Lynne Chapman

Lynne Chapman

About Author

Lynne has illustrated over 30 childrens books. She collaborates with many different authors, but also writes her own stories.

Author link

www.lynnechapman.co.uk; lynnechapman.blogspot.co.uk; www.youtube.com/user/LChapmanillustrator

Interview

How long does it take you to illustrate a book?

It takes about 4 weeks to develop the characters, design how the pages will work and then draw the whole book in line - this is called the 'roughs'. The publisher usually takes a couple of weeks to consider these and make any suggestions for changes. Then it takes me another 6 - 8 weeks to rework any alterations and create the final illustrations in colour. Altogether I am working on a picture book for around 3 months. Of course that's just the illustrations - if it is a book I am writing, I could well have been developing the story for weeks beforehand.

Where do you work?

I work in my studio, in the attic of my Victorian house, in Sheffield.

Do you have a working routine or just write/illustrate when you feel like it?

I usually write when the mood takes me, but have a fairly strict regime for my illustration, as I need to plan out in advance how long I am going to spend on a project, and stick to it. I work from around 9am until about 6pm most days. I don't usually work at weekends unless I'm away doing a festival appearance.

A lot of your books feature animals - which ones do you most like drawing?

I enjoy nasty or ugly characters much more than cute, fluffy ones. I had a lot of fun with Rocky the wolf in 'Rocky and the Lamb', who is basically a mugger. I had to strike evil poses in the mirror while I was sketching him, to get the predatory body language just right!

Where do you get ideas for stories?

Ideas come from ordinary, everyday things that are happening all the time, all around you. The trick is to notice them (and to make a quick note of them before they disappear from your head). For example, 'When You're Not Looking!' was triggered by some children trying to feed bread and jam to a squirrel. Although we all know you should feed squirrels nuts, not bread and jam, I liked the idea of him feasting secretly, as soon as we weren't watching. In my book, the squirrel became a gerbil and the bread and jam became 'marmalade on toast' (because it sounds nicer when you say it aloud), then I thought up lots of other silly things which animals might do, 'when you're not looking'.

Is it hard to make that first mark on the page when starting a new drawing?

Not with every new drawing, but the very first drawings for a new book are always a bit scary. I often find excuses to put off getting going on that first day. Sometimes it is fine once I get started. Often though, I need to 'warm up' and the first day's work can be pretty dreadful. Even after all these years, I always worry that I'll never be able to do it right and then, like magic, the next day it is fine!

What advice would you offer anyone who wants to write for children?

Try not to underestimate children or write down to them. Write for the child inside yourself.

Author's Titles