Leonardo Verkoelen
August 19, 2025
Hello Ash, welcome. It’s great to have you here on our Artist Spotlight! Could you please introduce yourself to the Blauw Films readers?
I’m Ash Thorp — designer, director, and perpetual creator. I’ve been fortunate to work across film, games, and automotive design, blending disciplines to explore ideas that live somewhere between the familiar and the unknown. My work is driven by curiosity and an obsession with pushing creative boundaries, whether that’s telling a story, designing a world, or reimagining a car that never existed.
I was first introduced to your work in 2014 through Project 2501: Homage to Ghost in the Shell. The collective effort on that project sparked this innate drive in me to fight harder and push much further with the projects I had in mind.
So, first of all, thank you for that!
We’re only a few years away from 2029, the year of Ghost in the Shell. How do you feel about the world we live in?
It’s complicated. We’re living in a strange intersection of technological acceleration and social uncertainty. There’s beauty in how connected we’ve become, but also a sense that we’re sprinting forward without fully understanding where we’re going. I think the challenge is finding moments of stillness and humanity in the chaos.
Moments of stillness and humanity seem to be getting ever more fleeting. It really is important to capture them when you can.
The importance of taking care of one’s soul is often neglected. I’m wondering about what your perspective is on that — how do you take care of your soul?
By making space for the things that have nothing to do with deadlines — long rides on my bike, time with my family, and quiet creative experiments that no one will ever see. For me, the soul thrives when you feed it curiosity without expectation.
What was your first creative memory?
Drawing worlds and creations in the margins of my schoolwork. I was completely lost in those little universes, even if my teachers didn’t love it.
I can imagine how precious those moments must be. How have your memories shaped your artistic expression?
I think nostalgia is a powerful engine for creativity. The media, music, and experiences you absorb when you’re young become part of your visual and emotional vocabulary. I’m always chasing the feeling certain films or designs gave me as a kid — not to copy them, but to capture that sense of wonder.
When you first get hit by an idea — and then as you start developing it, there is usually that “Truest Form” you wish to achieve. I often refer to it simply as the “desired effect”.
Personally I feel there is always a gap between one's skills and said desired effect. How close do you feel you’re able to reach the original intention of your ideas?
Rarely 100%. The “perfect” version exists only in your head. But the gap between intention and reality is where the magic often happens. Constraints and surprises shape the work in ways you couldn’t predict at the start. This is when the fun really begins and this is when your taste and resilience takes hold… and your style reveals itself through this process.
On that note, how often do your ideas surprise you as you make them real?
Almost every time. The act of making reveals paths you couldn’t see from the starting line.
Since you’ve often explored the relationship of man and machines in your work, I’d love to ask you this. Do you think AI-generated art has a soul — or does it simply mirror ours back to us?
Not in the human sense. AI is a mirror — it reflects us, our biases, our taste, our history. If there’s any “soul” in AI art, it’s the human one that shaped the data and guided the prompt.
What’s one part of your process you’ll never automate, no matter how efficient it might be?
The decision-making. Tools can help generate options, but the heart of the work is in choosing what matters and why.
From all the disciplines of art you’ve practiced over the years, from oil painting, to photography, graphic design and 3D — what are the key lessons you’ve taken along with you from each discipline?
Those really are some essential skills to build on. How much do you create in private compared to what is put out into the world?
A lot more privately than people might think. Some experiments are just for me — they’re fuel, not product.
Does it take craziness to create crazy good art?
Not craziness, but obsession. You have to care enough to push past what’s comfortable.
Has working in the industry changed the way you view art?
Yes. It’s made me value personal work even more, because commercial projects — while rewarding — are often shaped by outside forces. Personal work is where you can be entirely honest.
As much as the art and entertainment industry can be a wonderful place, it’s equal parts treacherous grounds. What’s one lie that the industry tells itself — and how do you navigate around it?
That speed is the same as quality. The best work takes time, reflection, and a willingness to get it wrong before you get it right.
I’d love to take a moment and talk about original IPs. Something that is very dear to our hearts at Blauw Films. You’ve been sharing a brand new universe: Orion.
What are you aiming to bring into the world?
A space for people to feel, not just consume. Orion is intentionally abstract — I want it to be something viewers experience in their own way, without needing to decode it.
That perfectly leads into the next question then. Orion - Act I is a highly subjective visual experience. The film provides this visceral experience akin to poetry. It’s not a film that’s easy to intellectualise.
I was going to ask, is it important to you that the viewer can express into words what they felt watching Orion?
Not at all. If it moves you, that’s enough.
Aliens. Clones. Birth. Death.
What is it about these themes that speaks to you?
They’re primal. They cut to the core of what it means to be alive, to question our place in the universe, and to imagine what could exist beyond our understanding.
Many of us are patiently waiting for what’s next with Orion. Something new to experience? Something physical to own? Just filling in the blanks here.
What do you have to say to the Orion fans waiting on the sidelines?
Thank you for your patience. The next steps are coming — I’d rather build something worth the wait than rush something forgettable.
Are you particular about the people you like to work with? Is selective collaboration important in your process?
Yes. Talent is important, but trust and shared values matter more. The right collaborators elevate everything.
In the past few years you and Carlos Pecino have been continuously pushing photorealism in CG automotive design with HASTE. The passion for bringing all of these heritage models into a new light truly shines through!
So this leads me to the importance of having fun in exploration and art making.
What's the most fun you’ve been having on your projects recently?
Working with Carlos Pecino on HASTE — blending photoreal automotive design with cinematic storytelling has been pure joy. We work truly harmoniously together and it's been an absolute joy to build HASTE together.
If we take a moment to look at the future. How do you aim to evolve your work over the next five years?
By chasing new mediums, new collaborations, and projects that scare me a little. If it’s too comfortable, it’s not growth.
That sounds wonderful. It's great to seek out those growing pains.
What advice would you give to someone thinking of a career as an artist? There is always a new generation taking their first steps into this adventure.
Focus on the work, not the noise. Learn your craft, be persistent, and surround yourself with people who inspire and challenge you.
That's amazing advice Ash... And that was it already! Thanks so much for taking the time to do this!
As always, we like to end every Artist Spotlight with a personal recommendation from the artist. Any good films, books, habits, or anything else you’d like to recommend to the reader?
Read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. Watch Stalker by Tarkovsky. Take long walks without your phone.
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