Hello! I’m Dominique!
I was born in Düren, North Rhine-Westphalia. My mother tongues are German and French, but even though I grew up in Germany, I spent most of my childhood holidays in France.
For me, art is like a third mother tongue, a non-verbal one that easily translates thoughts and feelings visually. It is a passion that’s been with me for as long as I can remember. Surrounded by comics, manga, illustrated books, and cartoons, what once was a passion quickly became something I can’t live without – it is part of me, a necessity that makes me feel alive. (I like to compare it with an organ.)
I’ve been drawing since school days. But it was my growing love for manga and anime that really fueled this urge to create. So, after “middle school” (or Realschule in Germany), I went for a vocational baccalaureate in design. That’s also when I first began selling my work at artist markets, with my own stall.
After vocational college, I moved on to the KDA (Cologne Design Academy), where I studied illustration and graphic design. Since then, my dream has been to make a living from art and illustration.
What I love most about creating is leaving space for interpretation.
When it comes to drawing, painting, or creating in general, I love getting my hands dirty. That’s how I express myself best, how I pour my soul into a project.
If there isn't enough space to take my pencil case with me, which is filled with markers, pencils, and fine liners, then I always carry at least a ballpoint pen with me.
For my illustration projects, I particularly enjoy watercolor and gouache. Other techniques I regularly use include are linocut and pyrography. The list never ends here.
For finalizing everything related to graphic work, such as illustrated books, album covers, stickers, or posters, I use the Affinity programs.
(Back then you could find me under the artist name 'yukiryuuzetsu', which I decided to get rid off in Novembre 2022 to accept my real name as my artist name. I had my very first artist's stall in 2014 at the Christmas market in the Merzenich Local History Museum, to which I remained loyal for many years and which taught me the joy of sharing my art with other people.)