Thilo Krapp Illustration

Krieg und Frieden | War and Peace

2012-03-01T02:50:00.001-08:00

Diesen schönen Umschlag für "Krieg und Frieden" habe ich mal vor einiger Zeit in einem Antiquariat entdeckt. Ich war sofort hin und weg von dem schönen gemalten Motiv und dem vergilbten Papier.

This beautiful book jacket for "War and Peace" by Leo N. Tolstoi is a second hand book shop discovery. I fell in love with the painted cover picture and the yellowed, old paper in an instant.

Taschenbücher | Paperbacks

2012-02-22T00:49:00.000-08:00

Neulich fand´ ich diese alten rororo-Taschenbuch-Ausgaben auf einem Flohmarkt. Ich mochte die Grafik sofort gern, und konnte nicht widerstehen, sie zu kaufen - auch, wenn ich wohl kaum dazu komme, sie demnächst zu lesen, denn vorerst liegen noch ein paar andere Bücher auf meinem Nachttisch...

I found these old rororo paperbacks on a flea market recently. I fell in love with the graphic design and couldn´t resist to buy them. I won´t get to read them soon, though - there are a few books prior to them on my bedside...

Leute II | People II

2012-02-14T04:26:00.001-08:00

Zwei ältere Herrschaften, die ich für eine Szene im Museum brauche.

Two elderly people that I need to stage in a museum scene.

Leute | People

2012-02-08T11:22:00.000-08:00

Ein paar Figuren für eine Szene am Berliner Gendarmenmarkt.

A few sketches for Gendarmenmarkt people.

For a Friend

2012-02-08T02:55:00.001-08:00

Berlin by Pen: Reichstag

2012-02-02T04:00:00.000-08:00

Diesmal habe ich den Berliner Reichstag und die ihn umgebende Gebäudesituation "porträtiert". Das Reichstagsgebäude wurde von 1884-1894 von Paul Wallot erbaut. An seiner Stelle erhob sich seinerzeit zunächst ein Palais eines polnischen Grafen, das der Besitzer lange nicht verkaufen wollte. Als der Bau dann doch errichtet werden konnte, stand ihm für circa 30 Jahre die Siegessäule gegenüber, die erst später an ihren heutigen Standort, den "Großen Stern" versetzt wurde. Zudem war das Viertel dicht bebaut mit großen Wohn- und Mietshäusern, die zum Teil diplomatische Vertretungen beherbergten (ein einziges Exemplar davon, in dem die schweizerische Botschaft ihren Sitz hat, existiert heute noch).

Mit dem Reichstag untrennbar verbunden ist das wohl dunkelste Kapitel in der Geschichte Deutschlands. In der Nacht zum 28. Februar 1933 brannten der Plenarsaal und einige angrenzende Räume völlig aus. Die Nationalsozialisten profitierten von diesem Brand und machten politische Gegner und Randgruppen dafür verantwortlich, die ihnen ein Dorn im Auge waren, darunter vor allem jüdische Mitbürger. Bis heute ist nicht geklärt, wer den Brand tatsächlich gelegt hat (denn Brandstiftung war es wohl zweifelsfrei) - festzustellen ist jedoch, dass so kurz nach seiner Ernennung zum Reichskanzler vor allem Hitler einen Vorteil daraus ziehen konnte.

Another architectural drawing from me! This time I "portrayed" the Reichstag in Berlin and the surrounding area. It was built in the years 1884-1894 by Paul Wallot. The site was once used by a palace owned by a polish earl. Vis-à-vis the Reichstag stood the Berlin Victory Column, which later was translocated to the "Großer Stern". The block once was filled with big and expensive buildings, one of it having survived the air raids and still being the Embassy of Switzerland.

The Reichstag is inextricably connected with the darkest chapter of Germany´s history. In the night of february 27 to 28, the plenary hall and some adjacent rooms burnt out, the whole fire being a malicious arson. The Nazi party benefited from this and in the following blamed political opponents and marginal groups for it, especially the Jews. It is widely accepted nowadays that the Nazis took advantage of the situation, whether they set the building ablaze themselves or not.

New York, New York

2012-01-28T03:03:00.000-08:00

Diese Aufnahme habe ich vor einigen Jahren in New York gemacht. Es war am Fuß des RCA Victor Buildings (jetzt zu den Gebäuden von General Electric gehörend), eines meiner Lieblings-Wolkenkratzer dort. Als ich das Bild sah, dachte ich: wie Fotos doch einen Eindruck von einem Ort hinterlassen können, der im Erleben ganz anders war - aber deshalb nicht weniger schön oder interessant. Ich habe mich gefreut, dass die Aufnahme (mich) ein bisschen an die 30er Jahre in den Metropolen erinnerte, obwohl ich zu einer ganz anderen Zeit dort gewesen bin.

I took this picture in New York a couple of years ago. It was on Lexington Avenue where the RCA Victor Building (now belonging to the General Electric Buildings) is situated. I saw the picture and was kind of irritated. To me, it looked a bit like a piece from the 1930ies (you know, the period where all those pictures of men building skyscrapers in dizzy heights were taken). It was news to me that a photo can evoke an atmosphere totally different to the real impression of the moment (as I experienced it). I was happy about it, though, because I like pictures of that time. And it was fun to feel I had been to the city in another decade, although I went to NY nowadays.

