It wasn’t until Marc Majewski broke away from his classical art training that he discovered his own style.
Sometimes, you’ve to set aside everything you’ve been taught in order to truly tap into your creativity. It’s a brave move but one that has certainly led to big things for Berlin-based illustrator Marc Majewski. In 2024, he won the Best Illustrated Children’s Book award from The New York Times and the New York Public Library for As Edward Imagined, and he’s currently an in–demand artist in both children’s publishing and editorial illustration.
Marc grew up in the French Alps, near the border with Switzerland, surrounded by nature and with a great love of traditional picture book illustration, which was fed by his aunt. To reach his dream of becoming an illustrator, he trained the classical way, learning to paint highly realistic imagery – what everyone would call “good illustration”.
But something wasn’t right. This just wasn’t him. On the side, he would create the loose, playful sketches he loved but never conceived of them as proper illustrations.
Marc’s new book Parks is out 5 June.
“Then I had a moment where I decided I wanted to paint and create with the same joy and freedom I had felt as a child,” says Marc. “I stopped making pictures the way I’d been taught and started painting the way I did in my sketchbooks, directly with paint. The result was much livelier and more joyful illustrations.”
One epiphany was followed by another when he wrote and illustrated Butterfly Child. This wasn’t the first book he’d worked on, but to Marc, it felt like it was. He continues: “The book touches on what it was like to be a queer kid in the countryside and on bullying – so parts of me felt like the child in the book. I think making any book is a vulnerable process, but creating something that explores more personal parts of ourselves can trigger a lot. In my case, the fear of being rejected, shamed, or bullied – which are experiences many kids, and especially queer kids, go through.”
Published in 2022, it has been translated into 10 languages and resonates with children around the world, supporting kids and encouraging them to express who they really are.
From Butterfly Child.
Marc is drawn to stories that bring that bring nature and creativity together. He grew up in the Alps, and nature continues to inspire him. In Butterfly Child, As Edward Imagined, and Peter Pan, he explores characters who build, craft, and imagine things, bringing their storybook worlds to life; his simple, Lowry-like figures burst with enthusiasm.
Peter Pan is one of his favourites so far. “I knew the story before I started the project, but as I dove deeper into it, I began learning about Barrie’s life and how much of it was woven into Peter Pan. That really resonated with me and my own work. I was also inspired by the author’s playful spirit – how he balanced lightness and whimsy with meaning and depth,” says Marc.
From Peter Pan.
Return of the Wolves.
In future, he’d love to work on a film, and Hayao Miyazaki has always been a big influence. If there’s one thing he wants to avoid, it’s getting too comfortable or set in his ways.
“It’s important for me to stay connected to that feeling I had when I first embraced the childlike process of painting and to keep my mind open to playful exploration,” says Marc.
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