Aphrodite Delaguiado is a designer and illustrator who thinks with ink. What does that even mean? She understands mistakes aren’t all that bad, and sometimes end up being the coolest part of the drawing. I poked Aphrodite with questions about her art and what I got in response was inspiring thoughts on doodling and some pretty worldly context for her illustration in our Coloring Book Volume 4.

DA: I think an introduction is in order! Tell me some fun facts.

AD: I’m Aphrodite from Sydney, Australia. I work as a full time graphic designer and also as a freelance illustrator under my own studio, Drow More Creative. I’ve always loved drawing since I was a kid. I turn to doodling to escape, to process my thoughts or to just get the creative juices flowing. In 2009, I started my Think Less Drow More project and it has become my creative manifesto – to think with ink.

DA: I like the way you think! What kind of stuff do you most enjoy drawing?

AD: I love drawing from my personal experiences and real events. I enjoy doing comic strips and editorial type drawings that illustrate truth through humour. An example of this is my Saiko Comics where I explore the fine line between comedy and tragedy. My artist inspirations are Art Spiegelman (MAUS), Bill Watterson (Calvin & Hobbes) and Shaun Tan (The Lost Thing, The Arrival) DA: Quickly, name 5 things you love. AD: Drawing, ink, music, comics, ice cream.

DA: When you draw, are you the type who plans ahead or makes it up as you go along?

AD: I kind of make it up as I go along but it always starts with a clear idea and inspiration (which usually comes in the middle of the night). I don’t really follow a particular process when I draw or doodle, I look at a blank piece of paper and just follow what I see on it with a pen. I keep going even when I make a mistake – it’s those weird crooked lines, accidental patterns and ink smudges that give my drawings their unique character.

DA: That’s what I love about your work. What’s the story behind the drawing that ended up in Coloring Book Volume 4?

AD: I joined Instagram in 2014 and found Doodlers Anonymous there. I saw the open call in my news feed, so I signed up on the DA website and submitted a few drawings. The drawing that made it to the colouring book is titled “Home is Where the Heart Is.” It’s a doodle collage of bits and pieces of all the places I call home. I was born and raised in the Philippines and came to Australia when I was 15. Between years 2003 – 2010 I was in a long distance relationship and travelled back and forth, visiting other countries and living in different cities with my partner. The drawing is bits and pieces of all the places we called home before settling down in Sydney in 2011.

DA: That’s amazing! Now I will be thinking about that when I color it. Can we see how you have colored it?

AD: I coloured my own illustration using coloured pencils, I wanted to use the different colours to represent different places and times in my life.