Recently I took on jobs that require a traditional media, which was fun because I needed to let go the perfectionism. I might lean in that direction more in the future.

The collage-inspired animation is a happy accidental side business that sometimes happens as a collaboration with my animator friend Luuk from After it Moves. With photos, there is less control over the entire design, as you have to be lucky to find exactly what you need. Sometimes, a shot changes because I’ve found another photo that happens to work better in the composition. The workflow relies more on happy accidents, which I think is a good exercise after nitpicking on my digital illustrations.

Q: You recently moved and are setting up your new studio. As someone who works so deeply with color and composition, do you approach decorating your own space the same way you approach a new artwork?

I would say I do. My new studio is nowhere near finished (life happens), but we’re at the beginning of a big renovation at home. I like to try to take control by creating 1000 moodboards of furniture, wall colors and floor samples. I also try to illustrate the space as accurately as possible to see which color on the wall fits best. I know that a lot of things in interior design is just trial and error and colors on the screen can look so much different than they do in a space, but still.

I also try to fit in color theory in a new space. I like to have colorful homes, but it’s not supposed to be a circus. I look for colors that compliment each other, have big areas of moody muddy neutrals next to bright and lively furniture. I like some furniture to stand out so I look for complimentary things so they don’t compete with each other. I think, in general, I’m looking for visual harmony, in my illustrations as well as in my home.

Q: You are known as the queen of color, yet you have three coloring books on Lake where people can color your artwork however they like. What is it like seeing others bring your work to life with their own color choices?

Good question! It’s actually really fun to see! I apparently color every illustration in my head already, unconsciously, and it’s funny to see people interpret my illustrations differently. For example, in my mind an illustration could be set in the morning, but someone may color it to look like nighttime. It brings a different point of view to the story.

Q: You once wrote about looking back at your first Lake book from 2019 and feeling like you were still finding your style. Do you feel like you've cracked the code now, or does style development ever really stop?

I think I cracked the code * for now *. I believe a style doesn’t really develop as much as it grows with the artist. It’s never static. I might change my workflow because I one day get bored of my current one, or lean into colors I found ugly before. I might see new art that inspires me and try to interpret details in my own work. My taste constantly evolves (this is why I don’t have tattoos haha). I like my style now, but I know that in 2, 3, 5 years time, I look back on the stuff I make now and think it’s outdated. I hope I do at least! I wouldn’t want to make the same stuff until I’m 80.

Q: Is there one thing, a book, a film, a place, or a person, that has genuinely changed the way you think about creativity?

Big question!

I think, for me, my residency in Tokyo in 2022 changed me a lot. Both in my work and as a person. Before I think my work and style wasn’t really attached to me, it was maybe very versatile, but also lacked my personality. I just did what my clients wanted to see.

I was looking for a way to work as an illustrator in Amsterdam. Luis and Yuka Mendo, the owners of the residency, showed me how creative people in Japan lived and worked and it was very eye-opening for me at that time (nearly 30, in the middle of a breakup, not knowing what to do in life). It showed me a way of looking at the world, and to my work as well. Compared to the rat race in Amsterdam, where I worked in advertising and animation as well as illustration, it was a much more quieter and peaceful outlook on life (or at least that’s how it looked like to me). Less status-oriented as well, and more focused on craft. People there can work on one dish or one craft for their entire lives and it wouldn’t be seen as a waste, but a quality. It made a deep impression on me.

My work has since massively grown in personality and quality. I’m also a happier person since then. I will definitely visit Japan soon again.