Still More Interviews With Authors and Illustrators
Illustrator Alison Edgson, who has illustrated many picture books including Little Puppy Lost, The Magical Snowman, Silly Goose, and others, was kind enough to answer questions for fans. I like her fresh, unique style that manages at the same time to bring back memories of childhood favorites with its coziness and warmth.
Interview with Illustrator Alison Edgson (12/20/10)
Q. How did you get your start in children’s book illustration?
AE. I used to work in the bank but I’d always wanted to go to art college and hadn’t got in when I first applied. Eventually I was able to take a redundancy package and I got to do a foundation course followed by a degree in Visual Communication at the University of Ulster in Belfast. After I graduated I started trying to get any illustration jobs I could and I sent flyers to publishers and agents in the hope that someone would notice me! Luckily I got a phone call from Child’s Play and they offered me my first book, which was Three Billy Goats Gruff.
Q. What do you enjoy most about creating illustrations for children’s books?
AE. I love lots of things about it so it’s difficult to say, but I think the nicest part is probably when I have already created a set of roughs for a book that everyone is happy with and I am painting the artwork from them. The pressure’s off a bit then ( apart from the looming deadline ) and I get to play with the tone and colours and listen to the radio while I work!
Q. I know that you have illustrated several picture books. Do you have any favorites?
AE. Someone asked me this question yesterday! It’s hard to pick a favourite, but I think it might be Star Friends because of the lovely swirly space scenes
Q. Do you have a preferred medium or technique you like to use when you’re creating your illustrations?
AE. Yes, I paint with acrylics onto either Bristol Board or Hot Pressed Watercolour Paper depending on the softness I want to achieve, and I use coloured pencils and sometimes pastels to finish off the details and add atmosphere
Q. What picture book artists are your favorites?
AE. Oliver Jeffers of course – he’s a friend of mine and super talented. I also love Emily Gravett and Anita Jeram.
Q. How can fans learn more about you and your books?
AE. I have a blog which they can visit – it’s at www.alisillustrationblog.blogspot.com
Q. Is there anything else you’d like to say to picture book fans?
AE. Yes – thank you for buying picture books and I’ll try to give you a few more to choose from over the coming years!
Woo Hoo!! Author/Illustrator Jef Czekaj has given us some super interesting insight into his background, his workspace, and his inspiration. I especially like his timeless advice to aspiring artists at the end of the interview. And did I see libraries mentioned three times? Awesome! I guarantee you will enjoy this interview.
Interview With Author and Illustrator Jef Czekaj (5/1/2011)
Q. How did you get your start in children’s books? Were you an author or an illustrator first, or both?
JC. I loved to draw as a kid. I was shy, and I remember drawing all the time and coming up with crazy little books and comics. I loved Mad Magazine and I drew a superhero parody comic called StupidMan that I thought was the funniest thing ever. I’m fairly confident that it still is.
Once I went to college for some reason I totally stopped drawing. I guess music became my main creative outlet, but also I was somewhat intimidated by the idea of drawing critiques. I took ZERO studio art classes in college.
And then after graduation I had a degree in Linguistics and absolutely zero job prospects, so I just started drawing again. It kind of just bubbled up out of my subconscious. Not as some sort of career prospect, just because I was bored. I drew a mini-comic/zine about R2-D2 playing in a rock band (called R2-D2 IS AN INDIE ROCKER). Eventually an issue of it found its way to then-editor of Nickelodeon Magazine, Chris Duffy, who encouraged me to work on kid-friendly material. He’s a great guy who really went out of his way to get underground cartoonists into Nick Mag.
I drew a comic for them called GRAMPA AND JULIE: SHARK HUNTERS for more than 10 years (there’s an out-of-print collection of some of the strips that you can probably find on Amazon)! Eventually that led to illustrating children’s books and now writing and illustrating them.
