As promised in part one, here are the 2009 Moomin postage stamps. These were based on some of Tove’s sketches and give a rare insight into the creative process behind the Moomin comic strips. One thing that I have in common with my fellow cartoonists is the sense of apprehension when going over pencil lines with ink. There’s always a fear that the inked image will not have the same life and vibrancy as the pencil lines, and this can be doubly true when the final product is compared to the rough sketches.

This never seems to have been a problem for Tove Jansson; the Moomin strips are bursting with movement and fluidity. But the rough-hewn feel to the sketches is something else again; there’s that sense of wonder at seeing the first draft of a Moomin illustration, particularly if it’s one that has gone on to appear everywhere afterwards.

Sketch1

It’s not so easy to place these ones; the first looks as though it could be from Moomins on the Riviera.

Sketch2

That’s a nice little touch on the magnification of Little My’s eye in the spectacles. Amazing detail work on the curtain rails!

Sketch3

Moomin and Snufkin debate a philosphical point; and Moominpappa is set to tumble into a cargo hold full of fireworks.