I was working on a 3D-animated LEGO TV series and desperately needed a creative challenge—something completely different. So, when Simon kindly thought of me for the drawings in The Sailor’s Dream, I was incredibly grateful.

At first, I had a very different vision. I was excited to try out some new brushes in Photoshop, and my initial sketches were rather bombastic—leaning more toward fantasy. I thought each illustration was supposed to be a statement like poster art. But the more I spoke with Simon and understood the story, the more I realized these drawings needed to be done on paper, with a pencil. They were memories, and they had to feel understated and intimate.

One major inspiration for me was a book of sketches by Edward Hopper—Hopper Drawing. His drawings have this quiet quality I was searching for. The book also opened my eyes to the beautiful texture of pencil drawings. I was experimenting with ink before that, but the Ed Hopper book made me understand how much emotion and simple graphite pencil can give an to an illustration.

So, I kept drawing, trying to find the right tone and feeling. Strangely enough, I found it at Ribersborgs Kallbadhus on a beautiful September day. I had just come back from a swim, the place was almost empty, and I sat down in the sun and started to draw – and everything just clicked. Maybe it was the closeness of the sea?