'Wilde Haren' (2017).
Elsje Bakker is a Dutch illustrator and concept artist, working mostly for video games and apps. During the 2000s, she was active in the Dutch small-press manga scene, producing anthologies with her doujinshi circle Neutral. In 2017, her solo graphic novel 'Wilde Haren' was released through Hanabi Publishers.
Professional life
Elsje Bakker received her bachelor's degree at the Breda University of Applied Sciences in 2011, where she completed the International Game Architecture & Design programme as a visual artist. Since graduation, she has been working as a freelance illustrator and concept artist. One of her early jobs was creating the art for Fantazm's 'Dikkie Durf', an interactive children's seek-and-find mobile game app. Among her later clients has been the educational publisher ThiemeMeulenhoff.
Manga art
During her student years, Elsje Bakker was part of the doujinshi manga circle Neutral, which took its inspiration from the all-female Japanese manga group Clamp. While Bakker worked under the pen name Kitsu, the other Neutral members were Janna (Janneke van den Biggelaar), Dori (Dorith Graef) en Wybsu (Stephanie Lechner). Active between 2005 and 2011, the group released seven small-press anthologies, each linked to a specific color and theme: 'Shiroi Yume/Kuroi Akumu' (gothic, 2005), 'Cotton Candy' (pink/sweet romance, 2006), 'Aoi Tsuki' (blue/tragic love, 2007), 'Shinkui Named' (red/horror, 2007), 'Himawari' (yellow/slice of life, 2008), 'In de Schaduw' (purple/horror, 2009) and 'Morgen' (orange/taboo, 2011). Bakker contributed stories to each volume, notably the 80-page story 'A Ship Of Fools', about Cin who has to defeat a "vampirate" and falls in love with a mermaid - a co-production with Janneke van den Biggelaar for the 2007 release 'Shinkui Named'. Between 2008 and 2010, Neutral also released three self-titled Dutch-language comic books. In addition, Elsje Bakker and Janneke van den Biggelaar have collaborated on stories for 'Cherry Lips' (2009), an anthology by the manga collective TeaTales, and the two volumes of the two volumes of the 'Liquorice' anthology by OpenMinded (2009, 2011), in which they explored the relationship of a young couple. Also with Van den Biggelaar, Bakker had a story published in the 'Oost West' manga anthology by the publishing house Bee Dee (2009).
'Long Distance' (2014).
Later in life, Bakker has continued working on manga-related artwork, often under the monicker "Na de Regen" (After The Rain). During the early 2010s, she made 'Long Distance' (2013-2014), a slice-of-life webcomic about four people and the online friendships they share. In 2017, the Dutch manga imprint Hanabi (a joint venture between the publishers Syndikaat and Leeuwenhart) released her graphic novel 'Wilde Haren', a slice-of-life graphic novel with a personal touch and a sharp perspective on the contemporary pressure to perform. The main character is Julie, who wants to start her own business after being fired as a hairdresser, but struggles to find the right focus.
In later years, Elsje Bakker has been doing artwork in commission, while also hosting her own Mail from a Tree! patreon, where subscribers can receive monthly stickers, pins and prints.
Manga art by Elsje Bakker.