About Lotte

Hello! I’m Lotte, the founder of InkBuddies!

I live and work as a freelance illustrator in Dortmund, Germany.

I can look back on more than 25 years of experience working as an illustrator for publishers and other companies.

I started to draw the moment I could hold a pencil

Drawing lots of tiny little animals and creating whole worlds around them was my greatest passion. I drew crowded zoos, funny farms and houses full of nooks and crannies where my characters were accommodated.

Worked hard - learned a lot

I really used to draw a lot of personal stuff when I was young before I decided to become a professional illustrator. During my career as a freelancer I experienced long periods of hard work, such as doing night shifts and catching up with narrow deadlines. I’ve learned a lot and even though it’s sometimes quite demanding, I’m still happy with the job I chose.

But one fine day I felt that there was something missing: It was the pleasure of creating my own characters and my comical world just for fun’s sake!

Drawing with others inspired me

Taking part in drawing classes and workshops showed me how rewarding and inspiring it can be just to draw together with birds of a feather. I started chairing illustration workshops myself and met a lot of people who love to draw. Bringing these people together and sharing the joy of drawing funny and fantastic things means a lot to me.

What I’m good at

I must admit that I’m not good at sitting quietly somewhere, drawing buildings and environments like urban sketchers do, though I admire their drawing skills! I’m not patient enough to draw proper landscapes or still lifes of natural objects either.

What really thrills me when I take my pen for walkies is creating crazy characters, weird animals and new surroundings – creatures and situations that are suitable to make you wonder or laugh.

My personal drawing heroes are the masters of little stories and hidden humour, such as Jean-Jaques Sempé, Saul Steinberg, Tomi Ungerer and many others. I just love funnies, cartoons and humorous illustrations.

I really like to share

Sharing the fun of drawing and doodling, creating quaint characters, funny looking animals and the wonderful world they live in – that’s what I’d like to share with all Inkbuddies on this platform. Here you can find out how to really entertain yourself and others with your drawings and doodles!

If you want to know more about my professional work, visit www.lottewagner.com