I am ridiculously excited about today's interview with the incredible Ellie Sandall. Her picture books are firm favourites in our house and I'm all a flutter at having her join me on the blog!
How did you first get into the children's book world? Did you study illustration?
I studied graphic design at Bath Spa University, and really enjoyed the illustration module I did there. Through this I became interested in illustrating specifically for children and so I went on to achieve a masters degree in children's book illustration at Cambridge School of Art. The course had really close links with the publishing industry and so I was able to make some good contacts, and it all went from there!
Are you a full time illustrator? Do you write your picture books as well as illustrate them?
As well as illustrating, I teach art part time in a primary school- it's a nice job as I love interacting with the children, and I have a captive audience to run new book ideas past! So far I have written my books as well as illustrated them, though I would be open to collaborating with another author.
You have some beautiful books, my three year old is slightly obsessed with Birdsong! Do you have a favourite?
I will always have a soft spot for Birdsong as it was my first book, and it's such an exciting moment when you first see a book you've written and illustrated on a shelf! It had been an aspiration of mine for a number of years so to see it happen was a great experience.
My favourite book when I was little was The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and I still love Eric Carle's illustrations. I also love the work of Catherine Rayner, Polly Dunbar and Oliver Jeffers. My favourite picture book these days changes on a regular basis- currently it is Fluff and Billy Do Everything Together by Nicola Killen (a fellow Cambridge School of Art graduate!)
When illustrating do you mainly hand draw and paint them or do you use digital methods too?
My pictures are all hand drawn and painted, and I use a little bit of collage too, which is mostly made by cutting up pieces of lino prints that I prepare myself. I use photoshop sometimes when I'm working out a composition, as it is a useful tool for resizing a particular object or moving the text around.
If you could illustrate any book/text from any time in history, what would it be?
I quite like the idea of illustrating the song 'The Twelve Days of Christmas'- I can imagine the images becoming extremely busy! I would also enjoy illustrating Chicken Licken, as I really like to draw birds and this story is full of them, just like Birdsong.
Do you have any new books or exciting projects in the pipeline?
I am currently working on a few ideas, though they are in very early stages and so top secret! I have been spending a lot of my time lately on a different kind of project- I'm renovating my house, which has been very exciting and very time consuming!
I'm just about at the stage now where I can start to choose all the lovely colours, which I've really been looking forward to. I can't wait to see it finished!
Thank you so much for joining me on the blog today Ellie. You are such an inspiration, and so incredibly talented!
If you fancy checking out more of Ellie's work you can find her on...
~ facebook
~ twitter
And you can find the other Illustrator Interviews here.
P.S. Apologies for my slow blogging lately, I'm drowning in a sea of birthday's, birthday parties, bubble wrap, and boxes. Normal service will resume soon!
