Ellie Snowdon
About Author
Ellie Snowdon studied Drawing & Applied Arts degree at UWE (Bristol) and went on to gain an MA in Children's book Illustration at Cambridge School of Art, in 2015. Ellie was twice highly commended for the Macmillan Prize in the same year.
She now lives in Cambridge and works from her jumble wonderland she calls her studio. Ellie's favourite adverb is higgledy-piggledy and when she's not working, you will find her enjoying an afternoon mystery drama while scoffing down some lemon cake.
Interview
GREAT BUNNY BAKES
SIMON & SCHUSTER CHILDREN'S BOOKS
MARCH 2018
GREAT BUNNY BAKES by debut writer and illustrator Ellie Snowdon is a gorgeous picture book that draws on some great picture book traditions involving bunnies, wolves - and baking competitions.
Quentin - a wolf - loves to bake but is rarely given the opportunity to share his talents, at least until an invitation to take part in a Great Bunny Baking competition is sent to him accidentally... Bunny disguises, brilliant baking and naughtiness follow, as Quentin discovers real friendship, and the joys of sharing his baking skills!
We asked author and illustrator ELLIE SNOWDON to tell us more about her debut picture book, GREAT BUNNY BAKES:
Q: What took you into illustration?
A: Well, like a lot of illustrators, I've loved drawing ever since I can remember! Weekends were spent doing arty things, such as making animals out of salt-dough and drawing pictures from my most-loved children's books. I've had hearing impairment from a young age and had to wear hearing aids at school so academic subjects were always a bit of a struggle but Art was my favourite as I felt I could be in my own little world and without the worry of any miscommunication.
It wasn't until the third year of my art degree course that I fell in love with children's books all over again, and it lead me to complete an MA in Children's Book Illustration at Cambridge. It was the best decision I ever made!
Q: Which comes more naturally to you now - writing the text or drawing the images?
A: To be honest I still pinch myself that I have written a book as I have always thought I wasn't a writer! When I showed the initial picture book idea for 'Great Bunny Bakes' to my publisher, I had written little captions under the images which (thankfully) made them giggle/snort and they encouraged me to write the book.
Even though I really enjoy writing now, drawing will always come more naturally. Most of my ideas start with a rough pencil sketch of a character in my sketchbook and the more I draw them and get to know them, then the writing starts to emerge.
Q: What inspired you to make this story about a baking competition?
A: I was definitely inspired by a certain-popular-baking-show on TV but also from my own love of cakes and growing up around three excellent bakers in the family. I love the notion of sharing that comes with making a cake so wanted to base the story around friendship and kindness too and how you can say it all with cake!
Q: Are you a baker? How do you think you would get on in this kind of competition? And how are you at making Quentin the wolf's favourite - chocolate cake?
A: I do love to bake! I'd like to think if I wasn't illustrating and writing children's books then I'd have a career involving cake in some way or another... though my baking doesn't always go according to plan!
I don't think I'd do too badly in this kind of baking competition, although I do like to test-taste cakes a lot so I'm not sure there would be much cake left when it came to judging time! I haven't attempted Quentin's chocolate cake yet, but I don't think it would be anywhere near as good as his - chocolate cake is his speciality!
Q: You could have chosen any animal - or human - as the characters, why did you decide on bunnies?
A: Bunnies are fun to work with, changing markings and ear positions make for lots of different characters! They might not always be the brightest bulbs in the box, but they have a gentle and quiet nature which I always warmed to and so I try to keep that in mind when creating my characters (although some have been known to be mischievous every now and then!)
Q: How much practice did you need to do in drawing your bunnies?
A: I've been drawing bunnies for quite a number of years now, so have had lots of practice! My friend had a pet rabbit that I use to draw from a lot but now I mostly draw them from my imagination. The hardest thing is trying to draw a bunny on a bicycle - their little legs don't reach the peddle on a normal human bike so you'll see in the book I had to make my own bicycle contraption.
Q: I enjoy the scenes of gentle chaos that you've created for the competition pages. Do you have a favourite spread in the picture book?
A: Ah thankyou! I think my favourite spread is where the sabotage gets revealed and the caught culprit is carried off by Bunny security. It's a real 'ooh-ahh' gossip moment!
Q: How did your style develop as an illustrator?
A: I've been on a funny journey with finding my style (I think a lot of illustrators will relate to this) and it's only now that I'm feeling like I'm getting somewhere with it. A lot of development is done in my sketchbook before I do an illustration, sketching out ideas and thumbnails.
Once I decide what it is I'm going to draw, I sketch out a pencil line first and go over it with a black fine liner and then rub out the pencil underneath. Once that's done I scan it into Photoshop and apply colour digitally with some screen print textures.
Q: Can you tell us what is the process of making a picture book?
A: When creating a picture book you work closely in a small team, consisting of an editor and art director / designer who will help to shape the book along its journey to publication. Their opinions are so important and fundamental to the process.
While I'm working on the text with editor, I also start storyboarding the pictures to work out how the book is going to flow within a standard picture book format (32 pages) - it's still all very rough at this point.
Once everyone is happy, we move onto rough stage where the real fun begins, drawing up the spreads to size in pencil and packing in more detail - this is really where it comes together and feels like a book.
Finally, after the roughs are approved, I can crack on with the final artwork and when it's finished I send it to my Art Director. She then puts it all into a book layout while my editor will check over the text, and it's off to the printers!
Q: Do you do other work besides children's picture books?
A: I sometimes do personal commissions but I've been very lucky in that children's books have been keeping me rather busy.
Q: Where is your favourite place to work and what are you working on at the moment?
A: I love working in my studio in Cambridge - There are a few of us there who are children's book illustrators so it's good to have a natter with someone who understands the business!
I'm working on a picture book which is written by another author and will be out next year - I can't say much about it at this point but it's a lot of fun to work on!
Q: What is your favourite escape from working?
A: Definitely sitting down (preferably on a sunny day) with a cup of tea and slice of cake!
