Meet the Artist @therese_nothing

For our final Thank You card of 2022 we are delighted to have collaborated with Tiina Menzel. Tina is a Germany-based artist best known for her unique drawings of skeletons and their cute cat pets.

Dec 8 2022

Artist of the Month: Tiina Menzel

Thank you card December 2022: Therese_nothing

A glimpse into the creative world of Tiina Menzel.

StickerApp: How would you define your style?

Tiina: Dark. Sometimes cute. Very neat with an emphasis on the outlines.

StickerApp: What’s your favorite technique?

Tiina: My favourite technique is drawing with fineliners. I love the scritching sound while drawing with fineliners and the feel and smell of textured paper. But I also draw on an iPad, for example when I add colours. It's just so handy because I can undo or change colours as often as I want until I like them.

StickerApp: Who or what is your biggest inspiration/s?

Tiina: My grandfather had a large collection of comic books and let me read them (even when I was a toddler and ruined them in the process of looking at them). I think those old comic books were my biggest inspiration and I think you can see that in my line art... I still love reading comic books :)

StickerApp: How did it all start?

Tiina: I can't remember a time when I haven't been drawing. I didn't go to art school, I just drew for myself for a long time. Then a friend suggested I should show my work on social media and to my surprise, many liked it and asked for prints and stickers.

I started with only a few prints and when I had sold them, I was able to buy more prints and also stickers and so on. Today I can make a living from my art and I feel very lucky.

Vinyl sticker: A kitten cuddles with a skeleton

Die cut sticker: Cat in the arms of a skeleton

Custom sticker: Cat in the company of a skeleton

StickerApp: Do you have a tip for those who are starting out?

Tiina: It may sound boring but practise is important. Practise as often as possible. Draw what makes you happy. Don't draw for others. Draw for others if it makes you happy. Try different styles. Stick to one style if it makes you happy. Look at art a lot. Don't compare yourself to others if it makes you feel sad. Compare yourself to others if it motivates you. Use reference for drawing but don't copy other artists.