![\"Luke](\"http:\/\/www.florisbooks.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Luke-Newell-header-image1.jpg\")
<\/a>Illustrator of…<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Giant Robot Chickens are back and they want revenge! Their illustrator, Luke Newell, isn’t quite as vengeful, though his cover illustrations sure do pack a punch! #FlorisDesign<\/a> interviewed Luke to find out how he makes those chickens on his eggs-cellent<\/em> covers for\u00a0Alex McCall’s Attack of the Giant Robot Chickens<\/a><\/em> and Revenge of the Giant Robot Chickens<\/a> <\/em>look so darned evil.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hi Luke, thanks for chatting with us today. Your apocalyptic\u00a0Attack of the Giant Robot Chickens<\/a><\/em> cover drew a lot of interest since its release in February 2014, and now you’ve gone and created another cracking<\/em> cover for Revenge of the Giant Robot Chickens<\/a><\/em> which was released in July 2015. It’s got us wondering, where did you find your inspiration?<\/strong><\/p>\n From the stories and the briefs, I got a clear tongue-in-cheek, 1950s sci-fi \u2018B-Movie\u2019 feel, so that’s what I went for. I looked at posters for movies like\u00a0Forbidden Planet<\/em> (Robby the Robot!) and\u00a0Attack of the 50ft Woman<\/em> (a giant woman attacks California!)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n We bet California wasn’t expecting that! Then again, we doubt Aberdeen was expecting giant robot chickens… So do you have a favourite spot to work in? I work in my lavish studio\u2026 the corner of my dining room!<\/p>\n What was your favourite part of the Chickens<\/em> covers to illustrate?<\/strong><\/p>\n I really enjoyed designing the chickens. It was a great challenge to try to find a balance between funny and scary!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n (Rough sketches)<\/p>\n Well we think you managed with aplomb! So what made you want to become an illustrator? I\u2019ve always loved drawing, but I really love telling stories with drawings\u2026 and I REALLY love making people laugh, so if I can do it with a drawing that\u2019s great. Growing up, I loved The Beano<\/em> (Dennis the Menace!) and Tintin.<\/em> Herg\u00e9 who wrote and drew Tintin<\/em> is a GENIUS. Also I love Aardman Animations (Wallace and Gromit, etc) and The Muppets!<\/p>\n So do we! The influences you’ve listed are a real mix of traditional and digital art; how do you prefer to work?<\/strong><\/p>\n I work digitally for the main bulk of final artwork. There are so many great tools nowadays, it\u2019s easier, faster, and generally I deliver artwork digitally via email so it just makes sense. But for all ideas work, and foundation design work, pencil and paper is still the best!<\/p>\n A lot of our illustrators have said the same thing. So when you’re not drawing apocalyptic robotic chickens, what’s your favourite thing to illustrate?<\/strong><\/p>\n I think people are really appealing to not only draw, but watch. Even if I\u2019m drawing a tree, or a building, I still apply a human character, or emotion to it. Other people are a source of endless inspiration.<\/p>\n And what do you do if you get stuck on a brief?<\/strong><\/p>\n Exercise is really good for this! Either a walk or a bike ride\u2026 gets the blood pumping, takes your mind off the brief for a moment and lets the ideas \u2018occur\u2019!<\/p>\n Exercise seems to be the key! Almost all of our illustrators have said this too. You mentioned a few illustrators and animators who inspired you to become an illustrator\/animator, do you have a favourite?<\/strong><\/p>\n This is an incredibly hard question. Herg\u00e9 is probably the biggest inspiration, but I could list twenty-five people that I admire who are working today: Annette Marnat, Scott C, Vera Brosgol, Oli Josman, Graham Annable\u2026 I\u2019ll stop there. Why? They all have excellent drawing skills, and are able to boil something down to its essence.<\/p>\n And finally, because you are both an animator and an illustrator, do you ever think about how your 2-D characters would move and act if they were animated? Do the two disciplines compliment one another?<\/strong><\/p>\n Absolutely. Animation is really just a sequence of illustrations\u2026 Or, to put it another way, an illustration is a chosen moment from a potential animation! I will often try out various poses for an illustration to find the right one, almost as if I\u2019m taking the character for a walk, and then seeing which one works best. Also, to animate a character, you have to have a good sense of what that character looks like from all angles\u2026 even something that ends up looking \u2018flat\u2019 in the final illustration, I need to know what it (might) look like all the way round to get the shapes right.<\/p>\n That’s a really interesting way of looking at it! Thanks again for chatting with us Luke! Click on the covers for more info on Attack of the Giant Robot Chickens<\/em><\/a> and Revenge of the Giant Robot Chickens<\/a><\/em> and to use our exciting See Inside feature<\/a>!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n This interview previously appeared on www.discoverkelpies.co.uk<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Illustrator of… The Giant Robot Chickens are back and they want revenge! Their illustrator, Luke Newell, isn’t quite as vengeful, though his cover illustrations sure do pack a punch! #FlorisDesign interviewed Luke to find out how he makes those chickens on his eggs-cellent covers for\u00a0Alex McCall’s Attack of the Giant Robot Chickens and Revenge […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[170],"tags":[156,314,313,105,151,316,158,315],"class_list":["post-1756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-floris-design","tag-florisdesign","tag-kelpiesprize","tag-chickens","tag-childrens-books-2","tag-illustrators","tag-scottish-childrens-book-awards","tag-shortlisted","tag-submissions","odd"],"yoast_head":"\n<\/a>
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\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a>Luke was awarded a BA in Illustration at Kingston in Surrey in 2001. To see more of his amazing work you can visit his blog<\/a>, his website<\/a> or even follow him on Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n