Ausmalbogen | Coloring Picture

2012-01-24T08:43:00.000-08:00

Diese holde Meerjungfrau wartet jetzt darauf, ausgemalt zu werden! Man kann sie herunter laden auf dem wunderbaren und wunderschönen Malbogenblog. Dank an Judith!

This graceful mermaid longs to be coloured! You can download her from the beautiful Malbogenblog. Thanks to Judith!

Raymond Queneau - Stilübungen | Exercises in Style

2012-01-18T03:49:00.000-08:00

Eine der "Stilübungen" aus dem berühmten, gleichnamigen Buch von Raymond Queneau zeigt diese Illustration von mir: "Telegraphisch". Schade, dass es keine Telegramme mehr gibt. In meinem ganzen Leben habe ich nur eins erhalten, aber das war schön.

One of the "Exercises in style" from the famous book of the same name by Raymond Queneau is shown here: "by telegram". Sadly, there are no telegrams any more. In my whole life, I only received one. And that was nice.

Berlin by Pen: Bode-Museum | Bode Museum

2012-01-17T03:47:00.000-08:00

Die Reise durch Berlin geht weiter: Neulich zeichnete ich das Bode-Museum, das auf der Berliner Museumsinsel am nördlichen Zipfel liegt. Es wurde im Jahr 1904 als Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum eröffnet. Die Umbenennung erfolgte 1956, als man es nach seinem ersten Direktor Wilhelm von Bode benannte, der auch den Bau des Museums für die von ihm zusammengestellte Gemälde- und Skulpturensammlung anregte.

Ernst von Ihne, ein Leib-und-Magen-Architekt von Kaiser Wilhelm II., errichtete (zusammen mit Max Hasak) das Gebäude ganz im Geschmack eines Monarchen: Äußerlich in Formen des Neobarock, erweckt es Assoziationen an ein etwas größeres Lustschloss. Die Lage tut ihr übriges, um dem repräsentativen Bau zu Geltung zu verhelfen. Im Inneren geht das Stilprogramm weiter mit einer aufwändigen Eingangshalle im gleichen Stil, in der ein Reiterstandbild des Großen Kurfürsten steht (eine Kopie eines Werkes von Andreas Schlüter). Unter anderem findet sich auch eine große Halle, die sogenannte "Basilika", in den Formen der italienischen Renaissance. In die Innenausstattung sind Originalteile aus den Epochen integriert, die zitiert werden.

Das Bode-Museum wurde in den Jahren 2000-2006 umfassend restauriert. Allerdings gab es gleich nach der feierlichen Wiedereröffnung einen Verdacht auf Holzwurmbefall in den frisch gebohnerten Böden der Ausstellungshallen...

My journey through Berlin continues with the Bode Museum, sitting at the top of the Museum Island in Berlin. It was opened in 1904 as the Kaiser Friedrich Museum. The name was changed in 1956 into the name of its first director and initiator, Wilhelm von Bode, who brought together a remarkable collection of paintings and sculptures which needed an adequate place to be exhibited.

Ernst von Ihne, a favoured architect of german emperor Wilhelm II, was assigned (together with construction manager Max Hasak) to build the museum, and the result was after Wilhelm´s fancy: Appearing in the style of an neo-baroque building, it leads to associations with a pleasure palace or summer residence of a monarch from the 17th or 18th century.

Historicist style order continues in the interior of the Bode Museum with a representative neo-baroque entrance hall and, amongst others, a grand hall in the taste of the italian renaissance (the so-called "basilica"). Original design elements from the epochs are integrated in the architecture.

The Bode Museum was closed for restoration in 2000 and reopened in 2006. However, there were rumors about a woodworm affection of the new floors shortly after...

Mein neuer Schreibtisch | My new Desk

2012-01-15T03:14:00.000-08:00

So macht Arbeiten Spaß :-).

It´s fun to work at my new desk.

Berlin by Pen: Rotes Rathaus, Berlin | Red City Hall, Berlin

2012-01-12T12:40:00.000-08:00

Das "Rote Rathaus" in Berlin (auch: "Berliner Rathaus", "Rathaus von (Berlin-) Mitte") wurde 1869 von Hermann Friedrich Waesemann erbaut. Es befindet sich heute an einem weitläufigen, von Bäumen und nichts weniger als dem Berliner Fernsehturm und der wundervollen Marienkirche bestandenem Platz (dessen alljährlichen Weihnachtsmarkt man übrigens meiden sollte), nicht unweit des berühmten Alexanderplatzes. Das war nicht immer so: Bis zum zweiten Weltkrieg ragte das Gebäude aus einem dicht bebauten Viertel mit vielen Wohn- und Geschäftshausbauten hervor. Im Zuge der Neubebauung durch die DDR (die Bezeichnung "rot" erhielt das Haus übrigens nicht aus politischen Gründen, sondern wegen der Verwendung von roten Ziegeln für die Fassade) wurden jedoch die meisten Reste der nach 1945 noch bestehenden Bausubstanz beseitigt. An ihrer Stelle trat eine "städtebauliche Neuordnung" in Kraft. Doch zurück zum Rathaus: es wurde in Anlehnung an die italienische Frührenaissance gestaltet, hat mehrere Innenhöfe und einen 97 Meter hohen Turm, dessen Aussehen an einen flämischen Belfried erinnern soll. Terrakottareliefs, die Szenen aus der Stadgeschichte und der Geschichte Brandenburgs darstellen, zieren die Balkonbrüstungen im 1. Obergeschoss.

