SCBWI
Bologna 2008 Author-Illustrator Interview: John Shelley
 John Shelley studied illustration at Manchester under Tony
Ross. His first major picture book The Secret in the Matchbox
was shortlisted for the Mother Goose Award and received a
Parents' Choice Award in the U.S. Twenty-one years ago, John
moved to Japan and became a successful commercial illustrator,
as well as continuing to illustrate children's books, such
as King Smelly Feet and The Boat in the Tree. Recently, he
moved back to Europe. He was interviewed in December 2007
by Anita Loughrey, as one of the speakers at the SCBWI Bologna
Conference 2008 (scheduled for March 29 and March 30 in Bologna,
Italy).
Are you a writer as well as an illustrator and, if so, which
comes first the images or the words?
JS: I write and illustrate, though illustration is my chief
profession. I develop ideas both ways, sometimes building
up from images, sometimes working from a story concept. Each
has its merits and disadvantages. As an illustrator, I've
found working from pictures up tends to be a smoother process,
though the plot and structure may need later work to bring
it up to scratch. Working from the story is more of a struggle
at the beginning, but gives a more solid foundation to work
on later. I suppose the ideal is a combination of both--pictures
and story growing together.
What made you decide to be a children's book illustrator?
Did you always want to be an illustrator?
JS: I was set on being a graphic artist from a fairly young
age. I had a pretty clear idea what I wanted to be from at
least 10 years old. Discovering early 20th Century Golden
Age illustrators focused me on children's books when I was
around 15.
What were your other career choices, if any?
JS: I was pretty set on being an artist, but I also fancied
being an historian, especially underwater archeology and
scuba diving on shipwrecks; and sitting in dusty, old libraries
looking up old books seemed like a great way to spend my
time. Unfortunately, hunting for shipwrecks on the Spanish
Main remains an unfulfilled dream. I suppose there's always
tomorrow.
Do you have favorite medium you work in? If so, did the
medium choose you or did you choose it? Can you elaborate?
JS:
Pen and ink has always been my core technique; all the
artists that have ever inspired me from Rowlandson onwards
were "pen people." As a teenager, I'd fill sketchbooks
with observed drawings using black ball pens; I began working
with India ink at school on a teacher's suggestion. I remember
the first drawing I ever did in pen and India ink was a copy
of a Victorian engraving of Henry Hudson's last voyage. I
never looked back. Learning to paint properly came later.
I’ve tried other materials over the years, but pen
drawing is still the start point.
What are you currently working on?
JS: Finishing off a 24-page picture book for Japanese publisher
Benesse, The House of the World.
What is the hardest thing about illustrating for you?
JS: Procrastination.
Do
you have a favorite children’s book that you wish
you had illustrated? Why?
JS: Many! Some books I'd like to illustrate because they're
classics and I'd be crossing pens with some of the Greats
(The Wind in the Willows, etc.), but I'd particularly like
to have a crack at illustrating fantasy novels that have
never carried text illustrations before. Children's novels
(in the U.K. and U.S.) are not illustrated to the extent
they were in the past, which is a great shame.
How far ahead do you work? Six months, a year? Longer?
 JS:
For picture books, I like at least six clear months to
give planning time to develop fully. Like fine wine, books
are generally better if given time to "mature," though
final artwork is usually turned around in three months or
less. Black-and-white work for novels is much quicker though,
two months or less depending on number of drawings.
Do you have a blog or website to showcase your work, and
if so, how often do you blog? Do you get lots of feedback
from readers? Has it proved to be useful?
JS: Yes, both website and blog. The former is essential,
the second I've paid sporadic attention to. It's been useful
as a way to blow off steam and show new work I wouldn't otherwise
put on a website. I've not developed enough readers to warrant
major effort so far. The blog is currently dormant due to
unforeseen changes in my personal life.
If you could be a character from one of your illustrations
who would you like to be and why?
JS: The main boy character in The Boat in the Tree is semi-autobiographical
(at least for the illustrations!).
What drew you to Japan?
JS:
I became fascinated by Ukiyo-e woodblock prints, and through
that became involved with a Japanese society in London.
Eventually after making many friends there I decided it was
time to see the country myself, so took a "year off" to
soak up the culture. It ended up as 21 years.
Do you speak/write in Japanese or do you have a translator
when you are illustrating a Japanese book?
JS: I'm a fairly fluent speaker, but regrettably do not
read and write quite as well. I can read Japanese texts,
but it takes me a long time. For commercial illustration,
the briefs are always in Japanese, but for children's books,
often I'm approached by Japanese publishers to illustrate
translations of Western texts, in which case it's naturally
easier for me to use the original English version as a guide.
Is it difficult to illustrate somebody else's writing? Has
it ever caused any problems?
JS:
I don't find it difficult. In fact, I prefer working with
other people’s texts. Problems are usually smoothed
out by the editor (that's their job!).
Could you talk us through the process of how, after you
are presented with a book a publisher would like you to illustrate,
you generate your ideas for illustrating that book?
JS: I first go away and doodle a lot, then (for picture
books) pull my ideas together using a storyboard. Then I
do full size sketches for presentation as a dummy to the
editor.
Ideas come from a lot of places--the text often immediately
conjures up a strong image in my mind (especially if it's
a novel), or the setting may encourage me to look at a lot
of background material which in turn sparks ideas for the
illustrations. Occasionally I might have a previous unrelated
doodle from my sketchbook which I can fit into the book.
Once I get really focused on thinking about a text, I might
get inspired by the most unrelated things--something I see
on the train like the pattern on a bag or shirt, or something
on TV.
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