Interview
I am quite often asked to do interviews about my illustration work or fill in questionnaires. Here are my answers to some of the most perceptive and often asked questions. Click on the questions to read my answers :
Do you have a working routine or just write/illustrate when you feel like it?
I usually write when the mood takes me, but have a fairly strict regime for my illustration, as I need to plan out in advance how long I am going to spend on a project, and stick to it. I work from around 08.30 until about 6.00 most days. I don't work at weekends unless I'm doing a workshop or storytelling in a library somewhere, or am away doing a festival appearance.
Which comes first - the words or the illustrations?
Obviously, if I'm illustrating someone else's story, the words are all finished before I begin. When I have an idea for a story of my own, the words still come first but, because I am an illustrator, the pictures keep jumping into my head as I'm writing. In my case they are usually funny pictures and they can often give me more ideas about where the story might go.
How long does it take you to illustrate a book?
It takes about 4 weeks to develop the characters, design how the pages will work and then draw the whole book in pencil line - the 'roughs'. The publisher usually takes a couple of weeks to consider, and then make any suggestions for changes. It takes me another 6 - 8 weeks to rework any alterations and create the final illustrations in colour. So, altogether I am working on a picture book for around 3 months. Of course that's just the illustrations - it usually takes at least another year before it is available in the shops!
Is it hard to make that first mark on the page when starting to sketch a new illustration?
Not with every new drawing, but the very first sketches for a new book are always a bit scary. I often find excuses to put off getting going on that first day. Sometimes it is fine once I get started, often though I need to 'warm up' and the first day's work can be pretty rubbish. Even after all these years, I always worry that I'll never be able to do it right, and then, like magic, on the next day it is fine!
A lot of your books feature animals - which ones do you most like drawing?
I enjoy illustrating nasty, naughty or ugly characters much more than cute, fluffy ones. Class Two at the Zoo has a wonderfully evil looking anaconda that gobbles up all the children and gets bigger and bigger. And I had fun with Rocky the wolf in Rocky and the Lamb, who is basically a mugger. I had to strike evil poses in the mirror while I was sketching him, to get the predatory body language just right!
Where do you get ideas for stories?
Ideas come from ordinary, everyday things that are happening all the time all around you. The trick is to notice them (and to make a quick note of them before they disappear from your head).
Do you like to read a lot and, if so, why?
I rarely go anywhere without a paperback tucked away somewhere, just in case I get a spare moment! I really enjoy being transported to a new place by a book, and getting lost in that alternative world for a while. It's interesting too to find yourself inside the head of different characters. Books that can make you laugh out loud are excellent, and probably very good for you, and I love it when you get one of those rare but wonderful finds - a book you truly can't put down.
Which books do you like best? Do you tend to stick to the same genre?
My favourites are novels. No particular genre, but I tend to read contemporary fiction the most. I usually choose on the basis of the first page, on whether it grabs me. I do like to try new things out from time to time (although I draw the line at westerns!)
What is your favourite children's book and why?
This changes all the time, but one picture book I love is The Rabbits by John Marsden & Shaun Tan. It's actually the sort of picture book that almost certainly appeals more to grown ups than children. Shaun Tan's illustrations are both beautiful and sinister, and totally original. The story is an allegory about what settlers did to the indigenous populations in the New World .
For longer fiction Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials is of course rather special. He is a master storyteller, painting extraordinary word-pictures. I also like the fact that his books challenge children to think more deeply about issues like religion.
What was your favourite book as a child?
I read a lot of Enid Blyton and particular remember the Wishing Chair and Faraway Tree books.
Are there any illustrators that have inspired you?
I am inspired by new illustrators all the time, but the first person I remember being excited by was Ralph Steadman. I still love his anarchic, scratchy style and his wit. Another long-standing favourite is Dave McKean who also has quite an edgy drawing style, but combines this with collage and powerful colours to create wonderfully rich images. I also recently discovered the fabulously funny world of Anna-Laura Cantone.
What can you tell us that might surprise your readers?
Illustration can be a bit messy, especially when you work in pastels, so I wear an artist's smock to keep my clothes clean. It is now extremely grubby, but it is very, very special - it used to belong to my grandad, who was a restoration artist. He specialised in restoring the ornate ceiling murals of stately homes and palaces. He met the Queen once when he was working on Blenheim Palace and he might even have been wearing my smock!
What advice would you offer anyone who wants to write for children?
Try not to underestimate children or write down to them. Write for the child inside yourself.
author & illustrator of children's books
