Anna Haifisch's revitalising and joyful comics

As we hit the end of the summer holidays the work of illustrator Anna Haifisch is a joy to behold. Sun bleached illustrations bursting with revitalising colour combinations, browsing through Anna’s work is like drinking a cold glass of tangy orange juice first thing in the morning.

Anna’s interest in illustration started at a young age, “as a child I loved illustrated books and then got into comics when I was a teenager,” she explains. “It was more art in general I was interested in though, illustration came in kind of late, although I always wanted to draw.” This interest led her to study illustration at the Academy of Visual Arts in Leipzig and after working at Kayrock Screenprinting in Brooklyn, Anna has settled back in her German home to concentrate on comics and prints.

The illustrators colour palette is a key characteristic, inspired by “my former days as a screen printer where I had to pick just a few colours to print with” she says. Now working in a more digital aspect, Anna has applied her colour knowledge to her photoshop colour swatches: “It’s helping me enormously since it takes the colour decision for each new project away from me. I never want to mess with photoshop for too long, it gets boring at some point.”

Throughout Anna’s work there are a handful of reoccurring characters that appear regularly. One in particular The Artist a “waggly bird” is a slight representation of the illustrator herself and a comic of its journey will be released by Breakdown Press in November. The story of The Artist is a creature “dreaming of being successful in the art world. His character is very close to mine, some even say he looks like me, but I have to say that I do have more than 4 hairs”. The adventures of Anna’s alter-ego can be seen every week on Vice.

When discussing the influences of this stylistic illustrator her references are varied and recognisable once explained, “I love Saul Steinberg for his lines and humour. I cherish Tove Jansson for the love and affection that are in her drawings. I admire Walt Disney for his fearlessness and influence.”

Currently working in a studio with 5 other friends each in creative fields Anna’s plan for the future is to concentrate more on writing, “a little novel, or poems.” With her talent in comics we hope to see a more lengthy project from this illustrator soon.