Anke Weckmann Illustration

Learning French / April 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Anke) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:19:00 +0000

Je ne comprends pas ce qui s’est passé. / I don’t understand what happened.

Elle tricote une écharpe pour son grand frère. / She’s knitting a scarf for her big brother.

Nous voulons des chambres communicantes à l’hôtel. / We want adjoining rooms at the hotel.

J'ai fait une erreur. / I made a mistake.

Shop / Happiness And Two Horses Print

noreply@blogger.com (Anke) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 11:29:00 +0000

Happy Spring! To celebrate my favourite time of year, there's a new print in my Etsy & Dawanda shops called Happiness And Two Horses. The girl in this illustration was loosely inspired by Elizabeth of the lovely blog Stoic & Pariah.

Tara Stiles & Being Pain-Free

noreply@blogger.com (Anke) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 22:11:00 +0000

This is a little illustration of Tara Stiles, the coolest yoga lady on the planet. If you don't know her already, check out her YouTube channel! I was lucky enough to meet Tara in London last autumn, so when I went to New York earlier this month I made sure to take some classes at her yoga studio, which is amazing. She also makes cooking videos and she knits great hats!

This is a bit of a different post, but since I hear from more and more illustrators that they're suffering from RSI, I thought I should mention that yoga has helped me so much. When I started drawing for hours every day at university I started to have really bad RSI which got worse over time. For four years I was in pain every day to the point where even lifting heavy cutlery (!) was painful. I also suffered from migraines since the age of 16 or so.

When I started doing yoga (and running and other gym classes) it slowly got better and I've now been pain-free for about two years. My last migraine was also two years ago. So I'm very grateful to Yoga (as well as running, Zumba and generally going to the gym). I'm not a big fan of throwing out advice, but if you're starting out as an illustrator I definitely recommend beginning to exercise before it gets so bad that you can't work. And it doesn't necessarily have to be yoga, find something you enjoy. The more you sit, the stronger you have to be. It's something I wish they had taught us at university.

Happy Easter 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Anke) — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 09:30:00 +0000

I hope the Easter Bunny is enjoying a nice big relaxing coffee right now. When you think of it, is job is grossly underrated. Santa gets all the credit for delivering all the presents in a single night. But he has flying reindeers, helping elves and he only has to deliver the presents - the Easter Bunny has to hide them, too! So please, let's take a moment to appreciate his efforts and his logistic genius. Happy Easter!

Learning French / March 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Anke) — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 10:30:00 +0000

C’est juste à côté de ce bâtiment-là. / It’s right next to that building there.

Prenez deux comprimés par jour pendant un mois. /

Take two pills a day for one month.

Avez-vous de la fièvre? / Do you have a fever?

Elle a installé la télévision a écran plat elle-même. /

She installed the flat screen television herself.

Je vais faire la grasse matinée. / I’m going to sleep in.

Stay Home Club / Pillow Cases

noreply@blogger.com (Anke) — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 12:49:00 +0000

A little while ago, the lovely Olivia Mew of Stay Home Club asked me to illustrate some pillow cases! Good Night/Bonne Nuit were illustrated especially, Vous Etes Ici and Four Dogs are personal pieces from a while ago. I hope you like them! They're now available from the Stay Home Club online shop. (The beautiful photos are curtesy of Olivia.)

Sketchbook Saturdays / 08

noreply@blogger.com (Anke) — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 18:55:00 +0000

For this Sketchbook Saturday I'm sharing some sketchbook bits from when I first started working on the album artwork for Kein Unbeschriebenes Blatt. You'll recognise some bits from the final artwork I posted in the previous two posts. Hope you're having a wonderful weekend!

Kein Unbeschriebenes Blatt / Booklet Artwork

noreply@blogger.com (Anke) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 10:57:00 +0000

So here's a peek at the booklet artwork for Kein Unbeschriebenes Blatt, the CD I blogged about yesterday. The music is beautiful, even if you don't understand German I think you would enjoy it! You can preview all the tracks on Amazon & iTunes.

Kein Unbeschriebenes Blatt / Album Artwork

noreply@blogger.com (Anke) — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 19:05:00 +0000

Last year I had the pleasure of illustrating/designing the new album of German singer Diane Weigmann, which was released last month. It's called Kein Unbeschriebenes Blatt and is available from Amazon, iTunes and other music stores. Such a wonderful album and it was so much fun to create the artwork for it! (There are lots of illustrations in the booklet as well, I'll save that for the next blog post.)

Learning French / February 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Anke) — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 15:00:00 +0000

Quelle est la limitation de vitesse? / What is the speed limit?

Je compatis à ta douleur / I feel your pain

Personne n’aime sortir la poubelle / Nobody likes to take out the trash

Elle essaie toujours de me caser avec tous ses amis /

She’s always trying to fix me up with all of her friends

Leben & Erziehen / Geese

noreply@blogger.com (Anke) — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 16:53:00 +0000

You can find my illustrations in the current issue of German magazine Leben & Erziehen on the kids pages. I especially enjoyed making up the puzzles - in the first one you have to find the pairs and in the second one you have to find the things that don't go in the soup. The cool and unusual thing about the geese story is that the writer made it up from my illustration and not vice versa.

Sketchbook Saturdays / 08

noreply@blogger.com (Anke) — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 12:20:00 +0000

Here's another peek into my sketchbook, these are some drawings I made on the plane around Christmas time (you can probably tell by the candles).

