Ystavien Eskari – Preschool textbook
The previously released ABC-book series got continuation in the form of a preschool textbook. The book is set in the same world and it features some of the same characters as the previous books, but the main characters are new. Tiki the squirrel and Havu the bear teach preschoolers important emotional skills, while also preparing them for the first grade. Yet again I teamed up with Tiia Reijonen who drew the background art for the full spread illustrations.
Hylleröt
These wobbly characters are called Hyllerös and they love everything fun! And what’s more fun than a roller coaster?? But before they can enter the ride, they need grow and reach the required height.
The final characters and backgrounds were done in co-operation with my husband Jaakko Mukka. If you wish to see these characters in action, log in to Veikkaus website and search for Hylleröt.
Päästä irti, Taneli!
Taneli is a weevil who does not know how to let go once he grabs a hold of something. This isn’t particularly handy trait if one wants to succeed in sports competitions. Taneli’s friends try to cheer him on, but time and time again he fails miserably until he meets with the world famous Masa Murska.
Taneli and his friends first appeared on the pages of ABC book as side characters. I had an idea for a story that would feature these bugs, but it was a bit too complicated to be told on 16 spreads. Johanna Asplund helped me co-write the story and to make it more suitable for children that are just learning to read.
If you want to find out how the story ends, you can buy the book from Oppi&Ilo
Ystävien aapinen & lukukirja – ABC books
A few years ago I was asked to illustrate ABC-book for Sanoma Pro. The task was enormous, so these illustrations were made in co-operation with the incredibly talented Tiia Reijonen. She was responsible for the background art and I did the characters. Some first graders have already learned to read with Ulla the lynx, Aamos the moose and Papu the mouse and soon second graders will have the chance to meet Klaara the crocodile as well!
Pharysol Wolf
I made this animation some time ago at Brink Helsinki. The client wanted a painterly look which made animating the character a bit challenging. Eventually I ended up combining After Effects puppeting with frame by frame animation.
Rosa & Rudolf
Last yearedesign the children’s mascots for Finnish ski resort Ruka. It was an awesome project and I had lots of fun with Rosa the Bear and Rudolf the Reindeer!
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Ginny and Dee-Dee revisited
I’ve drawn The Cherry Pie girls many times, but it’s always equally exciting! These are my latest designs from last fall.
Santa Claus
I made some character design for Santa Claus foundation quite a while ago. Here’s a few of them. This year we made a Christmas calendar featuring the old characters along with some new ones! tontuksi.fi
Redesigning Snuffle and Lumps
Here’s what Lumps looks like nowdays! I’m planning on redesigning Snuffle too in the near future.
Stripy Nose Creature
I tend to draw nice little characters and not give a damn about the background, so this time I decided to start with the background. But quite frankly I still just wanted to skip to the character part. Maybe next time I’ll do better…
Not again, Hylky!
I got inspired by Tuuli’s new take on our beloved Cherry Pies and decided to try something different too!
Giant Love
This poor Giant Panda is in love with a tightrope walker and he’s desperate to express his feelings. Due to his enormous size he can go to extreme lengths like getting the moon from the sky…
Zombie
I kept on thinking why the text behind the zombie just doesn’t look right, but it’s written the finnish way. I do apologize for my bad english, but I’m too lazy to change it now..
Snuffle & Lumps
This is where Snuffle & Lumps live along with their numerous pets. The rest of them are hiding indoors but there’s some of the bats, Mr. Pickles the cat, Brian the extremely stupid owl, Muffin the goat and Tootsie the carnivorous plant (don’t go too near her, she might take a bite or worse, give you a big wet kiss!)
