Anna Hofmann's slightly grotesque but very, very funny characters

Our love affair with the work of Anna Hofmann came from one illustration of a little creature leaning cautiously out of its car window to lick a cactus. It’s this use of humour, something so silly but brilliant, that means since seeing her work in Eike Konig’s class calendar at the end of last year, we’ve fallen head over heels for Anna’s work.

Each drawing causes a chuckle as soon as you see it. It’s not complicated or far fetched, it’s just really funny. For instance, in one of her simplest drawings (a personal favourite) she has added legs to the bottom of a car, which has fallen on it’s back and is struggling to get up like a beetle would. “I am happy with my works when they are humorous in an ironic way and have a certain expression for me,” Anna tells It’s Nice That. “I try to make them look weird and tragic at the same time, and want them to have a self-ironical appearance.”

The weirdness of Anna’s characters comes in all shapes and sizes, citing Emil Sellström as an influence for his funny characters with a just hint of grotesque. Some have elongated features like wobbly arms and legs or we see a giant arse poking out at the back of one drawing, but some of the best bits come from just adding a backpack to a rabbit-like creature plodding along.

Each of her drawings “often deal with the topics of everyday life,” says Anna. No topic is too vast; for instance, in the drawings featured below she covers “the endless waiting for a special call,” relationships, driving at a speedy pace and cybersex. Anna additionally creates large sculptures which carry her humour to three dimensional artworks too, such as making giant cigarettes or pillars and adding the same line-work style so they appear cohesive with her illustrations. We eagerly wait to see what she’ll do next after graduating.