Winterzeit, die Tage sind kurz, draussen ist es dunkel und kalt. Der Garten lockt nicht mit seinen sommerlichen Temperaturen. Nur Duvel kriegt mich vor die Tür für einen Hundespaziergang, wonach ich gerne wieder ins wohlige Warm verschwinde. Dort pendle ich zwischen meinem Schreibtisch, der Kaffeemaschine und dem Küchentisch, wo immer eine Zeitung liegt für die kleinen Pausen zwischendurch. Die...
The illustrations in Tata&Squack, The BIg Journey are a mix of photographs, drawings and collages. The photographs for the illustrations were taken in the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania and in the Masai Mara in Kenya. A lot of the wildebeest, especially Moyo, are ink drawings. To set him apart a bit, Moyo is slightly bigger and sturdier than the average wildebeest. I had a hard time with...
In early 2008 we started to develop the story of Tata&Squack - The Big Journey and the characters in word and in design. Questions had to be answered: what would we like her to wear, which colors, what kind of body-lanquage do we want her to display in the illustrations. This development process I loved tremendously; the creation of something new. It took more than a few brainstorms to...
Squack is more than a little chubby creature on a key chain. In the book Tata&Squack the Big Journey, he becomes Tata's friend. Tata's parents are researchers, who studied the migration of the Wildebeest in the Serengeti. When their assignment is over and they fly back home Tata is sad. The flight attendant passes by with a basket full of toys. She picks Squack. Suddenly out of a magic swirl...
Taking pictures in the dark is fun, but it does not give you material to work with for a book. We experimented with flash lights, torches and even car lights. We had a lot of laughs, but the conclusion was that in the bush, with limited equipment, it is merely impossible to light up bigger areas. The lights reflect on the nearest object and will leave everything beyond that point in shades or...
Most of the time I am glued to my computer. Sometimes I need to get my fingers dirty. That's why I look forward to the days when I can go to Irene Velthuis. She runs a painting school in Ottensen, a trendy part of Hamburg. I know her from the days when she helped me to develop my portfolio for Art School. Now I call her my "creative conscience", because critical questions, unsolicited good...
Near the Savuti Channel in Botswana, we witnessed a family of 13 lions having a feast over a giraffe. Not a pretty sight, or smell. Then a leopard appeared on the scene.
