Vertelsels van de Grove Den

“Vertelsels van de Grove Den” (Tales of the Scots Pine) is a podcast series by Stuifzand (Drift Sand) and Het Geluidshuis (The Sound House).

Mast (left) is a Scots pine who knows everything, and Muts (right) is a spindle with a knack for sound effects. Together, they live in the Campine forests and host seven episodes of folklore legends—complete with a juicy Campine accent.

Brace yourself for tales of a magical elephant, a king who wants to marry his own daughter, a gang of fierce ghost riders, and a baker’s daughter who drives robbers insane with her clever tricks.

If you understand Dutch, you can listen to the series on Spotify.

Take me to the podcasts!

Every week, I’ll share the cover of the latest episode and some extra’s on this page.

Episode 1

“De Wonderen van Odrada van Balen”

MAY 2025: The VERY FIRST SKETCHES

I made these first sketches based on the rough drafts for the stories.
Stuifzand knew they wanted drawings of the main characters.
So, In my first proposal in may 2025, I included some rough sketches so we had something to talk about. I kept them fast and rough, so nothing was lost if we decided to go in another direction.

Click the drawings for a better look.

First proposals for Mast and Muts. Mast wears a pine cone inspired hat, while muts wears a dress that resembles the fruit of a spindle.
A first proposal for the main illustration: Mast wears a head inspired on a pine cone and Muts wears a skirt that resembles the fruit of a spindle.
A first idea for an overall image for the series.
A proposal for a smaller version of the main illustration.
Very first sketch for the cover of the story of Dimpna (Geel).
First drafts for the episode cover of the story of Peer Plimp (Meerhout).
A graphic test for the illustrations. My first idea was a lot more typographical than the end result.
But apparently the dirty ink textures stuck.
Episode 2

“Hansken en Grietje in Mol”

This story is based on the visit of the elephant Hansken to the village of Mol in 1648.

Standing on the shoulders of Giants

Because an elephant was such a rarity in 17th century Europe, many artists made sketches of Hansken. The reference drawings for this episode cover were provided by none other than Rembrandt himself! The great Dutch master sketched Hansken around 1637, when she (yes, Hansken was female!) visited Amsterdam

This image is part of a bigger copperplate etching with all tricks Hansken performed was sold a souvenir.

So these are the sketches and finished drawings based on these historical records.

Episode 3

“De Klompen van Veerle – Laakdal”

June 2025: More Sketches

Based on the feedback from Stuifzand and Het Geluidshuis:

  • We agreed that Mast and Muts where real trees and not characters based on the characteristics of these trees, so I made a rough second version for their designs.
  • They liked the characters from my first proposal, so I made rough sketches for all characters of the podcast series.

This is what I send them:

Next week: A new cover for episode Four and more sketches!
Friday February 6
Friday February 13
Friday February 20
Friday February 27

A podcast by Stuifzand
produced by Het Geluidshuis.

Written by
Dimitri Leue

Voice Acting
Jonas Leemans
Inge Paulussen
Charlotte Verdick
Tania Van der Sanden
Lotte Stevens
Koen De Bouw
Tijs Vanneste
Ben Segers

Direction & Music
Koen Brandt
Voice Recording
Olivier Marga
Simon Vander Beken
Bram Coumans
Mixing
Olivier Marga
Production
Ann Desmet
Communication
Katarina Martynowski

With financial support of
The Flemish Government

and the city councils of
Balen, Dessel,
Laakdal, Meerhout,
Mol, Retie & Geel

Illustrations and Graphic Design
Willem Pirquin

Like what you see?
Maybe we can work together.

Let’s talk

Or see more of my work