Frequently Asked Questions

You can still purchase many other print products (art prints, posters, tapestries, notebooks, zip pouches, wrapping paper, etc) at the Society6 store. (Please note that Society6 is not my own shop, and I’m not in charge of the Society6 website, production, sales, orders, or shipping. If you have questions, please contact the Society6 customer support.)

Have you illustrated any storybooks?

Yes, I’ve illustrated some children’s books, fantasy books and folktales. All the books are listed over here. Please note that I’m not currently available for new commissions.

Are you available for commissions?

No, I am not available for new commissions, collaborations or other projects, sorry! I will update this page if the situation changes.

Can I use your art?

In short, the answer is no. Please do not use, copy or publish my work (or any parts of them). All my artworks, illustrations, photos and designs are protected with copyright and may not be used for any purpose without my written permission. Unfortunately I don’t currently have time for new permission inquiries, business collaborations or licensing contracts. If the situation changes at some point, I will update this page.

Have you made tutorials or videos?

I’ve published a couple watercolour tutorials for magazines: “Illustrating in watercolor with Ulla Thynell” , for Graphite magazine 6/2018 (in English) and “Luonnoksesta kuvaksi”, Kuvittaja magazine, issue 2/2019 (in Finnish).  You can find some of my drawing and painting process videos online in my facebook and deviantart. Whenever I have time to make new videos I also post them on my instagram.

Which medium or tools do you use?

There’s no quick or easy answer to this: It depends on the piece. I work with many different techniques and styles, including (but not limited to) these:

– Ink paintings
– Watercolour paintings
– Ink drawings
– Colour pencil drawings
– Mixed media paintings
– Mixed media drawings
– Sketchbook work
– Mixed painting and drawing tools
– Mixed media combining traditional and digital tools

I like to modify my style, techniques and tools based on what is available or which style suits best with whatever idea or project I’m working on. Some of the techniques that are great for personal and more “intuitive” artwork, may not be suitable for commissions that require lots of pre-planning. I’m also often curious to try doing things a little differently than before to see where it leads me. Experiments and variation keeps things alive and interesting!

These are some of the tools I’ve used recently:

Drawings: Micron pigment ink pens, and/or Caran d’Ache Luminance 6901 colour pencils, and sometimes also Copic markers and Sakura Gelly Roll pens.

Watercolours: I mostly use various Schmincke watercolour pans. I also like to use masking fluid to create negative space or highlights. I prefer about 300 gsm heavyweight, textured watercolour paper.

Ink paintings: For the backgrounds I use either Copic Various Inks (alcohol ink refills) with smooth drawing papers, or Zeichentusche ink bottles from Rohrer & Klingner with textured watercolour papers. R&K inks are also great for detailed painting with a paintbrush, similar to watercolours (alcohol ink is more expensive to use and difficult to control). I also often use mixed media with my ink paintings, drawing some details with colour pencils (Caran d’Ache Luminance 6901) or using other drawing tools like ink liners or Sakura Gelly Roll pens.

Papers and sketchbooks: I use a lot of different paper types, depending on the medium and size of the piece. For drawings I’ve recently use natural white Hahnemühle Nostalgie 190gsm paper and Royal Talens Art Creation sketchbook (the small, square book with rounded corners), and sometimes a bit more textured sketching papers with coloured pencils. For watercolour and ink paintings I prefer natural white 100% cotton 300gsm rough textured watercolour paper, from brands like Sennelier or Fabriano, and sometimes I also use Hahnemühle Bamboo 265gsm paper, which is a more fragile paper type (don’t use with masking fluid). For my experimental paintings with Copic alcohol inks I use smooth drawing papers, around 200gsm, but beware that the alcohol ink will bleed through, stain everything and the process is super messy and impractical (which is why I don’t usually recommend this techique for anyone). :)

Digital and mixed media: While most of my work is entirely handmade, I also do a lot of traditional+digital mixed media artwork. I use Adobe Photoshop to edit illustrations and sometimes I draw with a Wacom tablet. Most often when I use digital media, I combine it with traditional techniques. For example, I might colour one of my ink drawings digitally, or combine traditionally painted backgrounds and textures to traditionally drawn subjects. The amout and method of digital editing varies a lot. From minor colour retouch to constructing the entire illustration in Photoshop.

Which camera and lens do you use?

I use Canon EOS 6D camera and Sigma Art lens, 50mm f/1.4 A DG HSM. I especially love taking phots with wide aperture during the long hours of the northern dusk, just before and after sunset. I photograph with raw image mode and usually edit my photos in Photoshop / Camera Raw.