The Artistry
The Artistry is a two-person Dutch creative studio in Zeeland producing 2D hand-drawn animations, book illustrations, graphic design, cartoons, and custom greeting cards. Founded in 2019 by sisters Ymke and Laura van Gaalen, it serves SMBs, NGOs, healthcare, education, and government clients across the Netherlands with 100% human-made, project-based custom work.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersRotterdam, Netherlands
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What The Artistry does
The Artistry is a two-person creative studio based in Vlissingen, Zeeland, Netherlands, founded in 2019 by sisters Ymke van Gaalen and Laura van Gaalen. The studio produces 2D hand-drawn animations, book and editorial illustrations, cartoons, graphic design, and custom greeting cards, explicitly positioning itself as "100% human-made" with no AI-generated imagery. Its service portfolio spans custom explainer animations (€975-€2,000+ tiered packages), illustration work billed at €55/hour for private clients and €75/hour for businesses, short GIF animations (€50-€150), and personalized greeting cards, with the founders handling all production in-house.
The underlying technology is traditional 2D animation and hand-drawn illustration supplemented by standard digital tools; the studio's differentiator is the manual craft process and a signature colorful style influenced by nature, mythology, comic books, and film. The business model is project-based custom work: a documented 4-step process (kick-off meeting "koffiebabbel," concept/script/storyboard, production, delivery) with personalized quotes per project. Distribution is direct-to-client via the website (theartistry.nl), email, Instagram, and LinkedIn, with no intermediaries or platform layer. The customer base is a horizontal mix of Dutch SMBs, healthcare providers, educational institutions, NGOs, and government/enterprise clients including ANWB, Felyx E-Scooters, Maastricht University, Theorie.nl, and Rutgers.
The studio is founder-owned, self-funded, and bootstrapped — there are no disclosed funding rounds, no external investors, no parent company, no subsidiaries, and no patents. Headcount is capped at the two co-founders, which functions as both the brand's authenticity signal and a binding constraint on scaling output. Geographic footprint is the Netherlands (anchored in Zeeland), and revenue is undisclosed.
The Artistry firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Artistry
- Legal name
- The Artistry
- Website
- https://theartistry.nl
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- The Artistry is a two-person Dutch creative studio in Zeeland producing 2D hand-drawn animations, book illustrations, graphic design, cartoons, and custom greeting cards. Founded in 2019 by sisters Ymke and Laura van Gaalen, it serves SMBs, NGOs, healthcare, education, and government clients across the Netherlands with 100% human-made, project-based custom work.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Artistry industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Animation and Illustration Services
- NAICS
- Graphic Design Services (54143), Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (711510)
- SIC
- Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Digital Creative & Experience Design Agencies (Web/App/UX) (MPAAAAAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Motion Graphics & Title Design (MPADACAD), Visual Arts (Drawing, Painting, Illustration) (EDAAAGAA)
Keywords
Where The Artistry is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Rotterdam
- HQ country
- Netherlands
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
The Artistry business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Custom Animation Projects: Project-based custom animation work including explainer videos (uitleganimaties), GIFs, logo reveals, educational animations, and promotional videos. Pricing follows tiered packages: Basis (€975+), Uitgebreid (€1950+), and Custom (€2000+). GIFs priced between €50-€150. Duration ranges from 30-90 seconds depending on package.
- Custom Illustration Services: Project-based illustration work including book illustrations, children's book illustrations, cartoon illustrations, graphic design, character design, and portrait illustrations. Hourly rates of €55 excl. BTW for private clients and €75 excl. BTW for business clients. Quotes provided based on complexity, quantity, format, and style requirements.
- Greeting Cards and Personalized Products: Custom designed greeting cards (wenskaarten) for various occasions including births, birthdays, weddings, holidays, and memorials. Also includes personalized artwork and small gifts. Serves both business clients and individual consumers.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Basis Pakket: Simple animated videos starting at €975 |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Uitgebreid Pakket: Comprehensive animated videos starting at €1950 |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Custom Pakket: Fully personalized animations starting at €2000 |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | GIF animations: Small animated clips |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Hourly rates for illustration work |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
The Artistry product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Artistry is a Dutch creative studio providing custom 2D hand-drawn animations, book illustrations, cartoon illustrations, graphic design, custom greeting cards, and nature/historical paintings for both businesses and private individuals. All work is produced by the studio as 100% human-made creative output, with no use of AI-generated imagery, and delivered through a four-step engagement process (kick-off meeting, script/storyboard, production, and delivery).
Product overview
The Artistry is a Dutch creative studio based in Zeeland (Vlissingen) offering a comprehensive portfolio of hand-crafted visual content services. The core offering centers on 2D animations and illustrations, with specific products including book illustrations (particularly children's books), cartoon illustrations, graphic design services, and custom greeting cards. The studio also produces nature and historical paintings, character designs, website banners, and provides voice-over services for their animation projects. Their animation services are structured in three tiers (Basic, Uitgebreid, and Custom packages ranging from €975 to €2000+), while illustration work is priced at €55/hour for private clients and €75/hour for businesses. All work is explicitly 100% human-made, with no AI-generated content used.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Zanzi Design: Laura van Gaalen's personal illustration brand, featuring digital illustrations and character designs including her BeINGs collection.
