The Fries Vansevenant Interview

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Fries Vansevenant (Ypres, Belgium, 1985) is a freelance designer, motion designer and lecturer at Artevelde University of Applied Sciences in Ghent. Vansevenant lives and works in Ghent, Belgium.

“I create digital collages in a contemporary Cubist style, where pop culture and nostalgia are the common thread throughout my work. Using geometric compositions and iconic characters, I reinterpret familiar figures into bold, graphic artworks.”

A typical day starts with walking my four-year-old daughter to school. On the way back, I’m usually scrolling like crazy through my emails and Instagram while trying not to walk into traffic signs, cyclists, or streetlights. I live in Ghent, a busy student city, so there’s always a lot going on.

Once I’m back in the studio, I put on a podcast, sit down at my desk, and start working. Two days a week I also teach at Artevelde University of Applied Sciences in Ghent. That break from studio life is important—it keeps me from turning into a complete cave dweller.

Creative burnout is actually something I rarely experience. I’ve been working professionally for almost twenty years, and during that time I’ve explored many different techniques—collage, illustration, graphic design, and more. Whenever I hit a creative block, I usually have another approach to fall back on.

What I have struggled with is getting close to an actual burnout simply because I took on too much work. Saying no to exciting projects is still incredibly difficult for me. It’s something I’m still learning.

The Joker is, without a doubt, my most important piece. I had already been creating digital collages before this, but this was the first artwork where I really started experimenting with geometric shapes, a flat 2D perspective, and a profile portrait. It eventually became the foundation of my visual style.

After watching The Dark Knight for what must have been the 35th time, I couldn’t get the idea out of my head. I started working on it that very night.

I keep an ongoing list of movie characters, musicians, athletes, and other interesting personalities I’d like to create. I update it all the time. Sometimes I’ll decide to make a character like the Joker and rewatch the entire film, looking for interesting scenes, poses, facial expressions, and little details that could make the portrait more unique.

From there I collect reference images and create a very rough sketch to establish the geometric pose. That’s probably the most important part of my preparation because all my illustrations are built within a fixed 4:3 composition.

After that, I start gathering textures and gradually build the character on top of the sketch. Because my style is so geometric, it often feels like solving a puzzle.

I’ve been a huge fan of Ariel Costa (BlinkMyBrain) for years. About two years ago I took his online workshop, The Art of Making Cool Sht*. He’s probably the designer, illustrator, and motion designer I admire the most.

During the workshop he often talked about Dadaism, an art movement I already loved, but what really stayed with me was his creative mindset. He encouraged people to focus on making work they genuinely enjoy instead of chasing likes or followers. That really changed the way I think about my own work and gave me the confidence to share it more openly.

I’m also a big admirer of the Belgian painters Kristof Santy and Rinus Van de Velde. Their graphic visual language and strong subject matter are a constant source of inspiration.

To be honest, I’ve always been more fascinated by painting than illustration. Time has always been the biggest obstacle, but starting this September I’ve finally made room to begin painting seriously. In a way, all my collages and illustrations feel like studies for the paintings I ultimately want to make. My dream is to become a full-time painter someday.

Snoop Dogg remains one of my favourite pieces. I’m rarely completely satisfied with my work, but this one still feels right to me.

I’ve always been a huge hip-hop fan. Artists like Dr. Dre, The Notorious B.I.G., Warren G and Snoop Dogg have been a big source of inspiration.

Since I usually create portraits, this piece was also an experiment. It was the first time I introduced an object—the bicycle—into the composition. I enjoyed exploring the relationship and perspective between the character and the object. It was also the first artwork where I used a gradient background.

One of the most memorable projects I’ve worked on was a music video for Snoop Dogg. A French agency invited around thirty artists to collaborate on it.

Most of the video was created using AI, and I was one of the few “old-school” collage artists on the team. It was my first real experience working alongside artists whose tools are often seen as a threat to what I do.

Ironically, collaborating with people who were supposedly “replacing” artists like me taught me a lot. It completely changed my perspective on AI. Today I use it as a tool to speed up repetitive parts of my workflow, while the creative thinking remains entirely my own. That project definitely pushed me forward.

Networking has been incredibly important.

When I was twenty, I moved to Ghent without knowing anyone. After graduating, I worked at several agencies where I barely had any contact with clients because all communication went through the agency owners.

As a result, I reached my early thirties with almost no professional network. That only started to change when I joined an agency where I could finally work directly with clients.

But if I’m being honest, Instagram is what really got the ball rolling.

Almost all of the characters I create come from the world of cinema. I’m especially drawn to iconic, nostalgic characters that stay with you long after you’ve seen them.

Kill Bill is one of the few female characters I’ve created so far, but there will definitely be more. I’m a huge Quentin Tarantino fan and I’d love to reinterpret more characters from his films.

At the end of October, I created an illustration of Ace Ventura and posted it on Instagram. The next morning I woke up to a huge increase in likes and followers because someone with a large audience had shared my work.

That moment changed everything.

I started creating more collages and refining my style. Instagram suddenly gave my work visibility, and before long I was connecting with brands I’d only dreamed of working with as a young artist.

Social media has genuinely opened doors that probably wouldn’t have opened otherwise.

For me, it all comes down to mutual understanding.

Good collaboration starts with clear communication and empathy. It’s important that both sides understand each other. As a creative, you need to understand what the client is trying to achieve, and the client needs to trust your creative expertise.

The best projects happen when you can translate a brief perfectly while still finding opportunities to push it creatively.

One of the very first games I bought for my PlayStation 1 was Tekken 3. King was immediately my favourite character. His iconic jaguar mask and one particular costume looked incredible at the time.

I always knew I wanted to recreate him in my own style.

I wish people asked less about what I’ve already done and more about what I want to do next.

That question forces me to think about where I’m heading as an artist. It keeps me motivated, challenges me to keep growing, and honestly gives me a healthy amount of pressure about the future.

Besides film and music, football has always been a big passion of mine. Ronaldinho was one of my favourite players because he played with pure joy, creativity and freedom.

With the World Cup approaching, it felt like the perfect moment to create this piece. I’ve always had a soft spot for the great Brazilian players like Rivaldo, Roberto Carlos and Ronaldo (R9).

When I watch football today, it often feels like the game is driven more by statistics, huge budgets and tactical systems than by creativity and joy. Ronaldinho reminds me of an era when football was simply fun to watch.

Experiment and stay curious.

I know it sounds cliché, but it’s the foundation of everything I do. Be patient, don’t be afraid to fail, and make work because you genuinely enjoy making it—not because you think other people will like it.

And most importantly, share your work. Social media isn’t perfect, but it’s an incredible opportunity to put your work out into the world. Use it to your advantage.

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Best

Alex