Das Haus wurde nach dem zweiten Weltkrieg im Innern modern umgestaltet, was für die Zeit bedeutet: Neoklassizistische Motive, Verwendung von dunklem und hellem Stein in Kontrast. Heute ist es Sitz des regierenden Bürgermeisters der Stadt Berlin. Übrigens: Unlängst entdeckte man Reste eines mittelalterlichen Vorgängerbaus direkt vor dem Rathaus beim Bau einer neuen U-Bahnstrecke. Dabei tauchten auch längst verloren geglaubte Kunstwerke auf, die die Nazis in den seinerzeit noch zugänglichen Räumen eingelagert hatten. Bei der Bombardierung Berlins wurden diese Räume jedoch verschüttet und später vergessen.

The Red City Hall in Berlin was built by Hermann Friedrich Waesemann in 1869. It is situated at a roomy place in the heart of the City of Berlin, accompanied by not less than the Fernsehturm Berlin (television tower of Berlin) and the wonderful Marienkirche (St. Mary´s Church). Before the second World War, it was sitting in the middle of busy streets full of commercial and apartment buildings. After the war, the government of the GDR demolished almost all of the remains of those, making place for another idea of a city area of that time. Back to the City Hall: It was designed in the style of the early Italian Renaissance, has several inner courtyards and a tower of 97 metres which is supposed to be alike a Flemish belfry. The inlays of the first floor balustrade are made of terracotta and show scenes of the history of Berlin and Brandenburg.

Inside, the building was redesigned after the destruction during the second World War, which means it is styled in the taste of that period with strict kinds of neoclassical ornaments and strong contrasts in the using of marble and other types of stones. Today, it is the official residence of the mayor of the City of Berlin. By the way: Recently discoverded where the remains of a preceding building of the middle ages, in which pieces of art were found, that the National Socialists stored there. With the bombing of the town, those cellars were buried, but now they were recovered during the building of a new tube line.
Oh, and by the way, too: Don´t go to the christmas market there, in front of the Red City Hall. It´s awful.

Neues Buch | New Book

2012-01-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

Seit kurzem ist "Prinz Krösus" nun in den Buchläden zu erstehen, eine verrückte und aberwitzige Geschichte, die ich für den Baumhaus-Verlag illustriert habe. Innen ist das Buch mit schwarz-weiß-Illustrationen und Vignetten versehen, das Cover ziert eine symbolische Darstellung der turbulenten Reise, die der Königssohn zu bestehen hat. Viel Spaß!

Now available is "Prince Croesus" (or "Prince Nabob"), a mad, ironically story about a spoiled prince, that I illustrated for Baumhaus. I made some grey-and-white illustrations and vignettes for it. The cover shows some characters from the book and the prince symbolically falling "into" his journey. Enjoy!

°* Ein frohes neues Jahr! | A Happy New Year! *°

2011-12-31T08:32:00.000-08:00

Fröhliche Weihnachten! | Merry Christmas!

2011-12-21T06:40:00.000-08:00

Frohe Weihnachten allen Besuchern und vielen Dank für´s immer-wieder-Reinschauen!

Merry Christmas to you and thanks for dropping in, time and again!

Quedlinburg

2011-12-19T04:10:00.000-08:00

Über den vierten Advent haben wir eine kleine Reise nach Quedlinburg gemacht. Eine sehr schöne Stadt, die von Fachwerkhäusern aus dem Mittelalter und Barock bis zu wunderschönen Gebäuden aus dem Historismus und dem Jugendstil alles zu bieten hat. Da die UNESCO sie zum Weltkulturerbe ernannt hat, ist wirklich jede Ecke beschaulich, gepflegt und geschmackvoll herausgeputzt. Ein Traum.

We spend a short holiday in Quedlinburg this weekend. It´s a beautiful town, protected by the UNESCO, and so there are tastefully restored buildings from almost every era around. It´s really worth seeing it.

Berlin by Pen: Elefantentor Zoo Berlin | Entrance to Berlin Zoo

2011-12-15T02:09:00.000-08:00

Für ein neues Buchprojekt skizziere ich das berühmte Elefantentor des Berliner Zoos, das an der Budapester Straße liegt. Was viele nicht wissen: Das Tor ist eine Rekonstruktion aus den 80er Jahren, denn das Original von 1899 wurde im zweiten Weltkrieg völlig zerstört. Auch der am Hardenbergplatz gelegene andere "Haupteingang" zum Zoo, das sogenannte Löwentor, ist eine Kopie. Bei der Gestaltung der Häuser und Anlagen in den Tiergärten der Belle Époque zitierte man die Architektur der Herkunftsländer der Tiere: das Elefantentor zeigt daher eine exotische Mixtur verschiedener Stile, was zur Zeit seiner Entstehung, im Jugendstil, schwer en vogue war. So finden sich an ihm "indische" ebenso wie "chinesische" Formen und Motive, aber auch die im (deutschen) Jugendstil so beliebte weise Eule, das Nacht-Tier, ziert den ehrwürdigen Durchgang.

