Favourite Illustrators

While I enjoy working with pastels - especially the way that I can get my fingers dirty and manipulate the picture as I'm going - I think pencil sketching is still my favourite medium. Because I'm a perfectionist, the nature of drawing with a pencil means that I can produce a much clearer picture than what I could with pastels. I use a mechanical pencil with a 0.7mm lead, which allows me to get a very high level of detail into the drawing.

Also, there's something alluring about working in black and white. It frees me to concentrate on the shadows and lines, without having to worry about whether or not I'm getting the colours right. I've been so busy lately with illustrating my second children's book - in pastel - and now I'm beginning to feel a need to take a break from it to emerse myself in pencil again. I would love to illustrate a book in black and white pencil, but at the rate it takes me to complete one drawing, a full book would take me about ten years!

One of my favourite illustrators is Chris Van Allsburg. His drawings are amazing, especially considering that he works mostly in just black/white. Check out his website: http://www.chrisvanallsburg.com/ Below is an example of his style - incredible!


Another exceptional illustrator is Robert Ingpen. He has a different style and tends to use colour a lot more than Van Allsburg. He has illustrated many classic stories such as Treasure Island and The Jungle Book - which the following picture is from.


And another favourite is Christian Birmingham. His use of pastels is mind-blowing - he is an amazingly talented artist. His website is: http://christianbirmingham.com/