Dick Heins
Profile Dick Heins
Dick Heins was born on September 29, 1959, in The Hague. He grew up in Wassenaar but currently lives in Oosterhout (North Brabant) with his wife Cindy and stepson Danny.
Besides drawing, he enjoys cooking and reading. Dick is a Dutch comic artist and illustrator, famous for his images filled with humorous and warmly crowded scenes.
Childhood and Education
After completing high school, Dick followed a three-year graphic course at the SDUB (former State Printing and Publishing Company in the Netherlands), where he first encountered the work of Jan van Haasteren.
Shortly after, he contacted Jan and asked if he could visit. A week later, Dick was at Jan's home, which until then had been the best day of his life. Jan explained to Dick how to work with watercolour ink, prepare paper for colouring, and much more.
Career
In 1978, Dick received his first paid commission and began his career as an illustrator. He established his own drawing studio, 'Studio Dick Heins'. The puzzle magazine 'Bingo' was looking for an artist to create a monthly comic strip, a role Dick fulfilled for over 15 years.
His work in comic strips for magazines was soon followed by contributions to children's magazines like Bobo, the Eppo comic magazine, and Junior Suske en Wiske. Additionally, he created numerous comic strips for corporate newsletters. Since 2018, Dick has also been illustrating puzzle scenes for Jumbo's Wasgij puzzles.
Studio Jan van Haasteren
In 2013, Jan asked Dick to join Rob Derks to come draw for the soon-to-be-established Studio Jan van Haasteren. Dick had made a good impression on Jan, who wanted to add him to the drawing team.
The first puzzle illustrations that Dick created for the studio were “Chaos on the Field”, “The Fair”, “Bumper Cars” and “Pulling Ropes”, “Chinese New Year”, and “Sea Port”.
Signature
Dick gets his ideas for the puzzle scenes from various sources: situations he encounters on the street, at events, comic conventions, and by brainstorming with Jan, Rob, and Saskia (Jan's daughter). Since the illustrators have the freedom to add 'characters' to the puzzles, Dick does so too.
For example, his father appears in every puzzle. Another recurring character is his good friend, Maurice, who can be found in various situations in his wheelchair. Lastly, he has included a butterfly, representing the most important person in his life, his wife Cindy. She is absolutely crazy about butterflies, so he has portrayed her as one.
