Picture This! 2023 competition

Picture This! 2023 competition

In 2023 I was one (of the three) winners of the Picture This! illustration competition, hosted by Dutch publishing house Lemniscaat. To join this competition, each illustrator had to send in three illustrations that tell one story, accompanied with a short description of the story and the pieces of text that go with each illustration.My winning illustrations are linocut prints, all black and white, filled with details, textures and funny little elements that each tell a story of their own. The story is about Senna, a girl who is looking for her cat Snoet. He hasn't come home for dinner, and now Senna has to go to bed without having a cuddle from her favourite pet. She is tired of searching all day and falls asleep immediately. In her dreams, her search for Snoet continues... The jury's verdict:"The story and Sofie's talent for illustration are beautifully combined in her linocuts. The original style and ambience invite the reader to take a closer look to see what is happening. Her clear, flowing lines and shapes are beautiful and attractive to children."

Birth announcement print & card design

Birth announcement print & card design

For this commission I made a linocut print, as well as a coloured version of this print for a birth announcement card. The illustration features a little girl who just became a big sister, telling her baby brother about her adventures on the beach in Nerezine, Croatia. The block was printed with black ink on ivory coloured paper, coloured details are acrylic gouache paint applied with a small brush. The print was scanned and coloured in digitally for the final birth announcement card design (size A6). The size of the linocut is A5 (14.8cm x 21cm).

Field of Flowers

Field of Flowers

This is a drawing, created with acrylic paint and acrylic drawing ink. Drawn on beautifully textured Khadi paper from India, which is made of 100% recycled cotton rags.

Concoction

Concoction

This is a drawing, created with acrylic paint and acrylic drawing ink. Drawn on beautifully textured Khadi paper from India, which is made of 100% recycled cotton rags.

Crowded Forest

Crowded Forest

This is a drawing, created with acrylic paint and acrylic drawing ink. Drawn on beautifully textured Khadi paper from India, which is made of 100% recycled cotton rags.

Birth Announcement print

Birth Announcement print

This commissioned linocut print was designed for a birth announcement card. The image includes several aspects from the life of the parents, like their love for nature, music and board games.The block was printed with black ink on ivory coloured paper. The print was then scanned digitally and sized down to the size of the final card (A6). The size of the printed image is A5 (14.8cm x 21cm).

Little Plant Houses

Little Plant Houses

What if your houseplants had little houses between their leaves?And would there be houseplants inside these little houses too?This illustration was done in acrylic gouache,painted on black watercolour paper with the tiniest brushes I could find. 

On A Walk

On A Walk

Two young best friends are off on an adventure, unaware of anyone watching them...This illustration was done in acrylic gouache,painted on black watercolour paper with the tiniest brushes I could find.

Chimney Ghost

Chimney Ghost

A little story about a ghost coming out of a chimney, enjoying reading his book in the fresh forest air.This illustration was done in acrylic gouache,painted on black watercolour paper with the tiniest brushes I could find.

Friendship with cats

Friendship with cats

These two prints were commissioned by a mother, as a gift for her sons. They both have/had a special relationship with a cat, and these portraits are a celebration of them. Rob & Ellie The important elements that had to be included in this portrait are the tattoos and leaves of the Royal Poinciana tree. Ellie the cat was a rather special black cat, with big yellow eyes and a really long bent tail. Peter & Ziggy's Excellent Adventure  This print was about dreaming of going on an adventure, and how nice it would be to take Ziggy the cat along! Ziggy is quite the character, with a lovely grey coat and shiny golden eyes.

Birth announcement

Birth announcement

This linocut print was designed for a birth announcement card. The soon-to-be parents came up with several aspects of their life that they wanted to include in the image, such as their cat, a bike and pawns (because they're into boardgames). Other things they loved included a starry night and a small cottage surrounded by lots of nature.The block was printed with black ink, the colours were painted by hand with acrylic gouache paint. The size of the image is A5 (14.8cm x 21cm).

Bear & Rabbit

Bear & Rabbit

Illustrations for a story about two friends: Bear and Rabbit. These are both linocut prints, printed in one color (black) which I made scans of. The colours are added digitally, using Procreate and Photoshop.

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