'Noortje' (Tina #2, 2017).
Lucas Steeman is a freelance artist from Castricum, who works mainly as a visualizer for advertisements through the Roughmen agency. For a couple of years, he succeeded his father Jan Steeman as the artist of the gag comic 'Noortje' in girls' magazine Tina (2016-2018).
Life and career
Born in 1960, Lucas Steeman is the son of comic artist Jan Steeman, known for series such as 'Arad en Maya' in Sjors, 'Roel Dijkstra' in Eppo and 'Noortje' in Tina. In his professional life, Lucas Steeman has worked as a sketch artist through agencies like Roughmen, doing concept visualizations and advertising storyboards for commercial clients such as VanMoof bicycles, Milka chocolate, Heineken beer, Mitsubishi and Ziggo. His brothers Theo (1958) and Sander (1964) have also worked as illustrators, while his brother Peter is a journalist and editor.
'Robin' - 'De Oude Molenaar' (Tina #27, 2006).
Comics
In 2006, Lucas Steeman first appeared in the weekly girls' magazine Tina, working with his father's scriptwriter Patty Klein on the comic series 'Robin's Zesde Zintuig', about a paranormal girl Tina. The project was however aborted after one episode, called 'De Oude Molenaar'.
Steeman returned to comics in late 2016, when he succeeded his father on the gag series about the clumsy girl 'Noortje'. Created by Patty Klein and Jan Steeman for Tina in 1975, the 'Noortje' comic had been produced without interruption by the same duo for 41 years. When health issues forced Jan Steeman to retire in 2016, Lucas took over. Still written by Patty Klein, the first episodes drawn by Lucas Steeman were published in December 2016. During his run on the feature, he applied a more realistic style than his father, and returned to the character's original looks. When health issues left Patty Klein unable to continue writing 'Noortje' in mid-2018, Steeman made the remaining episodes of that year with scriptwriter Frank Jonker. As of 2019, Tina magazine has switched to reprinting older episodes, as the editors felt the Noortje character was too closely connected to the personality and mindset of writer Patty Klein.
Storyboard art for 'Hertog Jan' beer. © Roughmen.