Catching up with Tuomas Kärkkäinen

Our Artist of the Month for August is Tuomas Kärkkäinen. Working out of Helsinki, Finland, Tuomas's beautifully layered, textural illustration leans into conceptual thinking, humor, and playfulness to expertly tackle topics that are oftentimes far more serious than his style might suggest.
Scroll on for a masterclass in editorial illustration and contemporary handcrafted aesthetics.

First thing you ever got paid to draw?
I’m not quite sure as it was some twenty years ago, but probably a comic for a magazine. I used to dream of a career in comics, but then I discovered Oliver Schrauwen’s work. He is so good with the art form that I felt there was nothing left for me to say. Luckily, no illustrator – no matter how good they are – has had the same effect on me.
Vector, raster or both?
Raster is a bit closer to analog media, which has the most character to it.


What’s your creative superpower?
I am pretty good at interpreting technical, complex, or even boring themes into weirdly humorous editorial illustrations.
Dream client?
A classic answer would be a cover for The New Yorker (and I’d be thrilled to!), but I’d also love to broaden my repertoire from editorial and children’s books to band posters and merch or product packaging. Preferably for some good bands and non-evil companies!

True Grit tools you can’t live without?
I use The Rusty Nib for virtually all of my work. Beat Tones, Stipple Studio and Grain Shaders are also in heavy use.
Layers: organized or chaos?
Chaos, but I try to keep the number of layers quite low, so it doesn’t take too long to find the right one.

Sketch on paper or straight to digital?
Straight to digital these days. It would probably be a good idea to save some time to draw on paper, though.
Complete this sentence: Generative AI is...
A highly effective tool to avoid thinking and skip the process that leads to truly stellar work. It is a pathway to mediocrity and blandness. But then again, many people prefer bland stuff.

Last book you read?
Tulikristalli ja muita novelleja by Harry Salmenniemi. Insanely good short stories, but I’m afraid you’ll have to learn Finnish to read them as they haven’t been translated.
Last band/artist you saw live?
Draama-Helmi ja “Ystävät”. Again, it would be best if you learned Finnish for the lyrics, but the music is worth your time as well.


Tuomas Kärkkäinen is a freelance illustrator from Helsinki, Finland whose clients include the City of Helsinki, Amnesty International, and Pori Jazz festival.
Website | Instagram
EXPLORE TUOMAS'S MOST USED TRUE GRIT TOOLS HERE




