twikga work in progress
Here you will find stories about the making-of my illustrations, the websites and the twikga books. The corona pandemic has been going on for more than a year now. A good time to go through our archives. But like a lot of people we are starting to loose our patience. We are looking forward to travel again. To photograph wildlife in faraway places, to travel to friends and family, go to events, visit museums, to feel free again, instead of locked up…
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...
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...
Back from the field office
We just returned from a great safari to Kenya, where we gathered exciting new raw material for future books! "5.30, good morning, tea is ready", does not sound like holiday for many people. For us it does, but I also call it our field office. Get up early to catch the morning light. Beat the dust and bumpy roads. Be patient and wait for things to happen. Hope for animals to behave in a certain...
Night time is Photoshop time
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...
Need to get my fingers dirty
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...
The travel bug at work
InterRailing during my student days gave me the travel bugs. Together with my boyfriend - by now my husband - we traveled around the world for 6 months as soon as I finished my studies. Patagonia, hiking in the Andes, bungee jumping in New Zealand, diving on the Great Barrier Reef, banana pancakes in Indonesia, ... and we have traveled since. About 15 years ago we went to see "the big zoo", as...
Picture Story: 13 Lucky Lions and a Cheeky Leopard
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.
