While imitating another creative is rightly seen as a bit of a faux pas, it is useful, if not vital, to see what else is happening in your field, and beyond. “Saturating yourself with art that others make” is something Utrecht-based illustrator Hanneke Rozemuller believes is imperative, as well as cultivating an overall awareness of other forms of visual creativity.

“By knowing what happens in the illustration world you enrich your toolbox and avoid imagery that’s too cliché. So I guess by always looking at things I’ve improved my intuition on what are the best decisions to make when creating an illustration,” she explains. “It gets easier to come up with an interesting new idea or an image that really lingers in your mind once you’ve seen it, depending on the goal of your illustration.”

Having graduated two years ago, Rozemuller has been a full-time illustrator for just shy of a year. As she still feels as though she’s beginning, she’s been mindful of cutting herself some slack. “I still have to accept that not all ideas that pop up in my head are going to be amazing,” she says. “Sometimes you make something that you’re not blown away by, but it’s important to get used to that and keep defining what it is you’re less happy about.”