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This Artist Creates Drawings Inspired by Shadows Cast on His Desk by Everyday Objects
Vincent Bal is a 'Shadowologist'
Vincent Bal creates drawings using shadows.
Bal makes and sells prints and postcards featuring his clever doodles, and his artwork has also been featured in campaigns for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Nickelodeon, Loacker cookies and other clients. His exhibit, Art of the Shadow, will run at the National Busan Science Museum in South Korea through March 3.
Here, the Antwerp-based artist and filmmaker, who has 1.1 million followers on Instagram, sheds light on his creative process.
MUSE: Are you self-taught, or did you study art at school?
Vincent Bal: Since I was a child, I have always been drawing. My dream was to be a comic strip artist like André Franquin, Hergé, Willy Vandersteen and all those other greats that made Belgium the mecca of comics.
But when I was 18, I decided to study directing because the medium of film brings together so many art disciplines. You work with images, sound, story and actors. But the drawing virus never left. And I use that skill to make storyboards and sketches for my film productions.
Over the last 20 years, I have sometimes attended night school art classes. It can be quite humbling to draw a skull in charcoal. I’m still trying to draw better every day.
How do you create your shadows? Do you use a flashlight? Your phone’s flashlight?
My iPhone is used to make the pictures and the videos.
The first ever “Shadowology” image I did was an elephant created by the shadow of my teacup. The sun was shining on my desk. So, the first few months I always worked with sunlight. I knew exactly at what time the sun would create good shadows at each part of my house.
But then autumn came, and the sun disappeared. I started experimenting with different light sources. First a 100W bulb, but that heated up so much it almost set some cushions on fire. Then I switched to little LED lights from Ikea. They have a flexible neck, so I can easily play with the light direction until I see something in the shadow.
On my small desk in my workplace, I have three lights. One on my left, one on my right and one in front of me. That way, I can easily switch between them to see which one will bring out the hidden shadow image.
What kind of tools, software, devices do you use to create your work?
In my desk, there are three little drawers with black markers, grey markers and color pencils.
When I make videos of my work, I edit them in Final Cut Pro. It’s a lot of fun to add music and extra sounds to the images. I enjoy doing the Foley work, and I regularly record silly voices to go with the videos. So, I will be there in my workplace, singing and screaming. The neighbors must think I’m crazy.
Is there anyone you turn to for feedback? Or to help gauge your creative ideas?
On film projects, I like to collaborate on the scripts. But with Shadowology I like to work all alone. Everything happens very intuitively. I don’t think about it consciously. My hands do the thinking.
Do you have any dream clients you would love to work with, and how can brands best work with you?
My dream client gives me a lot of artistic freedom and a lot of money. What I like best is starting from a product and seeing what I can do with the shadows. For me, “Shadowology” is about discovering shapes—it’s not as nice if I must work towards a certain pre-conceived idea.
Do you listen to music while you work?
Music is very important to me. It relaxes me, and I have to be very much at ease to create something. When you are stressed, your mind is not open enough. And like the great philosopher Frank Zappa said, “Your mind is like a parachute. It does not work if it’s not open.”
I make a new playlist on Spotify every month, and I listen to that over and over. It helps if it’s music that I know very well. It hypnotizes the part of your brain that is always saying, “Is that really a good idea? This drawing is terrible.”
My playlists will include artists like Prince, the Beatles, James Brown, XTC, Sly and the Family Stone, Stijn, France Gall, The Ink Spots, Duke Ellington, The White Stripes.
When do you do your best work?
Since I had children, my life is pretty regular. I used to hate getting up early in the morning, but now I love it. Usually, my wife and I take a little walk to the Scheldt, the river here in Antwerp, while we drink some coffee, and then I go to work. Sometimes, I miss working late at night because the city is so quiet then, like the whole world is your studio.
Do you create other kinds of art?
I have made four live-action feature films, some shorts, an animated TV series, commercials. At the moment, I am finishing an animated family feature that I co-directed with Wip Vernooij. It’s a funny and adventurous story about a cat who has to find the way home. The title is Miss Moxy, and it will be finished in a couple of months.
For two years, I have been working non-stop on Miss Moxy. So, I am very anxious to share that with the audience. But once it’s finished, I will be very happy to be able to spend more time with my shadows.