I made this sketch of the "Elephant Gate" of the Berlin Zoo for a new book I´m currently working on. Mostly unknown is the fact that the present gate is a reconstruction of the 1980ies. The original one from 1899 was completely destroyed in WWII.

By designing these kind of sites and compounds, the architects of that time tried to capture the spirit of the origin countries of the animals exhibited. The zoos of that time were the modern "theme parks", kind of. So we do find an extraordinary mixture of styles on this door to "another world". The variety is from "indian" to "chinese" motives, but also a typical "german" theme is included: The one of the owl, a popular subject in german Art Nouveau of that time. The result is an eclectic, yet thrilling entrance to an exotic exhibition - maybe outdated in meaning, but nonetheless appealing.

Das Elefantentor, wie es die Wikipedia-Seite zum Zoologischen Garten Berlin zeigt.

Neues Buch draußen: Wir entdecken Spanien | A New Picture Book About Spain

2011-12-12T00:40:00.000-08:00

Frisch aus der Druckerei kommt mein neues Bilderbuch "Wir entdecken Spanien" in der Reihe "Reise um die Welt" von Annette Betz! Der großartige Text stammt von Jonas Torsten Krüger. Ich hatte viel Freude, wunderbare Sehenswürdigkeiten zu malen wie die Plaza Santa Ana und die Gran Vía in Madrid, den Palacio Real (sowie ein paar der darin hängenden Gemälde von Velázques und Goya an der Wand), die Alhambra, Santiago de Compostela und natürlich die fantastische Stadt Barcelona! Ein Reiseführer für zuhause oder zum Mitnehmen, mit einer CD mit spanischen Kinderliedern und einem Sprachführer.

Right off the press there´s my new picture book about Spain from Annette Betz! We visit Madrid and its famous Gran Vía and Palacio Real (where we meet some of the great spanish painters from the 17th - 18th century), the Alhambra, Barcelona, Santiago de Compostela and many other sights in this wonderful story from Jonas Torsten Krüger. The book goes along with a CD containing a language guide and some original spanish children´s songs and nursery rhymes.

Weihnachtsgrüße | Season´s Greetings

2011-12-06T02:48:00.000-08:00

Ein weihnachtlicher Gruß von Damian & Alexander.

Christmassy greetings from my two heroes Damian & Alexander.

Scherenschnitte meines Urgroßvaters | Silhouettes by my Great-Grandfather

2011-12-01T07:07:00.000-08:00

Das wollte ich schon eine ganze Weile mal tun: Bilder von meinem Urgroßvater hoch laden, der Zeichenlehrer und Illustrator war. Sein Name war Emil Lohse, er wurde in den 1880er Jahren geboren und starb 1949. Vor allem in seinem Spätwerk wandte er sich intensiv dem Scherenschnitt zu. Ich erinnere mich, wie zuhause bei uns einige seiner Werke an den Wänden hingen. Er interessierte sich sehr für Tiere und die erzgebirgische Volkskunst. In Dresden beheimatet, erlebte er auch den Großangriff auf die Stadt im Februar 1945. Nach dem Krieg half er, die Sammlung für Volkskunst in Dresden zu bewahren, die er vor dem Krieg bereits aufgebaut hatte.

Von oben nach unten sind folgende Motive zu sehen:

- Weihnachtsengel auf einem Hirsch und Zwerge, die kleine Tannen tragen -

- Putto, auf einer Egge sitzend und Geige spielend, mit Sternschnuppe -

- Esel, eine Tanne tragend (mit Putti) -

- Menschen im Zoo vor dem Nilpferd-Gehege, das Nilpferd schaut zurück -

- Allegorie auf die "Neugierde" -

- Hahn -

- Ein Engel, der von Dämonen bedrängt wird -

- Ein Motiv aus den Geschichten um Till Eulenspiegel -

- Ein Motiv aus dem Märchen "Der Froschkönig" der Gebrüder Grimm

I always wanted to do this: Upload a few of my great-grandfather´s silhouettes. He lived from the 1880ies to 1949. His name was Emil Lohse. He was very fond of animals and the original Folk Art of the region of the Erz Mountains in Germany. He lived in Dresden and survived the major attack on the city in february 1945. He was responsible for building up the Folk Art collection of the Dresden Museum of the same name and restoring it after the war.

From top to bottom you can see silhouettes to the following themes:

- Christmas Angel on a deer with dwarfs carrying little fir trees -

- Putto on a harrow playing the violin, with a falling star -

- Donkey with christmas tree on back and putti -

- People in the zoo gazing at a hippo, the hippo gazes back -

- Allegory on `Curiosity´-

- A cock -

- An Angel in a fight with demons or fierce creatures -

- Illustration to an Episode from the Low-German tale `Till Eulenspiegel´-

- An Illustration to the fairy tale `The Frog King´ by the Brothers Grimm -

Fotos von unserer Aventsausstellung | Pictures from our Advent Exhibition

2011-11-29T03:34:00.000-08:00

Hier ein paar Bilder von unserer Adventsausstellung im petit 4 am letzten Freitag und Samstag.

