Cats juggle and bees shelter inside Zsófia Győrfi’s eclectic and dizzying world of illustration

The illustrator channels memories of her childhood, but ultimately just wants her anthropomorphic characters to be – in all their quirks and personality.

Illustrator Zsófia Győrfi, AKA petit crickets, works adeptly across both pattern and character design – a rare feat. You’re likely to be charmed by her whimsical characters and the worlds she creates for them, sometimes amplified by repetition to make them dense and explorative, but also taken aback by her sharp understanding of the visual myth. After looking at her artwork, Du Chat Noir, I found myself saying ‘yeah if any animal were to juggle at artiste level, it would be a cat’; and the sheltering bee in Nothing Can Bug Them has a face that I could only imagine being suited for a bee – let’s face it, they have a lot to be angered by.

Born and raised in Budapest, Zsófia initially studied graphic design in her home city. During her final project, she created a children’s book and soon realised that she wanted to turn her focus to illustration, because it opened up a world for her in visual storytelling. Today, the artist primarily creates digital illustrations using her Wacom tablet, but there is still a feeling of traditional methods being used, which is largely owed to her use of paint and paper cutouts. “My passion lies in book projects,” the illustrator shares, “particularly in picture books where I can create a visual narrative.” She is deeply inspired by her childhood while creating –“it’s why I chose the name petit crickets, it was a nickname my sisters used to call me”, she adds – and thinks of her projects as a visual playground to explore through her imaginative and playful aesthetic.

Capturing the interactions between often anthropomorphic creatures in imaginary places and scenes, Zsófia champions creating “silly characters with their own personalities and unexpected expectations” while “highlighting the importance of small details, weirdness, absurd fun and a little bit of geometric abstraction”. Staying inspired by artists like Matisse, Henry Rousseau, Cézanne, Róbert Berény and László Réber, the references of folk art, abstraction, naive art, alongside a general reverence for art history, all show through in the illustrators unconventional visual symphony.

Above

Zsófia Győrfi: Galopping (Copyright © Zsófia Győrfi, 2024)

Above

Zsófia Győrfi: Du Chat Noir (Copyright © Zsófia Győrfi, 2024)

Above

Zsófia Győrfi: Dance (Copyright © Zsófia Győrfi, 2024)

Above

Zsófia Győrfi: Hanging Around with Gibbons (Copyright © Zsófia Győrfi, 2024)

Above

Zsófia Győrfi: First Dance (Copyright © Zsófia Győrfi, 2024)

Above

Zsófia Győrfi: Giddy Up (Copyright © Zsófia Győrfi, 2023)

Above

Zsófia Győrfi: Nothing Can Bug Them (Copyright © Zsófia Győrfi, 2024)

Above

Zsófia Győrfi: Planet of Cats (Copyright © Zsófia Győrfi, 2024)

Above

Zsófia Győrfi: The Epic Battle of Miniature Kingdom (Copyright © Zsófia Győrfi, 2023)

Above

Zsófia Győrfi: The Smallest Caravan (Copyright © Zsófia Győrfi, 2023)

Above

Zsófia Győrfi: Trip (Copyright © Zsófia Győrfi, 2023)

Hero Header

Zsófia Győrfi: Cow (Copyright © Zsófia Győrfi, 2024)

Share Article

About the Author

Yaya Azariah Clarke

Yaya (they/them) was previously a staff writer at It’s Nice That. With a particular interest in Black visual culture, they have previously written for publications such as WePresent, alongside work as a researcher and facilitator for Barbican and Dulwich Picture Gallery.

It's Nice That Newsletters

Fancy a bit of It's Nice That in your inbox? Sign up to our newsletters and we'll keep you in the loop with everything good going on in the creative world.