Q. What is your workspace like and what tools do you use to create your art?
JC. My workspace is a mess! I have two drawing desks pushed together that, honestly, is mostly a dumping ground for stuff I don’t have time to put away. At this point I do almost all of my work away from my studio space. Coffee shops and libraries are where I do most of my drawing, specifically Diesel Cafe in Somerville.
As far as tools, my set-up is really basic: I draw the line art with a #2-sized brush with ink on bristol. I try not to get too attached to any particular brand of brush or paper because I get too sad and freaked out if I can’t find that particular product. Then I scan the art and color it in Photoshop on my Mac.
I used to have a very specific regimen, but these days I draw wherever I can with whatever I have.
Q. What authors and illustrators have been inspirations to you?
JC. As a kid I LOVED Ed Emberley, specifically this pretty hard-to-find book called THE WIZARD OF OP. It was very different from his other books; it’s a black and white comic that had all of these trippy op-art effects in it. It’s soooooooo good! I would just check it out from the library over and over again.
I was also obsessed with THE MONSTER AT THE END OF THIS BOOK by Jon Stone and illustrated by Mike Smollin. Right off the bat, that is the best title for a book ever. It’s a Sesame Street book about Grover begging you not to turn the pages of the book, so, of course, you do. My book, CAT SECRETS, is a direct descendant of that book.
Q. You have written and illustrated several picture books. Any favorites?
JC. I guess the diplomatic answer is I love all of my babies equally. As far as reading aloud to kids, HIP AND HOP, DON’T STOP! is my favorite because it allows me to really ham it up. I’ve made loops of popular rap songs (Salt N Pepa, Jay Z, Lil Wayne, etc) that I play and rap over (poorly, but enthusiastically).
Q. What projects are you working on right now?
JC. Right now I am working on a sequel to HIP AND HOP, DON’T STOP! called YES, YES YAUL! And a top-secret book called OINK A DOODLE MOO.
Q. How can fans learn more about you and your work?
JC. www.czekaj.com
www.facebook.com/jefczekajdraws
Q. Any closing thoughts or words of wisdom for fans?
JC. When I do presentations at schools and libraries, my main message to kids is that you just need to dive into whatever it is you love doing. Whether it is music, art, animated gifs, or whatever, you just need to do it and not worry about if it’s good or not. I think a lot of kids (and grown-ups too) get really hung up before they even begin a project, worried that somehow they’re not talented enough.
The great thing about drawing is that you don’t need anything fancy. I just draw in junky notebooks that I buy at CVS, just like I did when I was 8-years-old. If I draw a picture I don’t like, who cares? I just draw a new one!
I believe that all of the interviews here on Frog On A Blog are special and this one is no exception. The talented and busy Kurt Cyrus is the latest picture book author and illustrator to submit to my questions. Actually, he very graciously and quickly answered all of the questions. He’s written and illustrated many picture books, including Tadpole Rex, so check out his terrific website (listed below) to learn more about them. Here’s the interview:
Interview With Author and Illustrator Kurt Cyrus (6/26/2011)
Q. Why are you drawn (no pun intended) to children’s book illustration?
KC. It’s just a natural fit for me. My drawing has always had a storytelling aspect to it, more than aesthetic. Children’s books are the perfect place for that.
Q. What inspires your creativity?
KC. Sometimes it comes from observing the natural world, as with Tadpole Rex. In the case of Oddhopper Opera it came from reading some kids’ street rhymes in a book of American folklore. It can be anything, but whatever triggers the idea, it almost always goes back to some subject or idea that has intrigued me for a long time.
Q. How would you describe your style?
KC. I’m not consciously aware of having a style. Some people tell me they can always recognize my work, and others say that my books look so different from one another that they seem to have been done by different people. Usually it’s pretty close to realistic, but with stylistic liberties taken.
Q. Are there any books from your childhood or authors and artists that positively influenced your work?
KC. I loved Dr. Seuss of course, so I imagine my rhyming must show some influence from him. Later on, as an adult, I discovered and loved Carl Sandburg’s Rootabaga Stories, and I think some of my word choices have been influenced by that.
