{"id":1986,"date":"2015-04-22T10:15:51","date_gmt":"2015-04-22T10:15:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.florisbooks.co.uk\/blog\/?p=1986"},"modified":"2015-05-06T09:31:00","modified_gmt":"2015-05-06T09:31:00","slug":"florisdesign-illustrator-interview-leah-mcdowell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.florisbooks.co.uk\/blog\/2015\/04\/22\/florisdesign-illustrator-interview-leah-mcdowell\/","title":{"rendered":"#FlorisDesign Illustrator Interview: Leah McDowell"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

\"Header\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Illustrator of…<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"all<\/a><\/p>\n

Leah has been illustrating Kelpies for almost three years now and has stacked up a fantastic portfolio of fun, spooky and sinister covers. Today, as the other half of the Design and Production team, I\u2019ll be interviewing her across our desks to give you a behind-the-scenes look into her work as a #FlorisDesign<\/a> illustrator.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hi Leah! Last year you designed the cover for one of our Kelpies<\/a> books, The Mixed-Up Summer of Lily McLean<\/em><\/a> by Lindsay Littleson. Where do you look for inspiration when designing for an younger audience?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The story was really funny and energetic and we wanted that to come across on the cover. I looked at other books, many pictures of sunny Scottish beaches and cast my mind back to when I was a young girl (I would have loved Lily McLean back then!) to get the cover looking just right. I made a mood board so that I could collect all of my research together and share it with others in Floris.<\/p>\n

\"Mixed<\/a><\/p>\n

All of that research definitely paid off, it’s a great cover! So where do you like to work on your designs?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I work at my Floris desk as there is loads of space, natural light and all the up-to-date Adobe software I need is available on my computer. There\u2019s also a copious amount of my favourite tea in the Floris kitchen that keeps me going!<\/p>\n

\"desk\"<\/a><\/p>\n

(That\u2019s green tea with apple and pear by-the-by!) Now, you\u2019ve been illustrating Kelpies<\/a> covers with Floris for almost three years, but when did you decide that you wanted to be a children\u2019s illustrator?
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

The first year of my undergraduate degree included a little bit of animation, fine art, illustration and graphic design. I liked the narrative element of illustration so I specialised in it in my second year. I really enjoyed editorial illustration (illustrating magazine or newspaper articles) but I also found a great deal of inspiration in the work of picture book illustrators, so that\u2019s the route I followed.<\/p>\n

And do you prefer to work digitally or traditionally?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A little bit of both. All of my line work is drawn by hand, then I add colour digitally. I do a lot of picture research before I begin drawing. I like to make mood boards so that I can easily convey my ideas when I\u2019m pitching cover ideas to my colleagues in Floris. Once we\u2019ve settled on an idea, I\u2019ll draw up a rough, which then needs to be approved before I move on to digitally colouring the work. Here\u2019s photos of some of the ground work that was done for a couple of the Kelpies covers\u2026<\/p>\n

\"chaos<\/a> \"chaos\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"loki<\/a> \"thor<\/a> \"sketches<\/a><\/p>\n

Thanks Leah! It\u2019s great to see where all these covers started out. So when you\u2019re not designing covers, what\u2019s your favourite thing to draw?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I love life drawing \u2013 and especially like to draw human hands. They are a constant challenge to get right.<\/p>\n

I can imagine they’re incredibly difficult. What do you do if you get stuck on a difficult cover brief?
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

I take a break and leave my desk. When I come back, I do some more research and talk to other people about my ideas. Getting lots of different opinions on your ideas is a great way of working through problems like this.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s great advice, it\u2019s always good to look at things with fresh eyes! So who is your favourite children\u2019s illustrator and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have a number of favourite illustrators because I admire different areas or periods of their work. Jon Klassen<\/a>, Shaun Tan<\/a>, Aaron Becker<\/a>, Oliver Jeffers<\/a> and Alexis Deacon<\/a> stand out for me in particular because of their brilliant storytelling ability. All children\u2019s picture book illustrators aim to tell a great story, but some stand out from the rest because of their talent in this area.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re some lovely choices. Thanks for letting me interview you Leah. Now let\u2019s get back to work!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Leah studied Illustration at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in Dundee, Scotland. After doing a postgrad in Publishing, she came to work for Floris Books. Her main role is Design & Production Manager, but she still does a little bit of illustrating for the company. You can see her book design blog here<\/a> and you can follow her on twitter @TracesofThem.<\/a><\/p>\n

Posted by: Clare
\nThis interview previously appeared on www.discoverkelpies.co.uk<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Illustrator of… Leah has been illustrating Kelpies for almost three years now and has stacked up a fantastic portfolio of fun, spooky and sinister covers. 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