Andi Papelitzky - Artist
1. Briefly describe your current position/project, research focus, and your role within MCQST.
Some time ago, I was contacted to do an animated video about Alice, the main character of MCQST, which described somehow what the cluster is about, and how she interacts with different people in the community. That was quite fun and fortunately did well with the folks at MCQST, so I got asked again to illustrate other projects for the cluster.
I'm working as a graphic designer, but I always love to do illustrations for different things. So I really was happy to lend my comic style for such a new and exciting field.
2. You are creating comic characters for MCQST & PhotonLab. Is it challenging to draw for scientific topics?
Sometimes, it causes one or two extra correction-loops, when I don't really know about the specific details of a certain scientific theme or image which are essential for that certain thing or process.
I also do illustrations for a urology magazine where it's the same thing: I don't really know the specifics, but I always try to understand the whole picture where you can also learn certain things. The cool thing is, when you are open for new things you will get pushed out of your comfort zone which makes everything more interesting. And if you're not afraid of jumping into new territory you might end up doing more stuff in that direction, like the covers for the PhotonLab "Alice in Quantum Land" podcast, for example.
The cool thing is, when you are open for new things you will get pushed out of your comfort zone which makes everything more interesting.
3. What is the coolest project you have worked on and why?
For me, as a huge movie and comics fan, the first project that comes to mind was a stop-motion film I did at the end of my studies. Then it was a dream come true to publish my own comic. For now, I really love doing caricatures, for which I found the perfect medium: Card games. I did a Halloween-themed Schafkopf deck for example and am currently working on a Munich themed deck. It's not as time-consuming as regular comic books, people recognize the caricatures, and they sell better ;) If you want to take a look at my drawings and keep updated about some of those projects you can follow my Instagram page where I post everything new I'm working on.