Celebrating the SCBWI Australian Picture Book Illustrator Awards
by Emma Quay
An afternoon dedicated entirely to illustration is always a winner in my book!
It was a privilege to share a stage with the other recipients of this brand-new prize for Australian picture book illustrators, in a celebratory get-together via Zoom. This job involves spending a huge amount of time alone, and yet it’s also very much about collaboration, communication and, therefore, other people. As illustrators, we make work with and for others, though not often in front of anyone — so it was fun to extend an invitation to join me in my little loft studio and share a glimpse into the processes I use when I’m creating the characters in my books.
The illustrations for my current picture book project are in brush and ink, and a week earlier this little girl had come out of my brush, while I was doing some morning warm-ups in my sketchbook.
I rather liked her, so I decided to improvise around the theme, not worrying what my pictures looked like, and with the sole aim of filling up a piece of paper. I filmed the process — speeding up the action to squash the thirteen minutes it took me down to just three — and I was surprised to discover I forgot I was being filmed at some points.
I did fill up the piece of paper… plus a little of another one, and during my presentation I talked through each drawing in turn, critiquing them and deciding out loud whether I’d choose the first character I painted, as she’s quiet, still and lost in the moment, or one whose brushstrokes are a little livelier… or fewer… or another, for the slight tilt of her head (the position we often adopt when we draw)… or one which feels nicely pared back, although possibly a little too introverted and in her own world.
I’d already decided which girl I’d have chosen, and — as is often the case — she’d emerged somewhere in the middle of the painting session, when I’d loosened up and become less self conscious, but hadn’t yet gone off the boil.
She has fewer brushstrokes than some of the other characters, and I like the way she’s leaning in the direction she’s about to paint, suggesting the moment to come. She has that loose, easy quality I’m looking for: not overworked. There’s a lot I could fix up, with Photoshop, should I choose to, whilst also making sure I keep the quirkiness and hand-drawn qualities of the brushwork.
This replicates the process I go through when I illustrate a character. I draw, draw, draw, until I feel I can’t draw any more. And then I do draw some more. Somewhere in there will be the one… hopefully! Or, with the magic of Photoshop, I could even create a composite from my favourite parts of several characters.
Obviously, I don’t usually have the luxury of the crowd of children’s book people in my studio with me, so I thought I’d make the most of it on this afternoon. I was really interested to hear which girl the audience would have chosen to go in the imaginary book, so I shared the drawings on my Instagram account, inviting people to vote for their favourite.
And the result was certainly food for thought!
Due to the fact that my process is about making lots of options, and then choosing from amongst them, I have perhaps essentially illustrated all of my books several times over… yet, interestingly, the winner of the audience vote in this instance was girl number one — the very first one I’d painted!
So now when you see a character on the page in one of my books, you’ll know there are plenty more who haven’t made the cut, and are still in the studio with me… one of which might be the one you’d have chosen! Perhaps I should invite input more often — I’ll certainly consider it.
It was lovely to collaborate with my folk musician friend Ian Barker whose acoustic guitar playing so perfectly complements the hand-made qualities of brush and ink work. Again — it’s so much about people, this seemingly solo game. Congratulations to the other showcased, shortlisted, Honour receiving and winning illustrators, to Sue Whiting for her brilliant insights from the perspective of a writer and publisher, to Susanne Gervay for being the most enthusiastic champion of every single one of us, and many thanks to the SCBWI committee, the Copyright Agency and the judges of the award, for this honour and chance to share.
You’ll find the Instagram post with all the girls I painted, here
Me adding colour to the audience’s no.1 girl, here
And more about my picture books at www.emmaquay.com, with insights into process on the ILLUSTRATING page
