Ryan Wheatcroft
About Author
Ryan studied illustration at the University of Lincoln, England and has worked as an illustrator for the last couple of years since graduating. He lives on the outskirts of the very hilly city of Sheffield, England, with his family and pets and spends most of his time making pictures for books and magazines.
Interview
WE ARE FAMILY
CATERPILLAR BOOKS
FEBRUARY 2017
WE ARE FAMILY is a gift of a book for talking about and exploring different kinds of families and for encouraging children to talk about their own experiences.
In this gorgeous picture book, we follow ten different families as they go about everyday activities and events - big things and small - through one day. The families are diverse - a single mother, two fathers, one child or four children - but whatever the arrangement, the message is that families are there to support you.
We asked illustrator Ryan Wheatcroft to tell us more about WE ARE FAMILY and his work as an illustrator. He answered the following questions for us:
Q: Can you tell us a little bit about how you came into illustrating and where you trained?
A: Ever since I was a child, illustrating stories was something I enjoyed doing, I'd make small books and write stories which I'd illustrate, so it is something I've done from a young age although during my teenage years it was something I did a lot less.
It was only once I finished school and started drawing for fun again that I worked out that it was what I wanted to pursue, which eventually led me to attending an Art Foundation course for a year and then the Illustration programme at the University of Lincoln for three years, which helped me develop my skills as an artist.
Q: How important is it for illustrators to have a distinctive 'look' and how did yours develop?
A: I think it's important to have a style that is consistent with the other work in your portfolio, although I do know of successful artists who are able to do work in a variety of styles.
Having a consistent style helps art directors have a clear idea of what kind of work you'll produce if they commission you, but it is also important when you're developing as an artist I think to try and find a consistent way of working.
When I was at university I was able to try a variety of techniques such as print making and sculpture and painting with watercolour or gouache, which were good techniques to begin learning. However, it was only once I started working in a consistent way that my work was able to properly develop. A continuity in my style and my approach meant I learned techniques I could reuse and develop further so the quality of my work improved. It meant I didn't feel like I was constantly relearning everything when I started a new project.
Q: Are there particular artists who have influenced you?
A: I've been inspired by a lot of artists and still am although it's hard for me to say who's influenced me as looking at art and illustration has been something I've done on a daily basis for years now and in that time I've been inspired countless times by so many different artists work.
I love mid-century illustration and there are so many phenomenal illustrators who inspire me working today as well, who I could probably spend all afternoon listing
Q: What attracted you to illustrating We Are Family and are there particular lines in the text that you were drawn to?
I was drawn to illustrating the book as I loved the inclusiveness of the concept and I thought that illustrating such a variety of families would be fun to do as well.
The message of the book is summed up in the text in the endpapers which I especially like; 'Each family is different, it may be large or small. We may look like each other - or not alike at all. Money doesn't matter, nor colour, creed, nor name - In each and every family, the love we feel's the same.'
Q: The picture book features ten different families across each of the spreads. How did you decide what the families would comprise, and also the 'look' of each spread?
A: A lot of the decisions about how the families would be comprised were already decided before I started working on the book, so my art director Tom gave me this information about each family and then I set about designing the characters and environments too.
The layout is down to the publishers as well, as I worked to a set size and they were then able to crop and alter the dimensions of my illustrations to get the layout in the book they wanted.
Q: Have you found yourself spending much time 'researching' how families look on the high street, television etc?
A: I spent quite a while before I started drawing just researching and creating reference sheets full of images of different types of people for each family so that when I designed the characters I'd be able to best depict all of the different types of people in the book and ensure they looked right.
Q: The text is simple, but warm. How important was it for you to get that sense of warmth into the illustrations and how did you go about doing so?
A: I felt it was important to try and capture that warmth in Patricia's text with my illustrations; with my drawings I tried to ensure the family members were always drawn close to each other and are always interacting in some way, even if it's just simple things like talking to each other while eating breakfast to emphasise how close they are.
The colour palette was important for capturing the warmth too and took me a while to work out. In general I tried to use warm colours, there's not too much white or grey in the book, I used warm cream and yellow colours instead. Orange was also a colour I used a lot and in general I tried to use colours that had a warmth such as yellowy greens and more reddish purples rather than any cooler shades of those colours.
Q: Were there any spreads that you're especially pleased with, or that caused particular difficulties?
A: I really like how all the spreads turned out; when I was illustrating the pictures, I was drawing each one separately and to the same dimensions so I wasn't completely sure how it would all come together in the final book with the different sized frames for each family, so it was nice for me when I saw how they were laid out.
I do quite like the final spread where all the characters are in bed going to sleep as it was fun designing all of the different beds and bedrooms and I really like how the page itself is a really nice and dark blue to match the darkened rooms.
None of the spreads generally caused me too many difficulties, although I do remember one of the challenges I faced while I was working on the book was on technical level where my drawing tablet pen stopped working suddenly which delayed me a little until I could get a new one. (I was very thankful for Amazon's next day delivery service!)
Q: So you created the illustrations digitally?
A: Yes, I created the illustrations digitally using my Wacom drawing tablet, drawing all of my sketches directly into the computer with the tablet in Adobe Photoshop which I also used to colour all of the images as well.
Q: Many picture book illustrators focus on illustrating animals but do you prefer drawing people to animals?
A: I enjoy drawing both and I think both have their complexities and challenges. I think it's important to try and capture the character of whatever it is your drawing whether they're an animal or a person so in that way they're similar. In the past I've found I can draw animals more easily and it's something I've heard other artists say too, I'm not really sure why that is though.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I recently started working on illustrating a book series that should take me most of this year to do, while I'm also trying to fit in doing more personal illustrations too.
Q: What do you enjoy about being an illustrator?
A: I enjoy drawing and I love learning as well, which is something being an illustrator allows you to do. Getting to develop my drawing skills constantly and getting to work with people from all over the world is great, and working from home means I can work to my own set schedule too.
Q: What do you do to relax when you're not working?
A: When I'm not working I usually spend my evenings reading and cooking and I enjoy playing video games, although the most important part of my day is probably walking my dog Nanook as it gets me out of the house. The countryside is just around the corner from where I live so I love to walk with him.
It's also good for reference gathering with my work as I'm able to observe all of the different changes the seasons bring and how the colours and the light changes too, which helps me when I'm trying to depict these things with my work.
Q: What advice would you give to a child who is interested in becoming an illustrator?
A: My advice would be, if you enjoy drawing just keep doing it. I think a lot of people get discouraged quite easily just by somebody telling them their drawing isn't very good or they might think their work isn't very good compared to someone else.
I think there's a perception by a lot of people that drawing is a natural gift you're just born with, but from my experience that's not true, you just have to work hard and if you keep drawing and keep wanting to learn then you'll keep on improving and then one day you'll become an illustrator.
We Are Family