Learning French / January 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Anke) — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 10:10:00 +0000

Tu envisages d'acheter un smartphone? / Are you planning on buying a smartphone?

Y a-t-il un médecin dans la salle? / Is the a doctor in the room?

Ma fourchette est tombée par terre / My fork fell on the floor

C’était délicieux / It was delicious

I know I probably say this every year, but is it February already? Looks like it's time for a roundup of January's Learning French illustrations. The 50th lesson was Y a-t-il un médecin dans la salle? (Is there a doctor in the room?) and to mark the occasion I decided to make it a double bill with two illustrations. Can't believe I've drawn more than 50 of these already!

In other exciting news, these weekly French lessons have been adopted by the lovely Red Barn Blog who has been running them every Friday since early January. Other places to keep up with the new French illustrations every Friday are my Tumblr and Facebook page. A bientôt!

Sketchbook Saturdays / 07

noreply@blogger.com (Anke) — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 13:11:00 +0000

At last there were a few sunny days this week and I managed to take some photos. So here's another peek into my sketchbook. Have a lovely weekend!

Time Out NY / Holiday-Scented Spa Treatments

noreply@blogger.com (Anke) — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 20:30:00 +0000

Towards the end of last year I drew this illustration for Time Out New York's The Holiday Guide (Issue 888 / December 13-16). It's part of an article about holiday-scented spa treatments. I wouldn't mind one of those right now...

Sketchbook Saturdays / 06

noreply@blogger.com (Anke) — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 17:24:00 +0000

Sketchbook Saturdays are back! I know it's been a while but I promise they will be more regular again in 2013. Recently my sketchbooks have been filled with lots of things I can't share (yet) and the days have been so grey that it's been difficult to take decent photos. (Not to mention being busy and forgetting all about it!) Time to get a little more organised, I think. Anyway, here's a little peek into my current sketchbook. Show me yours?

Learning French / December 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Anke) — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 17:51:00 +0000

Aimez-vous ce pull? / Do you like this sweater?

Il ne veut jamais passer l'aspirateur / He never wants to vacuum

Êtes-vous étrangers? / Are you foreigners?

Je vais arranger les meubles / I'm going to arrange the furniture

I can't believe it's been a whole year of my Learning French illustrations already! These are the December editions. They have become a weekly thing and you can catch them every Friday over on Flickr, Tumblr and Facebook. I look forward to drawing another 52 of them in 2013. Bonne année!

Merry Christmas 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Anke) — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 08:04:00 +0000

noreply@blogger.com (Anke) — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 21:54:00 +0000

I'm so excited to be in the Frankie Magazine calendar again! It's always such a beautifully designed calendar with a wonderful selection of illustrations. This time I'm March.

The cover was drawn by the amazing Ana Albero. The other contributors are: Emily Martin (The Black Apple), Nancy Mungcal, The Pin Pals. Julianna Swaney, Donna Wilson, Jill Labieniec, Jennifer Davis, Lucy King, Kate Pugsley and Irana Douer. You can find it in the Frankie Online Shop.

Shop / Diane Totebag

noreply@blogger.com (Anke) — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 20:05:00 +0000

I recently designed this Totebag for German singer Diane Weigmann. It's a two colour version of my illustration for the cover of her new album Kein Unbeschriebenes Blatt, which will be released in February 2013. The bag is made of 100% cotton and has lovely long handles so it easily fits over your shoulder, even when wearing a wintercoat. I have a few of these bags available in my Etsy & Dawanda shops.

Learning French / November 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Anke) — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 21:38:00 +0000

Il est interdit de conduire aujourd'hui / Driving is forbidden today

Il n'ya pas d'eau chaude / There isn't any hot water

Laissez-moi vous montrer nos robes / Let me show you our dresses

Pas avant tu ne fasses tes tâches / Not until you do your chores

Quels rideaux préférez-vous? / Which curtains do you prefer?

Personal Work / Snake Plissken

noreply@blogger.com (Anke) — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 00:02:00 +0000

Escape From New York is a pretty boring film, but you've got to love it for the main character's name Snake Plissken, which sounds like a something Pippi Longstocking might make up. And of course his crazy trousers are amazing! Personally, I do feel that two giant cats as his sidekicks would made the story so much better. Maybe there could be a new sequel called "Snake Plissken And The Cats Take Manhattan'?

Shop / 15% Off

noreply@blogger.com (Anke) — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 16:23:00 +0000

Get 15% off everything in my Etsy Shop until the end of the month. Just enter coupon code COZY15 at the checkout. Each order will come with little surprise extras.

Learning French / October 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Anke) — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 21:22:00 +0000

Je ne travaille pas aujourd'hui / I'm not working today

Mon père et moi avons les mêmes goûts pour la musique /

My father and I have the same taste in music

Regardez à droite et à gauche / Look to the right and to the left

Ca ne sont pas de bonnes places! / These are not good seats!

Monoblock / Dog Calendar

noreply@blogger.com (Anke) — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 14:51:00 +0000

Earlier this summer I drew this Jack Russell Terrier for the 2013 Hipster Dogs Calendar by Monoblock. Vik brought some samples over when she came to London last month and they turned out really lovely! Gemma Correll illustrated the wonderful cover.

The other contributing artists are: Luli Bunny, Colorblok, Leo Espinosa, Ana Sanfelippo, Meg Hunt, Maria Elina, Laura Varsky, Maria Montiel, Farnanda Cohen, Sol Linero and Vik Arrieta. The calendars are available directly from the Monoblock online shop.