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Commissioned | Professional

Why did you make this work:
Anna Ancher (1859-1935) is one of Denmarks great painters and a master of colours. I wanted to make It possible for all kids to know about her childhood and her journey to become one of the great painters. A story about how Anna grew up and how her mother supported her despite her being a girl and the family being traditional and religious.

What materials and techniques did you use?:
All of the preliminary sketches were drawn with pencil on paper. I drew the backgrounds and characters digitally in Procreate using the sketches as inspiration. Most of the colours were created by hand with watercolour and ink. I scanned the watercolour/ink drawings and merged them with my digital artwork. I was inspired by Anna Anchers colour use and also included some of her motifs in the book.

How were your illustrations used:
The illustrations were used in a picture book about the childhood of Anna Ancher a Danish world famous painter. I pitched the story to the publishing house ’Grønningen 1’ and they included it in a series of picture books called "A Young …”. All of them telling the story of a great and historic Danish person. The book was published in November 2023. I both wrote and illustrated the story.


Commissioner Name :
Marianne Kiertzner
Commissioner Company :
Forlaget Grønningen1

Social Media:
twitter.com/zarahjuul
instagram.com/zarahjuul

Personal Website:
zarahjuul.com


Currently Based:
Denmark

Biography:
Zarah Juul is an illustrator and author from Denmark. She was originally trained as an animator and graphic designer, and spent ten years as a Game Director making video games for kids, before committing to illustration in 2012. She has illustrated numerous books on the major publishing houses in Denmark, worked with a range of authors and has written and illustrated her own stories.