Here are some pictures from our Advent Exhibition last Friday and Saturday at petit 4.

Etiketten | Labels

2011-11-19T07:55:00.000-08:00

Schöne Produkte, die wir zu unserer Adventsausstellung zeigen, brauchen auch schöne Etiketten! Hier feile ich gerade an solchen für ein Geschenkanhänger-Set. Auf einem Blatt für den Sammeldruck habe ich sie zusammengestellt.

Nice objects want to be labelled in a nice way.
Here I made a sheet of them for a set of gift tags.

Bilder, Bücher und Bazaar | Books and Biscuits and Bazaar

2011-11-17T13:30:00.000-08:00

Deck the Halls! And celebrate Advent with Atelier petit 4 at Kopenhagener Straße 15, 10437 Berlin: We invite you to come to our annual exhibition of books, pictures and bells and whistles. If you´re looking for christmas gifts, you possibly can´t go wrong to stop by at the 25.11. at 6°° p.m. and the 26.11. from 12°° a.m. to 20°° p.m. We also do serve biscuits and hot drinks...

Klirrend kalt ist es ja schon, sodass man sich auf die kommende Weihnachtszeit einstimmen kann: Kommt doch bei unserer Adventsausstellung im Atelier petit 4 vorbei! Bei Glühwein und Keksen und gedämpftem Licht gibt es viele schöne, neue Bücher, Bilder und Produkte von uns zu sehen. Wir freuen uns, wenn ihr uns mit eurer Anwesenheit beschert! ... Äh, beehrt! Am 25.11. ab 18°° und am 26.11. von 12°° bis 20°° in der Kopenhagener Straße 15, Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg.

Tauben | Pigeons

2011-11-15T03:34:00.000-08:00

I am fond of pigeons. Mainly outside the balcony.

Einstein im Taschenbuch | Einstein in paperback

2011-11-07T02:42:00.000-08:00

The elucidating non-fiction "Mit Einstein im Fahrstuhl", humourosly explaining the basic principles of physics both for kids and adults from the simple facts about gravity to the theory of relativity, has come out in soft-cover now! It is already the second edition in paperback of this specialised but entertaining hard-cover that I illustrated for Arena.

Flyer

2011-10-29T03:34:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, this year´s Reinickendorfer Kirchenmusiktage will start. I enjoyed producing the flyer again!

Verzaubert | Under a charm

2011-10-27T10:31:00.000-07:00

If it happens to be that you currently have to restore an old cottage, villa or Wilhelminian style flat, I have the place for you to be and find probably missing elements: The Bauhof of W. Liebchen at Lehrter Straße, in the Berlin borough Mitte/Tiergarten. There is a certain magic around this place for old building materials that got rescued from demolition, and every time I am there I get enchanted by the atmosphere of decaying or still-alive-beauty. Go there now, in the last days of autumn, as long as coloured leaves are lying around. On every corner you will find a new surprise, whether some old tiled stoves lying around in their single components, or a huge storehouse containing hundreds of beautifully carved neorenaissance, art nouveau, and art deco doors. Every time I´m there, I wanna buy everything and built my own dreamhouse.

"Dschungelliebe" zur Hälfte fertig | Reaching half-time with "Junglelove"

2011-10-20T02:01:00.000-07:00

I´m fully happy that I already reached half-time in the colouring of the upcoming edition of my comic-book heroes Damian & Alexander, Dschungelliebe (Junglelove). The story takes place in a lost world where they both meet for the first time, more or less by accident, and... fall in love with each other. I call it a gay Tarzan & Jane story. But getting out of the land that time forgot gets more tricky and adventurous than they could have ever imagined! Damian, Alex and his sister Smilla have to fight various types of dinosaurs and stumble over the remains of an ancient civilization with a strange cult. Watch out for Dschungelliebe at Epsilon!

Tom gefunden | Finding Tom

2011-09-23T02:39:00.000-07:00

I found this beautiful edition of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer yesterday. It was nominated the most beautiful book of the year 1954 in East Germany. Note the richness of the book end paper! I love the colors and the drawings.

Der kleine Lord | Little Lord Fauntleroy

2011-09-16T04:32:00.000-07:00

There he is! Arena asked me to reillustrate Frances Hodgson Burnett´s classic Little Lord Fauntleroy for age 7+ readers. I gladly took over and enjoyed to do watercolor pictures for this lovingly retelling of a warm-hearted classic.

Verloren und Gefunden | Lost & Found

2011-09-12T06:55:00.000-07:00

There´s an old derelict building nearby our house that now gets restored. But the owner feels free to change details of the facade, allowing himself to add balconies, for example. With that, some of the plastering gets chipped from the front. I found this beautiful Mascaron, apparently showing a faun, in the debris. I´m not yet sure what I´m gonna do with it, but it looks so pretty that I couldn´t let it to get thrown away.

Wasser für die Elefanten | Water for the Elephants

2011-08-23T02:03:00.000-07:00

This summer´s romantic drama Water for the Elephants. Who didn´t fall in love with "Rosie"?

Kaffee und Spitzenhäubchen | Coffee and Old Lace

2011-08-10T06:17:00.000-07:00

We spent a short holiday in the Münsterland region and found this cosy café named Indigo. They made excellent cakes and coffee and had a pretty shop, selling their own blueprints and other neat stuff.

