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Kreativer Abschied

Kreativer Abschied

Abschied von Irene. Es fällt mir schwer. Nach mehr als 10 Jahren trennen sich unsere Wege. Ich kam in 2004 zu Irene zur Mappenvorbereitung für mein Studium an der Bildkunst Akademie. Nach meinem Studium war sie mein Creatives Gewissen bei dem Entstehen der Bücher. Später habe ich bei Ihr an meinen Collagen gearbeitet. Viele Montage habe ich zusammen mit verschiedenen creatieven Mitstreitern in...

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The making of Phanhabs Savanna’s change of seasons

The making of Phanhabs Savanna’s change of seasons

The illustrations in my books are a mix of photographs, drawings and collages. The picture of the elephants on the left was taken by us in the Masai Mara on one of our safaris. I used it to illustrate the change of seasons in the savanna, where thunderclouds building up announce the rainy season. For the illustration I changed the background of the picture and the light on the elephants became...

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Wild Picha, more than the photos behind twikga illustrations

Wild Picha, more than the photos behind twikga illustrations

We started taking pictures, when we made a trip around the world in 1992. Since then African wildlife has been the focus of our photography. What started as a means to share our stories with the people back home has become a profession for Tanja. She uses our photos to create illustrations for her children's books. In 2010, she started her own publishing company, twikga. We were lucky to travel...

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Arbeiten in (künstlicher) Stille

Arbeiten in (künstlicher) Stille

Jeder arbeitet anders. Bei manchen geht es nur mit lauter Musik, ich kann mich nur bei absoluter Stille konzentrieren. Gerade versuche ich fotografische Wimmelbilder für meine neues Buch zu bauen. Aber leider ist die Stille, die ich dafür brauche im Moment weit zu Suchen. Meine Nachbarn haben mir eine Baustelle vor die Nase gesetzt. Ungefähr 10 Meter von meinem Arbeitsplatz entfernt wird von...

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Winterzeit ist Bücherzeit

Winterzeit ist Bücherzeit

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...

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The making of Moyo, the wildebeest named heart

The making of Moyo, the wildebeest named heart

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...

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The making of Tata

The making of Tata

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...

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Meet the adventurous captain Squack

Meet the adventurous captain Squack

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...

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