Ninka Reittu studied many different fields. Her career as an illustrator began when she decided to stop being afraid of what others would think.
Reittu tried out for the school of community nursing, but found that she was a really bad community nurse. She also studied at wilderness school.
The request was a significant opportunity for an artist dreaming of working as an illustrator, but Reittu never sent a single picture.
He thought he didn’t have anything good enough to show for it. Nothing to put in a portfolio.
– My bar rose to somewhere quite shockingly high, Reittu admits.
However, Otava was patient and contacted again in the fall. They asked again if he could send his pictures to be seen.
This time Reittu decided to act. He made a decision to stop being afraid of what other people think.
Reittu grabbed the bag and the drawings and immediately left for Helsinki.
– I thought we’ll see now. Once you have started on this path, everything is possible, then everything is possible, he says.
Finding your own path felt like a relief
Ninka Reitu’s first children’s book published in 2013 was called *Messi ja Mysteeri – Kaikki sregtyyi!*. The book is about Messi the cat who gets into trouble and gets to know his Mystery Cat. The mystery assures that everything will be alright.
That’s what happened in Reitunk’s career. The book was liked and got two sequels.
– It went well and was sold to quite a few countries. It gave a wonderful foundation for my career, says Reittu.
It felt especially good to understand that he had finally found his place and no longer needed to thrash about.
– Finding my own path felt incredibly good and easy.
Three Messi ja Mysteeri books were published, after which Reittu wrote and illustrated the book *Sinä olet super rakas.* It also became an important work for its author, perhaps the most loved.
The book is about the love between a parent and a child. Reittu reads it to his own children.
My own books have now been published in eight and Illustrations in more than ten books. He will illustrate the scouts’ Christmas calendar this year and next year. Below the work is also an illustration for Metsähallitus’ tour label.
Old work is part of an illustrator’s career
My career as an illustrator got off to a good start, but has required a lot of work. You still have to learn new things persistently. The most difficult and challenging jobs have developed their own handprint.
Ninka Reittu often draws illustrations on a tablet with which she uses an electronic pen. Reittu describes himself as a magazine illustrator, which is why working on a tablet feels good. According to him, it has the same feel of a sketchbook.
He considers the disadvantage of electronic working methods to be that they do not leave originals, i.e. original pieces.
In his free time, he draws on paper. The route especially trains relaxed and flying lines, as well as the use of colors.
– You still have to train this much in your forties, he says.
Mistakes made on paper cannot be easily corrected. They smell like ink and are human.
– It is wonderful that there is such a profession where it is possible to develop in this way, and it is allowed. Old jobs are not considered inferior, they are part of the path, he says.
*Ninka Reittu was Radio Suomen’s Sunday guest on 11 December 2022.*