Dinosaurier | Dinosaurs

2011-07-29T07:09:00.000-07:00

I created this for Ravensburger Buchverlag to visualize how I would illustrate a rich-pictured book dealing with - surprise - dinosaurs!

Raubein | Ruffian

2011-07-26T15:47:00.000-07:00

I painted this "Raubein" (as we call a ruffian in german) for a dear colleague of mine.

Kinderroman | Fiction

2011-07-20T11:30:00.000-07:00

Some new illustrations for a funny and crazy children´s book story I am currently working on! It´s about a spoiled prince having to cope with the new and unwonted life of a tramp. On his way he meets many odd characters and gets into weird and funny situations. Look out for "Prinz Krösus" coming from Baumhaus.

Prinzessinnen-Gärten | Princess Gardens

2011-07-10T06:44:00.000-07:00

Recently I visited the Prinzessinnen-Gärten in Berlin with two of my colleagues. These herbage and vegetable gardens are sited at Moritzplatz in Kreuzberg and rose up on a site that was a fallow ground before. Everyone can participate there and learn how to grow. If you are in Berlin, go and see it!

What I Worked Today

2011-07-07T05:17:00.000-07:00

Some pics of my new working space in Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg: The beautiful Atelier petit 4, where I am very proud of being in company of my fellow colleagues Constanze Guhr, Bianca Schaalburg and Katja Spitzer. I hope one can see it´s a picture book about Greece that I´m working on.

What I Wore Today

2011-07-03T10:21:00.000-07:00

My submission to Gemma Correll´s beautiful competition and blog "what I wore today".

Dschungelliebe | Jungle Love

2011-06-26T01:18:00.000-07:00

I completed this romantic scene for Damian & Alexander: Dschungelliebe right now. It will be the upcoming sequel of the series. All of the outlines of the book are finished, so I can focus on colour now. I´m looking forward to get to the middle of the book with that...

Männer mit Iro | Iroquois Haircut Guys

2011-06-23T10:28:00.000-07:00

Today, I spent some time on figuring out the character I worked on yesterday already. I tried to use an iroquois haircut on him.

Zöpfe | Braids

2011-06-23T03:13:00.000-07:00

This one is supposed to be a member of a nordic god dynasty for the same project as mentioned below. I tried to figure out his haircut and came across a new idea today...

Gott oder Krieger | God or Warrior

2011-06-21T12:18:00.000-07:00

I spent some hours on making sketches of characters and settings for a comic book project today. I am not yet sure if this one will play a role, but I hope one can see that drinking ambrosia on Mount Olympus makes a bit droopy.

Skizzen für Kinderfiguren | Sketches for Children´s Book Characters

2011-06-14T06:50:00.000-07:00

Currently working on illustrations for a children´s book project (non-fiction), I am trying to find the characters of the two children, a boy and a girl. I am fond of the drawing for the girl on the upper picture, third sketch from the left (the second one could be her grandma). Also the black-haired boy far left on the same sheet.

Altes Poesiealbum | An old Autograph Book

2011-06-14T02:21:00.000-07:00

I don´t know what it is that makes me love old things. I found this old autograph book on the attic. It´s cover is made of blue velvet and some silver fancywork. I saw it and fell completely in love with it.

Tagesspiegel-Interview

2011-06-05T23:57:00.000-07:00

I am happy to say that Lars von Törne, who - among others - attends the comic-departement at the well-known Berlin Newspaper Der Tagesspiegel, invided me to answer a few questions in a questionnaire to my work and comics in general. Thanks!

Solaris

2011-06-04T08:56:00.000-07:00

This cover is a part of three classic utopian novels I made jackets for just for fun. This particular one is for Stanislaw Lem´s "Solaris", presumably his most famous novel, combining philosophy and science fiction in a serried entwined way. The cover is a so-called französische Broschur, which means it continues to wind up itself in the inner parts of the book´s cover pages.

Max, das Glühwürmchen II | Max, the Firefly II

2011-05-23T01:06:00.000-07:00

Here´s again to Max, das Glühwürmchen | Max, the Firefly, a character I recently designed for gras und sterne. Actually this is the very first coloured version of the character, where I tried to figure out his looks: A blue collar round his neck or not, a structure on his wings? And how much should the glow of his body be visible?

Flitterwochen | Honeymoon

2011-05-22T03:34:00.000-07:00

We married on the 30th of April, 2011. A great and warm Thank You to all who provided us with love, good wishes and so many gifts that we were overwhelmed by all of this... and are still! Here are two pictures from our honeymoon in Provence, south of France, which was the most beautiful holiday of all my lifetime (and I daresay that it is the most beautiful place in the world).

Katzen-Skizzen | Cat Sketches

2011-04-23T01:37:00.000-07:00

This is my cat Tommy. He´s about 10 years old and for a cat, he´s in his prime.

Ein verwöhnter Prinz | A spoiled Prince

2011-04-12T09:36:00.000-07:00

Because his father wants him to get more self-reliant, he sends Prince Croesus on a kind of world tour. This coverillustration portrays some of the characters he encounters during his odyssee. I had fun to figure out the old diva on the upper left, who imprisons notes in attempt to get a perfect harmony. I think that´s not too far from reality.

