Ida Straarup Rasmussen

Year of birth: 1994.
Where do you live: Copenhagen, Denmark.
Your education: Bachelor in Graphic Design, Masters in Editorial and Advertising illustration (2025).
Describe your art in three words: realistic, detailed and analog.
Your discipline: (at the moment) pencil and wax pastels.
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Can you tell us more about your background and what inspired you to pursue a career in art and illustration?

Both my parents are engineers so naturally my first thought was that I needed to become some sort of engineer. I started studying Industrial Design, but it turned out that I didn’t fancy the technical part at all. I switched to Graphic Design – that was a good switch! It was the first time I ever really felt at home in my field. I distinctly remember, during one of my first courses about color theory, thinking “wow is this really university learning about colors”! I have always been drawing a lot as a kid. But for some reason I never really considered it a career path.

I got my bachelor in Graphic Design in 2020 and have been working in that field the last couple of years. This year I stumbled upon the Masters in Illustration at LABASAD and again it sparked something in me – “can you really get paid to draw”! I feel like I somehow have made a full circle returning to illustration. I have unlocked something that my younger self already knew, but my adult self didn’t really dare to believe. I’m very excited to see where this journey will take me.

Ida Straarup | Burger | 2022

Can you walk us through your creative process from concept to completion?

I’m a very strong ideator. I will always get a lot of ideas at the beginning of a project. The trick is to select the “right” one for me. I will usually go with my gut and choose whichever concept speaks to me the most. The development phase is where I’m most likely to get stuck because I really want to get to the finish line. Even though I know the importance of doing the groundwork and experimenting with your concept. It’s easy for me to get stuck in a rod where nothing I do looks cool. That is when I try to remember to take a step back and gain some perspective. It also helps me to have a time limit on this phase. Development and execution often overlap for me. I love to immerse myself in the details, but at some point I’m just done. It has taken some practice to figure out when enough is enough. I use my signature as a last seal of completion.

Ida Straarup | Henriette | 2024

Can you discuss any particular piece or project that holds a special significance to you?

Yes, I recently made an illustration with the title “MOAR”. The illustration depicts a tired lioness with her cub. MOAR is the Danish sound for when a child calls its mum and of course also a take on the lion’s ROAR. I became a mum in 2023 and so the tired lioness was inspired by my own experience. I also chose the lion because it’s my son’s favorite animal.

Ida Straarup | MOM | 2024

How do you balance your artistic career with your family life?

I feel like I’m lucky to be studying illustration right now, because this means that I naturally get to use my time illustrating. Also I have become way faster at making creative decisions, because I don’t have as much time as I used to. As a perfectionist I feel like this is a healthy practice for me. At some point I want to share my passion for drawing with my son. He is only 1 year old but we’ve already started drawing together.

As someone who loves burgers, do you ever find that your personal interests and hobbies influence your artwork? 

Absolutely. My everyday life fuels my artwork. I have drawn a giant burger and pasta dish, both inspired by two of my favorite go-to restaurants in my neighborhood. I have also drawn Snape and Dumbledore of course because I am a huge Harry Potter fan! I feel like it is when you put something personal into your art it becomes interesting.

Ida Straarup | Happy 2 | 2024

Do you have any advice for aspiring artists looking to break into the field of editorial and advertising illustration?

Haha, I feel like this is me, an aspiring artist. I can share the best advice I’ve got so far: 

– Go with your intuition

– Whatever you do is your style

– Don’t overthink it and allow yourself to make mistakes

I am very much still learning so I do not know the way. Illustrations and art speak to me when you can sense the story or the illustrator behind. So that’s what I’ll try to do, I will try to find my own voice and pour it into my illustrations.