Hey, guys! In this episode, I am chatting with Pernille Ørum, a freelance illustrator and character designer from Denmark. Her clients include Disney, Warner Bros, Mattel, and Nickelodeon. She was the lead character designer on DC Superhero Girls.

Get in touch with Pernille

• Website: http://www.pernilleoe.dk/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pernilleoerum/

Key Takeaways

“Drawing is hard work, but it’s also fun and rewarding, so if you can’t help it, just do it.”

“Show your work to somebody else as soon as you can and take in the criticism to progress fast”

• Pernille thought she would need to go to study animation to the US, when she discovered there is a world-class school just ‘behind the corner’ in Denmark, the Animation Workshop in Viborg. She went there straight after the high school. The program is organized in a way that the teachers are there only for short periods, so they are not tired and full of energy.
• Pernille mentions that the more you know about the character’s context the better you make the character so she likes to work with the story writers providing sketching explorations
• Pernille advise to young artists to charge day rates and provide discounts for longer periods, like weekly charge, monthly charge and have a clear scope of work statements, e.g. character will take 5 days to create, you will get 3 sketches, 3 revisions. It’s usually not to the point, but it’s a very good thing to avoid underpayments.
• Pernille listens to podcasts daily to clear her head and get inspired.

Resources mentioned

Note: some of the resources below may be affiliate links, meaning I get paid a commission (at no extra cost to you) if you use that link to make a purchase.

• Pernille’s Book – Coral
• SketchDailies – character design inspiration every day before 12PM PST
• DC Super hero girls books by Courtney Carbone & Pernille Orum
• Convention: CTN Expo

Special thanks to Pernille for joining me today. See you next time!

All artworks by Pernille Oerum, used with permission