Der rote Flitzer | The red Runabout

2011-04-07T08:18:00.000-07:00

This cover illustration is some years ago, but I think it still can be here :). It was my debut as a children´s book illustrator. The story is about an old lady who inherits a classy cabriolet, and two boys befriending each other as they try to help her getting the heritage. It really was a nice summer-story adventure. I love old cars.

Mann am Flughafen | Man at the Airport

2011-03-31T11:59:00.000-07:00

I had to wait for my connecting flight at the airport today, and this is a salesman, who I tried to remember by drawing him from memory (after he and his colleagues had left the seats vis-à-vis). It´s interesting to see how modern business men get more and more dressed like models. I tried to recover the couture and the slight appeal of grey in his genteel haircut. I guess the Jacket was much more fashionable, but I was first interested in his waistcoat and the overall combination of his clothing.

Max, das Glühwürmchen | Max, the Firefly

2011-03-26T01:21:00.000-07:00

A three-page comic about a firefly serving as a mascot for a power firm. I designed this in collaboration with my colleagues from gras und sterne. You can see the complete sequence above and a sample out of it below.

Zwei Portraits | Two Portraits

2011-03-23T03:42:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I spent a nice time with other illustrators on a small island up in the north. We had a great time together, and on sunday I drew these two portraits during a collective sitting. Everyone of us served as a model once - for five minutes...

Piraten-Ratten 2 | PiRats 2

2011-03-03T03:17:00.000-08:00

Issue 2 of my series for the Hamburg Magazine STADTLICHH, which deals with the adventures of rats in the Hafencity. Borneo, the son of Rollo, captain of the PiRats, has to fight against the cruel owner of a storehouse and his gang of city-rats, and to save a true "damsel in distress". The page is strongly filled with action; we had to bring the story to a point where we can go on with the coming, a bit more relaxing part of the story.

Tausend und Eine Nacht | Arabian Nights

2011-02-26T13:05:00.000-08:00

A cover I made for a german publisher. The warm, a bit mysterious story-telling atmosphere will be coherent with the book.

Zwei Gesichter | Two Faces

2011-02-15T13:35:00.000-08:00

I sketched these both faces into old books from the fleamarket. They are of no referrence to real persons, but I think the lady in the green dress could be a 1970ies actress playing a role in a movie. The man below could be a 1930ies person. Maybe he´s got an employment in railroad business. It´s fun to figure out fictional lives.

Neues Buch draußen | New Book Out Now

2011-01-27T01:26:00.000-08:00

Traveling is a treasure that fills the heart to the brim. The smells of another country, the colours, the people, the air... all this is unique from country to country, and this uniqueness I tried to capture in my newest book at Annette Betz Verlag (Austria): "Wir entdecken die Türkei" ("This is Turkey") is an invitation to young ones (and their parents) to get insight into turkish culture. The book comes along with a CD containing traditional turkish music, also the story from the book is narrated. Check out!

Etwas zum Träumen | Something to dream about

2011-01-14T12:09:00.000-08:00

Happy new year! This one will be a very exciting one for me... :-)

Frohe Weihnachten | Merry Christmas

2010-12-19T10:51:00.000-08:00

Also fond of Little Lord Fauntleroy? I love this story for many reasons, e.g. having somewhat the same spirit as Dickens´ A Christmas Carol. Here´s a season´s greeting presenting one of the illustrations I made for the german issue of Little Lord Fauntleroy (Arena Verlag). It will be published presumably in autumn 2011. Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas!

Dschungelliebe | JungleLove

2010-11-18T07:26:00.000-08:00

Here´s a new page from Dschungelliebe, issue 2 of my comic book series Damian & Alexander. At this point of the story Damian is meeting Alex´ sister Smilla, who is fatally ill, for the first time. I hope she gets well soon. I´m gonna break the news for you here, so stay tuned ;).

Buchcover | Coverillustration

2010-11-12T04:13:00.000-08:00

A coverillustration that I made for Randomhouse. The kids in the book are on a chase where they have to solve a riddle that deals with an anagram.

Operndiven | Prima Donne

2010-11-10T11:19:00.000-08:00

From time to time, I am working on new picture book stories of mine. These three graces are from one of them. I especially like the thin and pale one on the left, but also the heavy one on the right is a caricature of a real "Diva", I think. You can see I was a bit unsure if I should open the mouth more wide or not.

Pirrratten | PiRATS

2010-11-03T11:53:00.000-07:00

Some rude guys make an entrance here! The "PiRATS" ("Pirrratten") are a new series that me and Martin Petersen are working on for the new Hamburg magazine STADTLICHH. We all had great fun figuring out this real rat pack! The plot centers around their adventures in and about Hamburg, the new HAFENCITY and Hamburg haven in general... and all the way getting into trouble with the notorious rats living on land ("Landratten"). Anchors aweigh!

Storyboards

2010-11-03T11:33:00.000-07:00

These are storyboards I recently made for a german filmmaker. We had a great time together figuring out the fighting scene. Sadly we couldn´t race around like in the final pictures... ;)

Lesung Fotos | Reading Lesson II

2010-10-21T10:19:00.000-07:00

Here are some impressions of the reading lesson at "Nimmersatt" children´s book store that I presented lately. I hope it shows the nice and warm atmosphere and the good time we had reading about dragons and knights and drawing them altogether, afterwards.

