A lyrical fairy tale that takes the reader down into the depths of the sea and carries them back into the light. The colour runs the whole range, from the palest turquoise to pitch black — water that follows a princess's feelings without ever belittling them.
Kissa Koskinen
author, creator, visual storyteller & dreamer
Kyni ja metsän vanhin · Tammi, 2024
ScrollGiving form to what cannot be put into words — in watercolour, and in pencil lines so fine they almost disappear.
- Nature conservation
- Consolation
- Magic
Three picture books
Koskinen has illustrated three books in total. Their first book Simpukka is written by Hannele Huovi and it was published in September 2022 by Tammi. Koiranputken vihellys, their second one, was published during the same autumn. Differing from the other projects, Koiranputken vihellys is also written and laid out by Koskinen. Their last published project Kyni ja metsän vanhin was written by Reetta Niemelä and published by Tammi in 2024. Its original illustrations were exhibited alongside the final digitally coloured pieces at the Finnish Museum of Natural History in 2025. The books are available in Finnish only.
A young adder sets out to find a safe place to sleep through the coming winter, and meets the oldest creature of the forest along the way. A childlike look into the Finnish forest and its turning year — and the book whose original illustrations were exhibited at the Finnish Museum of Natural History in 2025.
Differing from the other projects, Koiranputken vihellys is also written and laid out by Koskinen — words, pictures and typesetting all made by the same hand. Published in the same autumn as Simpukka.
Selected work
Three published picture books, paintings on paper, posters and walls. Every illustration begins as watercolour and pencil on paper; some are finished digitally, and the originals are kept.
Murals
Wall works are part of the practice, but no photographs have been gathered here yet. Documentation of the painted walls will be added to this page as it is collected.
Poster design, illustration and layout by Kissa Koskinen.
Events and visits
Art workshops
Educational art workshops for all ages and backgrounds! Themes of illustrating or comics (including zine and character design, for instance) are available, and the workshops explore story structures and visual language, too.
- Zines
- Character design
- Comics
- Illustration
- Or suggest a theme!
Author talks
Traditional author talk sessions about the journey in the field of children’s literature, the importance of creativity as the life source of all ideas and the role of empathy in creative work.
Send a message and let’s tailor a memorable event together <3
Shown in public
Kyni ja Kaarnakas
8 April – 8 June 2025
The Kyni ja Kaarnakas exhibition presented all illustrations from the picture book Kyni ja metsän vanhin (written by Reetta Niemelä and published by Tammi in 2024), together with the original watercolor paintings exhibited to the public for the first time. Displaying both the digitally finished illustrations and the handmade originals side by side revealed the creative process behind the work.
- Venue
- Finnish Museum of Natural History (Luomus), café
- Address
- Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu 13, Helsinki
- Opening
- Sat 12 April 2025, 16:30–18:00
- Entry
- Free
What has been written
Book reviews
ThreeLastenkirjahylly translated from Finnish
…Kissa Koskinen's illustration breathes in time with the lyrical language. The pictures can also be read as inner landscapes of grief, exhaustion and depression. The swirls and waves of the water follow the princess's emotional experiences without belittling them, but they can equally be read as signals of life's own force. The colouring ranges from the brightest hues to pitch black.…
Onnimanni 4/2024 translated from Finnish
Kissa Koskinen is still at the beginning of an illustrator's career, but their personal style already sets them apart from the rest. Their previous and first illustration work was for their grandmother Hannele Huovi's verse tale Simpukka. Koskinen's angles are exciting and varied; recognisable creatures and fantasy figures scurry along the forest paths together with ease.
Kangasalan Sanomat translated from Finnish
Illustrated as if it were a work of art, Kyni ja metsän vanhin tells of a young adder's adventure. Kyni is still small when it has to start looking for a safe place to sleep through the coming winter. — Beautifully written and illustrated, the story offers a childlike glimpse into the Finnish forest and its turning year.
Articles
Four-
Luomus · helsinki.fi
Kyni ja Kaarnakas -näyttely kumoaa kyihin liitettyjä uskomuksia
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Helsinki.today
Kissa Koskinen: Kyni ja Kaarnakas
The Kyni ja Kaarnakas exhibition takes visitors on a journey into the depths of the forest, following a young adder named Kyni on its way towards winter sleep. The exhibition shows both illustrations from the book and original works painted in watercolour. Adders are the subject of many misconceptions and beliefs. Kyni ja metsän vanhin is exceptional in that Finnish children’s literature has never before had an adder as its main character. With their book, Koskinen and Niemelä wanted to highlight the protection and empathy that the forest’s smallest inhabitants deserve.
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Suur-Keuruu
Hannele Huovi löysi vanhan käsikirjoituksensa, ja siitä tuli kuvakirja — Simpukka vie lukijan meren syvyyksiin ja tuo takaisin valoon
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Virikkeitä 2/25
Kyiden ja kasviyksilöiden omannäköinen elämä — haastattelussa kirjailija Reetta Niemelä
…On my school visits we often talk about how the world — an ordinary nearby forest, or familiar species — holds a great many things we do not yet know. There is plenty left to study for the generations to come. On school visits, Kyni ja metsän vanhin (2024, illustrated by Kissa Koskinen), for example, usually gets the whole group telling their own adder stories and getting excited about all the wildly interesting things I found while researching the world of adders.…
In print
Four clippingsThe storyteller
Kissa (“Cat”) Helmikkä Ensilumi Koskinen (b. 2004) is an illustrator, author and educator born in Helsinki, Finland. They find meaning in giving form to what cannot be put into words, often through detailed watercolor art combined with delicate pencil-drawn lines. The main recurring themes in their work are nature conservation, consolation and magic. Furthermore, if viewed with a well-aimed eye, a nod to shamanic tradition can be found in their works.
A career in illustration began in 2020 when Koskinen started to work alongside their own grandmother Hannele Huovi. Eventually, their project Simpukka was published by Tammi in 2022. They have worked as a freelance illustrator ever since. Even though their interests extend broadly from illustration to visual communication, literature, aesthetics, design and pedagogy, they ultimately identify as a storyteller.
Contact
Time spent with a cat is never wasted.
— Colette
For commissions, collaborations, school visits and enquiries.