I am thrilled to introduce you to the lovely illustrator Becka Moor today. She is an incredible talent, and it's so exciting to have her here on the blog. Hi Becka, thank you very much for joining
me today! I’m so pleased to be interviewing you, I love your illustration style
– it’s so unique. So onto the questions…
~ How did you first get into illustration? Am I right in thinking you’ve just completed your illustration degree?
Thanks so much for having me! Yes, I have just finished my 3 year degree in Illustration for Children’s Publishing. It has been a tough journey but so beneficial and I’m glad I did it! I initially set myself up to do Graphic Design because that was my favourite class in high school and it seemed natural to carry on with it when I got to college.
I really had no idea about illustration until I started my college course and realised I didn’t want to sit in front of the computer all day and pretend to enjoy what I was doing. I wanted to create mess and quirky characters and stories, so with the help of my tutors I decided to illustrate my own children’s story for my final project and I just fell in love with the whole process. Even so, I wanted to go and do creative writing at university and my college tutors tried really hard to persuade me to go and do illustration or Graphic Design first and then do creative writing in the future, but I didn’t listen.
So I applied to a university in London and got accepted and that was my plan. But the more it sunk in that that was what I had set myself up to go and do, the more I fell out of love with the idea. I knew I really wanted to do illustration but I didn’t think I was good enough. I agonised over it and spoke to my folks about it and in the end I decided to just go for it. It was all very last minute but I was accepted onto a course in North Wales for children’s illustration and I’m so thankful that I had a change of heart, albeit at the last possible second!
~ Are you a full time illustrator now?
I’m a full time illustrator, but I’m not financially supported by being a full time illustrator. I’ve only just come out of uni and jobs are very hard to come by so I’m spending all this ‘free’ time working on my portfolio and sending out samples of my work all over the place as well as keeping in touch with my agency, but it’s still early days. Working full time as an illustrator is the ultimate goal, so I want to get going as soon as possible, and I understand it’s not going to be easy, but I’m definitely enjoying the ride so far!
~ You have some gorgeous products and characters in your shop. Do you have a favourite?
Thank you! I don’t really have a favourite,
but I’m really proud of my pirate activity book! I was feeling a little lost
and waiting for inspiration to hit, and when it did, that is what I produced so
I’m grateful that it got me out of my creative slump and kids seem to really
like it.
~ When illustrating do you mainly use digital methods?
I never used to use digital methods at all, only quite recently have Photoshop and I become good friends. I’ve been using Photoshop for about 6-7 years but mainly for photography and graphic design purposes, I never really used it for my illustration work. Everything I do starts with a sketch (or several) and all the textures I use are made using traditional media such as watercolour, inks and colouring pencils. I use Photoshop predominantly for the flat colours in my work, but any textures you see are usually done by hand.
I remember in college we had to get textured rubbings from gravestones – one of the most uncomfortable experiences I’ve ever had, but they were beautiful!
~ If you could illustrate any book/text from any time in history, what would it be?
Hmm, that’s a tough one. I love all kinds
of books, but I’m going to have to go with J.M Barrie’s Peter Pan. I love
fantasy books and Peter Pan has always been a favourite of mine and I really
like J.M. Barrie as an author. And I like his moustache. ~ Do you have new exciting projects in the
pipeline?
Right now I’m focusing on my portfolio,
mainly. I’m also working on some greetings cards for my agency. I have a
project coming up for the lovely Ten Paces and Draw which is going to be a
challenge but I’m excited about it. Other than that I’m mulling some ideas
around in my head for a comic series and also a children’s story as well as
making new things for my shop!Thank you SO much for popping by today. I
really love your work and think we’ll be seeing big things from you in the
future!
Isn't Becka lovely? And so talented. You can find out more about Becka on her website, follow her on twitter and facebook, and read her blog here.
The rest of the Illustrator Interviews series can be found here. And pop back over the weekend for a very exciting book giveaway from the lovely folk at Octopus Books.