Lesung | Reading Lesson

2010-10-11T06:09:00.000-07:00

Save the date! It´s time to meet knights and dragons and damsels in distress! When young Max is asleep, he dreams himself off to a far away world, where he can proof to be a brave hero and fight dragons in order to free a beautiful princess. Waking up, he carries on day-dreaming about the adventure, but soon we find that reality has a special other kind of turn than what Max is trying to make his dream out of!

Come and join me on my reading lesson to my Gerstenberg Picture Book
Max, der Drachenschreck
on Saturday, 16th of October,
in the beautiful and atmospheric children´s book shop Nimmersatt in
Dieffenbachstraße 53, 10967 Berlin (Kreuzberg)
at 16 o´clock.

Hope to see you there!

Schnitzeltag

2010-09-21T13:36:00.000-07:00

There´s a common Berlin habit: Eating Schnitzel. In a real Berlin restaurant or pub, you always can order that. Sometimes, there is even a "Schnitzeltag", which means that there is Schnitzel on the menu at special prizes that day, in every style you can imagine: Schnitzel with fried eggs on the top, Schnitzel with asparagus and cream, Schnitzel with whatever you like.

I found it such a typical Berlin idea that I decided to make it the name of a comic strip which deals with real life experiences here in Berlin or elsewhere. So any day you´ll read "Schnitzeltag" here, it deals with something true. Something really real. Like Schnitzel.

# 01: "We went to Rome this time. On the 8th day we had to change the apartment..."
# 02: "... because of cockroaches."
# 03: "I know what you mean. I was on Sardinia for three weeks of yoga. It was all the same..."
# 04: "Sunshine friends (in a moment of agreement)"

Jörg

2010-09-21T13:24:00.000-07:00

This is Jörg :).

Kirchenmusiktage | Sacred Music

2010-09-17T08:03:00.000-07:00

Endlich sind sie da :). Für den Kirchenkreis Reinickendorf in Berlin habe ich ein Plakat und einen Flyer gestaltet, um für Kirchenmusik-Veranstaltungen in der Woche vom 07.-14. November 2010 werben. Der Kunde wünschte sich ein durch Fotokopierer, Laser- und Inkjet individuell bedruckbares Plakat in den Formaten A 3 und A 4, sodass er mehrere Jahre in Folge darauf zurückgreifen kann. Für das Bedrucken mit Veranstaltungshinweisen ist der untere Bereich des Plakates frei gelassen.

Finally, they´re here! For the Berlin borough Reinickendorf I made this poster and flyer to promote a week of sacred music. The client needed an opportunity to print onto the poster themselves, in order to promote the different events separately and individually throughout a couple of years. So there it is, a poster in two DIN standards that is able to be printed by photocopier, laser and inkjet.

Dschungelliebe | JungleLove

2010-09-14T01:00:00.000-07:00

A page from issue 2 of my comic book series Damian & Alexander. The german title Dschungelliebe is a romantic joke about what happens in the book and were the action takes place, it´s translation would be... Junglelove, I guess (or would Jungle_love be better? :). It´s going to take a while until it´s finished, because the volume of the book will be as epic as it´s story. I will recurrently post new samples here - so stay tuned :)

Daily Bread

2010-09-14T00:47:00.000-07:00

Today´s morning bread. I liked the picture :).

Mit Max und Mowgli durch die Wüste | Exhibition

2010-09-02T15:35:00.000-07:00

Mit Max und Mowgli durch die Wüste - Illustrationen von Thilo Krapp

10. September bis 20. November 2010

Vernissage: 10. September ab 18°° Uhr

Buchhandlung Nimmersatt, Dieffenbachstraße 53, 10967 Berlin
Di - Fr. 11:00 – 19:00, Sa 10:30 – 17:00
030 / 66 77 84 01
http://www.nimmersatt-kinderbuch.de/

Nun sind es schon einige Jahre, die ich als Illustrator arbeite. Zeit für eine kleine Werkschau!

Deswegen haben die schöne Kinderbuchhandlung Nimmersatt im Berliner Graefekiez und ich diese Ausstellung geplant, in der ich viele meiner Kinderbuchillustrationen sowie Comics und freie Arbeiten zeige. Ganz schön spannend für mich, denn ein Teil der Originale kann auch erworben werden.

Eine Lesung mit meinem Bilderbuch Max, der Drachenschreck (Gerstenberg Verlag) planen wir auch, der genaue Termin steht nur noch nicht fest. Ich melde mich deswegen noch mal.

It´s been a while, that I´m an illustrator now. Time for a look back!

This is why me and the beautiful children´s book store Nimmersatt in the Graefekiez in Berlin (a nice area nearby Urbanhafen in Kreuzberg) came up with the idea for this exhibition, showing a great number of my children´s book´s illustrations as well as examples of my comic book art and some free art. You can also purchase some of them.

There will be a reading of my book Max, der Drachenschreck (Max, Fighter of the Dragon) published by Gerstenberg Verlag, soon, I´m coming back to this when we found a date.