How the Tangleby books come to life
It’s an exciting day when a new manuscript arrives in my inbox. I know the author has been crafting the story over many months and the characters mean a lot to them, so in turn, I need to try my hardest to bring them to life. That’s certainly the case with Sue’s books - the animals are fully developed with their own foibles and traits and I have to somehow convey that in my drawings. I may read the script many times over during the course of the initial designs, making written and visual notes as I go and getting to know the story and the characters. Sue’s writing always plays like a movie in my mind’s eye as I am reading and that’s one of the ways I know I am onto a winner! It makes putting the characters down on paper that much easier. It also helps that I am very familiar with the real life Tangleby Gardens - yes, it is a real place! I could happily live in the playhouse if Sue would let me…
When I am ready to draw in earnest I enjoy the ritual of picking a new sketchbook off the shelf. My favourite is the Canson Croquis XL at A4 which is spiral bound so it lies flat. The paper has a lovely ‘tooth’ which means the pencil feels satisfying as it moves across the page and I bought a lot of them from my supplier when I could. Does that sound fussy? - maybe so, but I enjoy every stage of the process so why not make it matter? I stamp the book with the date I start it and again when I finish it in case I need a reference in future years. (And one day I might have to prove that I, a human, did the work and not AI!) By the time I am done with one of Sue’s books I will have filled the entire book with sketches.
What I am looking for in the story are not necessarily the big explosive showpiece moments - though they matter - but also the quieter moments that reveal things about the characters or are particularly poignant. Just the like the story itself, the illustrations have to have a rhythm and a pace of their own that supports the story and draws the reader in emotionally. I am really trying my hardest to bring Sue’s words to life.
In the beginning, with the very first Tangleby book, Sue and I agreed that we wanted the animals to have plenty of expression and emotion but not be too anthropomorphised. When the sketching gets underway I start with pencil drawings - quick to capture ideas and not so finished that things become too detailed and hard to change too soon. I don’t want anything to look ‘final’ yet - from my point of view and from Sue’s so she feels she can give me honest feedback if I am not hitting the mark. I am looking for the key points of the story as well as developing the characters as the story goes along and showing moments of growth or indecision. When I have worked my way through a chapter I scan the drawings and send them to Sue with any additional written comments so she can give me feedback. If things need to be changed or adjusted now’s the time! As I go through chapter by chapter I may revisit earlier parts of the story and add another image if it helps the story - that’s the great thing about keeping things loose at this stage, it’s not a huge deal to adjust things. Some of the final illustrations can be very detailed but I am not too specific about what might be on a shelf or in a kitchen, I often add visual jokes that are not in the text for the children to find.
I have a very soft spot for some of the characters - Montgomery Rabbit is kind and fatherly and has to be stern on rare occasions, he’s often the one directing operations and thinking of fun outings for the Tangleby family. Basil and the two cats, Molly and Martha, are also a lot of fun to draw because they are always getting up to no good and getting in trouble. But, I love them all!
When Sue has seen all of the rough pencil sketches and is happy with them we move on to painting the final illustrations. I work digitally on these, mainly because changes are much easier to handle. If every painting was a ‘real’ watercolour then a change would mean I would have to start again - I don’t think the book would ever get to print. I can mimic watercolour behaviour and texture in my digital program and keep backgrounds separate from the animals so I can shift things about a little if I need to - a bit like a stage set. Once I have completed a chapter, back it goes to Sue to make sure she is happy.
People sometimes forget that, once the illustrations are all finished, the book still needs to be designed and assembled for printing. Sometimes the illustrations are handed over to a graphic designer and sometimes, as with Tangleby, I put the book together myself as I worked as a designer for many, many years. There’s just as much thought and design in making a beautiful book that people will hopefully treasure as there is in doing the illustrations inside it. One more sign off once the book is assembled and everything looks like it will when it is printed and we are off to the races! Every book our China-based printer, Everbest, have produced for us has been beautiful and all the Tangleby team are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Book 4 in the series which will arrive here in New Zealand in time for Christmas.
So, that’s my year - a whole year of wonderful animals in my life, what could be better?! I really love what I do and I especially love bringing Sue’s beautiful books to life.