Products and services
- 2D Animations Hand-drawn 2D animations that explain products, services, or concepts in an engaging visual format for businesses and organizations across marketing, education, training, and awareness campaigns.
- GIF Animations Short animated clips of typically 10-15 seconds used for social media, websites, and digital greeting cards. Pricing ranges from €50 to €150 excluding BTW (VAT).
- Book Illustrations Hand-drawn illustrations for children's books, educational books, academic dissertations, cookbooks, and other publications, including character design and cover design work.
- Children's Book Illustrations Specialized illustration work for children's picture books, educational children's books, and storybooks, including characters like 'Elly de Draak'.
- Portrait Illustrations Custom portrait illustrations including family portraits, pet portraits, and stylized character portraits ordered by individual clients.
- Character Design Custom creation of mascots, animal, human, and fictional characters used in animations, branding, and promotional materials for clients such as Like Charlie.
- Graphic Design Visual design services including logo design, branding, posters, flyers, business cards, information cards, stickers, and packaging design for businesses and individuals.
- Cartoon Illustrations Cartoon illustrations for magazines, calendars, newspapers, posters, portraits, business purposes, and animated cartoons, including cartoon mascots and caricature-style portraits.
- Custom Greeting Cards (Wenskaarten) Custom-designed greeting cards for births, birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, Christmas, Valentine's, Easter, and other personal occasions, including one-line art and zodiac cards sold to private individuals.
- Nature and Historical Paintings Hand-painted nature and historical paintings and illustrations created by co-founder Ymke van Gaalen, including acrylic paintings, bird illustrations, and historical scene recreations.
Quantifiable outcome
- Simple animations delivered within 3-4 weeks, complex animations within 7 weeks
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use The Artistry
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
The Artistry technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
The Artistry partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators2 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
The Artistry competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Buck: Large US-based creative studio producing animation, motion design, and brand storytelling for global brands. Competes with The Artistry for the same enterprise animation RFPs but at much greater scale, broader service portfolio, and global reach.
- KesselsKramer: Long-established Dutch creative agency producing advertising campaigns, brand work, and content for major Dutch and international clients. Competes with The Artistry in the Dutch market for creative content work but at significantly larger scale and with full agency services.
Direct peers
- Ordinary Folk: UK creative animation and design studio producing short-form 2D motion content for brands and broadcasters. Comparable service offering (animation, character design, illustration for commercial clients) and similar boutique scale to The Artistry.
- Blinkink: London-based animation studio specializing in character-driven 2D animation, illustration, and motion graphics for advertising and entertainment. Direct peer in motion-graphics service category with comparable aesthetic of hand-crafted character animation.
- Nexus Studios: London-based animation studio producing 2D and 3D animation, illustration, and creative direction for advertising, music videos, and brand campaigns. Slightly larger scale but directly comparable in service offering and artistic style.
- Animade: UK-based boutique animation and motion design studio producing character-led 2D animation for brands. Highly comparable to The Artistry in terms of service mix (animation + illustration for commercial clients), boutique scale, and creative-studio positioning.
- Giant Ant: Vancouver animation and motion design studio producing 2D animation, character design, and illustration for brand storytelling. Operates in same service category (motion graphics + illustration for commercial clients) at similar boutique scale.
Regional players
- Submarine: Amsterdam-based creative studio producing documentaries, animation, and branded content. Operates in adjacent Dutch creative market with overlapping capability in animation and illustration but focused on longer-form documentary and film work.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
The Artistry social profiles
Digital presenceThe Artistry financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Artistry leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
The Artistry funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Artistry M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Artistry
What does The Artistry do?
The Artistry is a Dutch creative studio providing custom 2D hand-drawn animations, book illustrations, cartoon illustrations, graphic design, custom greeting cards, and nature/historical paintings for both businesses and private individuals. All work is produced by the studio as 100% human-made creative output, with no use of AI-generated imagery, and delivered through a four-step engagement process (kick-off meeting, script/storyboard, production, and delivery).
Is The Artistry a public or private company?
The Artistry is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was The Artistry founded?
The Artistry was founded in 2019. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is The Artistry based?
The Artistry is headquartered in Rotterdam, Netherlands, in the Europe region.
How does The Artistry make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Custom Animation Projects are the primary driver. The others are custom Illustration Services and greeting Cards and Personalized Products.
Who are The Artistry's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Buck and KesselsKramer. Direct peers are Ordinary Folk, Blinkink, Nexus Studios, Animade and Giant Ant. Submarine is listed as a regional player.
Does The Artistry have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Artistry.
What industry is The Artistry in?
The Artistry's product category is Animation and Illustration Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAAAAAD, Digital Creative & Experience Design Agencies (Web/App/UX), with a secondary code of MPADACAD, Motion Graphics & Title Design. Its NAICS code is 54143 and its SIC code is 7330.