Meet our gift card designers!

A Q&A with Paddy Donnelly

If you could illustrate any work of fiction, what would it be?

Hmm, perhaps Watership Down. It was one of my favourite books and animations as a child. It left a huge impression on me, and the types of books I now create. That would be a dream to illustrate the cover for a future edition, and perhaps some inner illustrations. Those characters are still very real to me all these years later, so that would be such a treat to do. Maybe someday!

What authors or illustrators have inspired your work?

Too many to count! I am actually quite inspired by a lot of working illustrators today. Not only because of their illustration talents, but because of their efforts in establishing a career creating children's books. It's difficult to make a full-time career from picture books, so seeing the other illustrators who are accepting that challenge and putting so much effort into the business side of the work, doing events, literature festivals and other ways to get their name out there and getting their books into the hands of kids. Those are the real inspiration.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to become an illustrator?

Don't worry too much about 'finding your style'. This is something that a lot of emerging illustrators can get fixated on. Instead just keep creating more and more work that you like the look of. Eventually your style will emerge on its own. Start off listing absolutely everything you love to illustrate and fill your portfolio with all of those things. Art directors can quickly identify which pieces in your portfolio have come from a place of passion and love.

Luck exists, but it needs something to grab onto, so you need to be doing a lot of work, putting it out there for people to see, getting out there and meeting lots of people in the industry. Eventually these little lucky moments will start to build upon one another and snowball into great opportunities.

If you could give a book token to anyone (real or fictional) who would it be?

Probably myself as a child. I read quite a bit as a child, but I wish I had read even more. There are so many books that I missed out on as a child and I'm only catching up on them now. Being able to go back and shove even more books under my nose would be my choice.

A Q&A with Sonia Leong

If you could illustrate any work of fiction, what would it be?

I love folk tales, ghost stories and Chinese legends so Strange Tales from Liaozhai by Pu Songling would be so much fun to draw!

What authors or illustrators have inspired your work?

My favourite Japanese artists include CLAMP studio, Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, Yoshitaka Amano and George Kamitani. Western artists would include Alphonse Mucha, Edmund Blair Leighton and J.C. Leyendecker. 

What advice would you give to someone who wants to become an illustrator?

Read and observe as widely as possible across many styles and genres. It helps you understand character design and increases your flexibility, as well as allowing you to develop your own distinctive art style so clients approach you for your signature look!

If you could give a book token to anyone (real or fictional) who would it be?

To all of those kids who have ever looked longingly at one of my books but don't have the money to buy it. Everyone should be able to own a physical book that is special to them.