Thank you Sanjoy, it was a lovely book to write and a lot of fun for me to try and cram in a couple of jazz references. I imagine Mr Big playing a bit of Keith Jarrett when he’s feeling mournful.

Hello Sarit, thank you for your question. I’m also a painter. My paintings are generally drawn/painted from life so illustrating children’s books is an interesting contrast for me and a chance to bring out a more narrative visual side of my drawing. I find that the practice of painting from life helps give a foundation to my books which are inevitably drawn from the imagination.
When I was a teenager I was a big reader or comics, it’s a medium I think is extremely interesting and still largely ignored. There have been some great works of literature published in the form of graphic novels… Art Speigelman’s ‘Maus’ is a good place to start.

Thank you Gemma. I’m actually working on a book now, written by the amazing Malachy Doyle, where the main character isn’t a ‘real life creature’. The book’s called Too Noisy and will be published by Walker books late next year.
I think I’ve stuck to animals so far as they can work quite well to metaphorically express something about the character you want to say without actually expressing it out loud.

That’s a good question and really at the core of what I’m doing when I write books for children. My books all spring from a character who doesn’t arrive fully formed but slowly develops over time. At the very beginning it starts by drawing, with no idea where I’m going, with an eye, then another, and from there an animal develops. It might be a gorilla, a mouse, or a monkey. I never know until I start drawing. I know I’ve got something when I start feeling attached to a character and then a narrative will start to form around them.
I draw with several tools. At the moment I’m using a retractable pencil, more usually I draw with something called a surveyor’s pen which is essentially a dip pen used with a pot of ink. It allows a huge variety in the line allowing the line in turn to be more expressive.

Hi Halpals, I was very lucky to know Jan Pienkowski as I was growing up. Visiting his studio was a huge influence on me, especially seeing a way of life and a freedom which appealed to me enormously. I still know him well and go to life drawing sessions every friday night in his studio in London, along with a small group of about 10 others.
I was hugely influenced too by Quentin Blake, I’ve always loved his enormously expressive line and characters. He can be very darkly comic which obviously suits very well his illustrations for Roald Dahl’s books.

Hello again Halspals. Animation? Well, I’m working at the moment with Tiger Aspect (a UK based production company) on turning my book ‘The Getaway’ into an animated series for children. We’re at an early stage with it at the moment but it’s a huge amount of fun expanding the world I created for the book and bringing in a whole new cast of characters who were always subtly suggested in the book (in my mind at least). It’s going to be a huge amount of work and a huge challenge but I haven’t had more fun for a long time. It’s particularly satisfying seeing where other writers take my characters and the completely new spins they give to the world.