How to Trust and Allow Space for the Picture Book Illustrator • by Natascha Biebow

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How to Trust and Allow Space for the Picture Book Illustrator • by Natascha Biebow

As apicture book writer, I often wish I had the talent of those author/ illustratorswho can write and illustrate. Theyhave a superpower in that they can mix and match the words and pictures, addinglayers and making choices to balance out the story so it is just right.

But, ifyou’re ‘just’ a writer, you have to allow space for the illustrator and thensit back and wait for the layouts to unfold into a fully-formed picture bookthat is just right. It’s an exercise in trust and letting go. The results areoften hugely gratifying, but it can be a scary process.

Will theillustrator capture the author’s vision?

What ifthey miss a key element or get it ‘wrong’?

Thetemptation can be to want to take control and to over-write or art-direct withillustration notes.

Intraditional publishing, authors work with a skilled team – a designer and aneditor, and sometimes also the publisher and art director – who are incrediblyexperienced and knowledgeable in the art of making picture books. They help topull together all the elements to create a seamless picture book that will captivateyoung readers. A lot of time, careful thought and revision goes into thisprocess, including choosing the right illustrator for each story.

What’sinteresting is that often illustrators add whole new storylines in the pictures– Pippa Goodhart recently blogged about this in her ‘The Joy of VisualSub-Plots’ post. These sub-plots are filled with lots of fabulous details tospot and mini-storylines to follow, making the book one to which young readerswill return to again and again.

Somethingelse spectacular often happens, though, when authors let go of their words andcreate space for illustrators:

Layersand depth!

Thelayers are created when illustrators springboard off the text to imagine the storyon the page – the key plot turning points, the setting and the characters, completewith individual personalities. Illustrators deepen the themes by attributing tothem a visual representation, making them accessible and relevant to youngreaders, who are often astute visual thinkers.

InterpretingThemes:

When You Are Brave by Pat Zietlow Miller and Eliza Wheeler

WHEN YOUARE BRAVE: Pat Zietlow Miller and Eliza Wheeler is the story of being bravewhen you have to do things in life that you’re much rather not do. The author’swords for the opening:

“Some days, when everything around you seemsscary,

you have to be brave.

“Brave as a bird that steps from its nest .. .

hoping to soar through the sky.

“Brave as a dog that wanders for miles . . .

searching for a well-known light.

“Brave as a caterpillar that builds a bed .. .

wondering where it will wake.

Because some days are full of things you’drather not do.”

These phrases could have been illustrated in so many different ways. ElizaWheeler depicts the situation as a girl’s family moving home

From When You Are Brave by Pat Zietlow Miller and Eliza Wheeler
From When You Are Brave by Pat Zietlow Miller and Eliza Wheeler

and creates aneat segue between the metaphorical, lyrical words by illustrating a physicalbird, dog, and caterpillar as the girl’s precious stuffed toys. Thus, Eliza helpsto make the abstract more concrete and relatable for young readers.

From When You Are Brave by Pat Zietlow Miller and Eliza Wheeler

In THETRUTH ACCORDING TO ARTHUR by Tim Hopgood, David Tazzyman must depict what a completelyabstract character (The Truth) looks like and give it a personality.

The Truth According to Arthur by Tim Hopgood and David Tazzyman.

He deftly imaginesthe situations in which the boy bends, stretches, ignores and covers up The Truth.

The Truth According to Arthur by Tim Hopgood and David Tazzyman.

In I AMNEFERTITI by Annemarie Anang, Natelle Quek also artfully captures an abstractelement – music.

I Am Nefertiti by Annemarie Anang and Natelle Quek

Natelle shows how the band feels and sounds when it makes musicthat is discordant and harmonious, even adding different colours for eachinstrument.

From I Am Nefertiti by Annemarie Anang and Natelle Quek

The main character, Nefertiti,is the drummer, who keeps the all-important beat in the band. But when her teacher shortens her name to ‘Nef’ because it’s easier topronounce, something shrinks inside her – both literally and figuratively. In orderto make this idea accessible to young readers, Natelle needed to showNefertiti’s physical transformation as well as how it felt. To convey this, shepositioned the main character tiny amongst the looming drums:

From I Am Nefertiti by Annemarie Anang and Natelle Quek

Characters& Their Worlds :

I AM NEFERTITI is a story about identity and belonging; the multicultural,diverse cast of band members is intrinsic to the narrative. Working from thestarting point of the author’s text (just the characters' names and their instruments),the illustrator and editorial and design team worked closely together toenvision what each child should look like:

From I Am Nefertiti by Annemarie Anang and Natelle Quek

In JamesCatchpole’s WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?, Karen George also creates an authentic groupof children, and sets them in the playground, cleverly juxtaposing the realwith the imaginary using blocks of solid colour.

What Happened to You? by James Catchpole and Karen George

The maincharacter, Joe, says, “And there are sharks down here, too.

Theyespecially like to eat pirates.”

If youlook closely at this scene, Karen George adds all the drama of differentchildren’s reactions to the pretend play in their well-observed expressionsand body language. This is intuited in the dialogue between Joe and the curiouschildren, but not written explicitly into the text. It is more powerful thisway.

From What Happened to You? by James Catchpole and Karen George

In LASTSTOP ON MARKET STREET by Matt de la Peña and Christian Robinson, a boy sets out on a bus journey withhis grandma.

Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña and Christian Robinson

Readers are introduced to the people they meet, among them, a blind man andguide dog, a musician, and a woman with butterflies in a jar. The illustratorhas to decide: what kind of dog? What ages, ethnicities and backgrounds will thepeople be? What should they wear? How will young readers engage with thepictures. Will they see themselves and their backgrounds represented? And somuch more!

Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña and Christian Robinson

Similarly,in MY DADDIES! by Gareth Peter, the illustrator, Garry Parsons, imagines whatthis family looks like and how they act and react in each scene.

My Daddies! by Gareth Peter and Garry Parsons

Theillustrator must imagine situations to best convey the layers and flesh out theaccompanying words. For instance:

“They’renot the best at everything . . .

(one dad is not a particularly good artist)

but Idon’t really care.”

(one dad is not a particularly good cook)

From My Daddies! by Gareth Peter and Garry Parsons

It’salmost as if the words are ‘coming true’.

Especiallypoignant, is the double-paged spread, where the child’s adoption story islovingly imagined and portrayed from babyhood to new, two-dad family home.

From My Daddies! by Gareth Peter and Garry Parsons

Theillustrator is essentially adding a 3-D version of the author’s words,envisioning the child’s adoption journey and the family’s home life, and makingit feel real and relatable to every young reader.