Windows into Illustration: Marjoke Henrichs

Originally from the Netherlands and a former theatre designer and painter, Marjoke Henrichs is a graduate of the MA Children’s Book Illustration course at Cambridge School of Art. Her work is characterized by uncluttered images, her visual language always child-focused and interesting. Here she describes her approach to illustration and embracing experimentation to give her artwork vitality.

For many years, I designed sets and costumes for the theatre. Recently, I have started making picture books, which I love doing!  I think you can tell I was a stage designer as I treat my spreads like an empty stage – but the difference is that now I can create whatever I like without worrying if it can be recreated in full size!

My first two books NO! Said Rabbit and Ready! Said Rabbit were created with this in mind. Both books were inspired by my own children – they are grown up now, but I still remember those lovely toddler years. Currently I am working on the third book in the series.

NO! Said Rabbit was written and illustrated as my graduation project for the MA in Children’s book illustration at Cambridge School of Art. I did experiment a lot while working on it and began with ink outlines instead of pencil. One day I forgot my pen, but I had some wooden coffee stirrers, which I sharpened and used instead.  I loved the slightly unpredictable and uneven lines. It made the artwork much more alive and gave it energy.

Fast forward to the present, and I now prefer to draw my artwork with a sharpened coffee stirrer and ink! This also serves as a good excuse to visit coffee shops to do some observational sketching as well as drink coffee!

My latest book Detective Catz and the Missing Nut was inspired by my cat Boris. One day I was wondering what he might be doing when he was out, and just doodled various different situations. I imagined him being a detective.

Detective Catz has made quite a journey since those first doodles, from my real cat to a sophisticated grown up picture book cat, enjoying croissants with strawberry jam and coffee for breakfast, reading detective novels, and studying detective practice – because he really wants to be a detective.

Over time, as the story evolved, Catz became a lot younger, more enthusiastic, curious – and importantly – determined not to give up. He also got five good little friends.

I set the story in a forest environment, and it took a bit of working out how to draw the trees and leaves without them looking ‘stiff’. I also set the action in Autumn so I could use a whole array of bright earth colours from green to yellow and deep red, to avoid the whole book becoming green.

I usually hand draw my roughs immediately in ink, so they keep their freshness when I draw the final artwork. For colour, I use a combination of Gouache and coloured pencil, sometimes both or one or the other. Catz’s clothes and his markings are in colour pencil only, and looking at Foxy, his cardigan is just in colour pencil, but I combined gouache and coloured pencil for his trousers, shoes, tail and face.

The only time I use photoshop is to enlarge, minimise or move an image in development, then I’ll print it out and will redraw it by hand again using a light board.

Detective Catz and the Missing Nut is published by Scallywag Press, ‎ 978-1915252715, £12.99 hbk.