Netta Lehtola
Greetings! I am Netta (b. 1996), an illustrator and graphic designer originally from Turku, but currently residing in Helsinki. I began illustrating children's literature during my graphic design studies and have since illustrated several books, as well as worked in the gaming industry on graphics and UI design. As an illustrator, I am currently inspired by old picture books, folk art, retro posters, and nature.
The first book I illustrated, 'Kettujuttuja' (WSOY, 2019), was a nominee for the Finlandia Junior literary prize. Some of my later books have also been nominated for the Runeberg Junior and Arvid Lydecken Awards. My illustrated books have been translated into multiple languages, including Korean, Danish, and Ukrainian.
My working languages are Finnish and English
I love creating expressive illustrations that resonate with the viewer. My strength lies in characters, but I also enjoy capturing strong and emotional atmospheres. I primarily work digitally, but I often strive to emulate traditional paintings and their textures.
My experience lies in book design, but I'm interested in all manner of projects!
WSOY, Passion Planner, S&S, Karisto, Autismiliitto, Vegaaniliitto
Traveller / My project
Character illustration, personal project
Traveller / My project
Click to see more about the project.
Spread from the picture book Princess Who Did a Runner / S&S Publishing
69 pages long and fully illustrated children’s picture book about a princess breaking the norms of what it means to be a princess. The book was nominated for Arvid Lydecken Award in 2022. Its rights have been sold to multiple countries, including Ukraine, Slovenia, Czech Republic and Denmark.
Spread from the picture book Princess Who Did a Runner / S&S Publishing
Click to see more about the project.
Spread from the picture book Princess Who Did a Runner / S&S Publishing
69 pages long and fully illustrated children’s picture book about a princess breaking the norms of what it means to be a princess. The book was nominated for Arvid Lydecken Award in 2022. Its rights have been sold to multiple countries, including Ukraine, Slovenia, Czech Republic and Denmark.
Pet/animal themed sticker sheet design / Passion Planner
Passion Planner is a calendar and planner manufacturer that also regularly releases sticker books with varying themes. Each book has around 3 sheets of stickers from each participating artist. Here’s one of the sheets I designed. (2021)
Pet/animal themed sticker sheet design / Passion Planner
Click to see more about the project.
Trading Tails / WSOY Publishing
69 pages long and fully illustrated children’s picture book, with images ranging from whole spread illustrations to spot illustrations.
The design and illustrations are by me, with the exception of typography.
The book’s rights have been sold to South Korea.
About the previous book in the series (Fox Tails, WSOY 2019):
”‘Netta Lehtola’s colourful pictures perfectly complement these stories tackling themes of friendship, loneliness and loss. Could this become a classic like The Little Prince or The Frog and the Toad series?”
– HS Viikko newspaper supplement
Trading Tails / WSOY Publishing
Click to see more about the project.
Spirit of the Pond / My project
Personal project, 2023.
I wanted to create a dark but whimsical atmosphere that would make the viewer ask questions about the character and wonder who or what she is.
Spirit of the Pond / My project
Click to see more about the project.
Illustration for children's novel Tontun apulainen / WSOY Publishing
Tontun apulainen is a children’s novel and a ”christmas calendar book”, that has one chapter for each day of December, all the way up to Christmas eve. The book is fully illustrated in color, and there’s at least one full page illustration for each chapter.
Illustration for children's novel Tontun apulainen / WSOY Publishing
Click to see more about the project.
Illustration for children's novel Tontun apulainen / WSOY Publishing
Tontun apulainen is a children’s novel and a ”christmas calendar book”, that has one chapter for each day of December, all the way up to Christmas eve. The book is fully illustrated in color, and there’s at least one full page illustration for each chapter.