How I Work

How I Work

Coming up with the ideas for stories is the hardest thing. I keep a notebook with me so that if I get an idea on the train or at a school I visit, or maybe a dream I have, then I can write it down. I can then come back and look through the ideas and choose one that might be good enough for a proper story.
Later I sit down with my notebook and go through the ideas until I find one that inspires me. It usually takes me a week to write-though I don't spend all day every day doing it. When I'm happy with the text I divide it up into 14 chunks to fit the size for a picture book.
The final draft for 'Lazy Daisy'. Can you see how the text has been divided up into 14 pages plus one half page at the end?

Next comes the illustration. First I need to decide what the characters will look like so I do lots of rough pencil drawings. This means going to the local library or looking through my many books or checking the Internet for reference pictures to inspire me.
Early drawings for the rabbits in 'Friends' and 'Friends Together'

Next I do a small drawing for each page in the book and stick them onto one big piece of paper. Finally I send it to my publisher in London. From the first idea for a story to this stage takes about three weeks.
One of my small drawings for 'Tidy Up Trevor'.

If they like the story I will then be given the size to do the illustrations. I usually enlarge my little drawings on my scanner to be the same size as the book. Then I trace the drawing off onto my drawing board so that I have a rough guide for painting. I use acrylics, inks, wax and watercolours in my pictures. Sometimes I even use a toothbrush to get a splattery effect.
Here you can see me painting the first picture for my book 'Friends'.

I use pictures from magazines and books for reference as well as photographs that I have taken myself. Occassionally I will work from life but the weather in Mid Wales is very wet and doesn't allow a lot of opportunity for long periods of outside painting! It takes me about three or four months to complete the artwork for a picture book.
Details of a painting from 'Friends'...

and the photo taken of a Pembrokeshire hedge that I used for reference.

Once the artwork is completed I send it to London where my editor at Random House checks the pictures before they get passed to the design team.
My editor, Anne in her office.

The designers will position the text in the right places on the page before sending the details by computer to the printers who will then print the book.
The Design team, Inge and Simon

Coming up with the ideas for stories is the hardest thing. I keep a notebook with me so that if I get an idea on the train or at a school I visit, or maybe a dream I have, then I can write it down. I can then come back and look through the ideas and choose one that might be good enough for a proper story. Later I sit down with my notebook and go through the ideas until I find one that inspires me. It usually takes me a week to write-though I don't spend all day every day doing it. When I'm happy with the text I divide it up into 14 chunks to fit the size for a picture book.	The final draft for 'Lazy Daisy'. Can you see how the text has been divided up into 14 pages plus one half page at the end?
Next comes the illustration. First I need to decide what the characters will look like so I do lots of rough pencil drawings. This means going to the local library or looking through my many books or checking the Internet for reference pictures to inspire me.	Early drawings for the rabbits in 'Friends' and 'Friends Together'
Next I do a small drawing for each page in the book and stick them onto one big piece of paper. Finally I send it to my publisher in London. From the first idea for a story to this stage takes about three weeks.	One of my small drawings for 'Tidy Up Trevor'.
If they like the story I will then be given the size to do the illustrations. I usually enlarge my little drawings on my scanner to be the same size as the book. Then I trace the drawing off onto my drawing board so that I have a rough guide for painting. I use acrylics, inks, wax and watercolours in my pictures. Sometimes I even use a toothbrush to get a splattery effect.	Here you can see me painting the first picture for my book 'Friends'.
I use pictures from magazines and books for reference as well as photographs that I have taken myself. Occassionally I will work from life but the weather in Mid Wales is very wet and doesn't allow a lot of opportunity for long periods of outside painting! It takes me about three or four months to complete the artwork for a picture book.	Details of a painting from 'Friends'... and the photo taken of a Pembrokeshire hedge that I used for reference.
Once the artwork is completed I send it to London where my editor at Random House checks the pictures before they get passed to the design team.	My editor, Anne in her office.
The designers will position the text in the right places on the page before sending the details by computer to the printers who will then print the book.	The Design team, Inge and Simon