Anke Weckmann

Anke Weckmann is an illustrator from a small town near Hanover who after graduation started to follow fashion design, but quickly realized that it wasn't her thing. So she makes a plan to be happy and makes it happen in London, where she moved to live and study illustration exactly 20 years ago. Today, the world already knows her drawings from the pages of books such as the one about Marie Curie from the series "Short Guides in Biographies Remarkable" (in Bulgarian by Timelines ed.) and about Greta Thunberg from the same series (which has not yet been translated in our country). In addition to prints, cards, advertisements and products, her works have graced publications such as The Guardian, The Times and Time Out New York.

Your work is so well structured, your style is clean and colourfull. What do you think it says about you as a person?

In my work I'm all about shapes, I love imperfect symmetry (all my work is hand-drawn - I don't use vectors) and I like it to be clear and bold. The colours have gotten brighter over the past few years, I used to choose a lot more muted colours. Maybe I'm trying to stop making myself smaller.

As a person, I like clarity and pairing things down to what's important (to me). I don't like drama, waffling or people who say one thing but do another. And I like being organised and don't like clutter very much - although I'm not sure that's my inherent personality. I grew up super messy and disorganised and had to work on changing this habit.

You seem to be very inspired by female characters. Who were the women/girls that inspired you most during your childhood and in what way?

I am! Female characters (and real-life women) are my main inspiration. When I was little I was obsessed with a picture book called 'Do You Know Pippi Longstocking?" by Astrid Lindgren, with illustrations by Ingrid Vang Nyman, who is still one of my all-time favourite illustrators. I looked at those pictures so much that I still feel like I've been to Pippi's house. This book also made me want to read as soon as possible to I could read the Pippi Longstocking chapter books!

So I was definitely inspired by Pippi during my childhood, also Anne of Green Gables, Laura and Mary in 'Little House on The Prairie', many amazing characters in Czech tv-series and my childhood friends.

Which are your present female examples - persons who inspire you and would like to draw and tell about? Why?

Oh, so many! I was so inspired by Greta Thunberg before I was asked to illustrate a book about her, so that was like a dream come true.

As far as fictional characters go I love Beth Harmon in the 'Queens Gambit, Lisbeth Salander from 'Girl With a Dragon Tattoo', Harriet The Spy, Robin Buckley in 'Stranger Things', Cassie Ainsworth in 'Skins', Katniss Everdeen & so many more. I recently watched the Heidi anime for the first time and I didn't expect how much she would inspire me with her joy and determination.

Real-life examples are Aurora, Alexi Pappas (I got to work with her on her movie 'Tracktown' and it was the best!), Charlotte Gainsbourg, Joanna Newsom, Taylor Swift, Tavi Gevinson, Kate Bush. I've also been so inspired by Isabel Paige's YouTube channel and her beautiful videos about living in the mountains.

I feel so inspired by anybody who is doing their own thing, making stuff and following their dreams and not giving in to all the negativity that surrounds them.

You are originally from Berlin. What made you decide to move to the UK?

I'm originally from a small town near Hannover! I've never lived in Berlin, but it's such a great city.

When I finished school in Germany, I went to a fashion design school where we did a lot of sewing. For several reasons, this was the wrong choice for me and I was pretty miserable. It made me realise though that what I really loved was to draw! I had wanted to move to England since I was about 11 so I made a plan to move to London and study illustration.

Why would you leave London someday? And the opposite - tell us why you would never leave London?

Right now I feel very much at home here, but in the long-term who knows? I like being near a city with museums & art & great food places but I also like to be able to go somewhere quiet and spend time in nature. I like the idea of living somewhere else for a while but coming back to London.

How did Brexit and the pandemic affect your work and life?

As for Brexit, I haven't experienced many changes yet except having to fill out custom forms for parcels within Europe. But that's just the beginning and I think it will have so many bad effects for small business owners and will make travelling more complicated, too. It's super depressing.

The pandemic changed my life drastically, like for most people. I was already working from home, but I was getting out as much as possible. I loved working in cafes and libraries, and I was going to the gym 5-7x per week, doing a bunch of different classes. On weekends I spent as little time at home as possible. I miss these things every day. Now I go for runs/walks every day but it's not the same. I also haven't been able to go see my family and friends in Germany since Christmas 2019.

Which are your favourite places to draw and spend some quality time in London?

Tate Modern & the big LEON restaurant right behind it (great food and big tables perfect for drawing), Kew Gardens, The Photographer's Gallery, The Royal Academy, Foyles bookshop on Charing Cross Road. My favourite thing is to walk around and explore, then maybe sit on a bench and do some drawing.

If we were new to the city - what would you be your most important advice and where would you first take us (if Covid-19 restrictions didn't exist)?

I think any city is best explored walking, so I recommend walking everywhere if you can. But bring a raincoat, it's London after all! I would take you to get a Love Burger at LEON, then a Lime & Coconut doughnut from Crosstown and after that a coffee from Tram Store. Tram Store is such a cosy place for sitting and drawing in your sketchbook!

What are you working on right now?

Mostly secret things and many personal projects. It's been pretty quiet work-wise during the pandemic, but that has also been an opportunity to do all the things I previously could never find the time to do. I finished things like my Badass Bears iMessage sticker set, which is now in the App Store.

The dream you still dream about?

I've never been to Japan and Korea and would love to go sometime soon! Doing more running races all over the world, hand-lettering movie titles for Wes Anderson, creating a merchandise line for Blackpink, illustrate Esther Freud book covers, there are so many big & crazy things I would love to do!

More at: instagram.com/ankeweckmann and www.ankeweckmann.com