Q. You have written and illustrated several picture books. Any favorites?
KC. Tadpole Rex and The Voyage of Turtle Rex have to be my favorites. They’re the ones I really enjoy reading and showing to kids. It doesn’t hurt that those books have had the best critical reception of any I’ve done. I’m pretty insecure, so any book that brings public validation is likely to become my favorite.
Q. What are you working on right now?
KC. I’m illustrating a picture book about trucks for Candlewick. Also I’ve been writing and revising several manuscripts that have begun making the rounds. I’ve learned that when times are lean and there’s no job on the horizon, rather than give in to anxiety and paralysis, I’ve got to make use of the time and let some new ideas flow. Something good always comes from that. I may only sell one out of five or six projects, but that’s enough.
Q. How can fans learn more about you and your work?
KC. There’s a website: www.kurtcyrus.com. It has the basics, and if you want to know more, you may email me from that site. I answer them all.
Q. Any closing thoughts for fans or aspiring artists?
KC. Good luck!
This time the interviewee is author Lisa Wheeler. I had the good fortune of attending one of her Picture Book Boot Camps, a one-day inclusive workshop for picture book writers. It was a great experience. She really knows her stuff. She ought to, she’s had many books of her own published. The three pictured above are a small sampling of some of my favorites. Enjoy the interview!
Interview with Author Lisa Wheeler (11/2/2011)
Q. Why do you like to write children’s picture books and how did you get started?
LW. Like most writers, I’d been writing all my life. But it wasn’t until 1995 that I felt the desire to be published. I began sending my work out and gathering my rejections. It took nearly 4 years and 225 rejections before I ever sold a book. In the meantime, my writing had been improving and I was learning what makes a good children’s story. I’d had some success in children’s magazines and also did a freelance job writing very tight stories for the educational market. This was all a very helpful education. No one I knew had the internet when I began doing this. It wasn’t until 1997 that we decided to try it out. That was when I began meeting other writers, forming critique groups, and I learned about SCBWI. I do think I learned more in 6 months after joining SCBWI than I was able to find out on my own in the years prior to that. I sold One Dark Night—my first sale—on Oct. 30, 1998.
Q. I really like your book One Dark Night. How did you come up with the idea for that one?
LW. It’s hard to recall. That book started with wordplay and scribbles on a piece of paper. I was at work and on my clipboard I had written In a wee little house/in a wee little hole/lived a wee little mouse/ and a wee little mole. At the time I wrote that, I just liked the way it sounded and had no idea where the story would go. This was back in 1998, so I cannot recall how I figured out the rest of the story.
Q. You have written several books, any favorites?
LW. You know I can’t pick a favorite! The books are like my kids, if I pick a favorite, they’ll fight. My house would be full of imaginary fur and feathers. But like my kids, my books are each good at different things. For instance, my favorites to read aloud are Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum, Sixteen Cows, Jazz Baby, Ugly Pie, and the dino-sports series. The characters I like to spend time with are Sailor Moo, Cushion the porcupine, and Fitch and Chip. I think my funniest books are Turk and Runt and Spinster Goose. For each of my books, I have a different reason for it to be a favorite.
Q. What are you working on right now?
LW. I am working on the 6th book in the dino-sports series, Dino-Wrestling. I am also preparing for another Picture Book Boot Camp, which is my one day intensive workshop on picture book writing.
Q. Who are your favorite picture book authors?
LW. Phyllis Root, Brock Cole, and Kevin Henkes
Q. Where can fans go to learn more about you and your books?
Q. Any closing thoughts?
LW. Writing picture books for children is my dream come true. It took lots of years and lots of hard work, but I feel as if I am doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing with my life. If you have a passion, back it up with hard work, surround yourself with supportive people, and be willing to ‘put yourself out there for rejection’, you will be following your dreams. Getting paid to do a job you would do for free—icing on the cake!
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