Nicola Colton
About Author
Nicola Colton is an Irish illustrator living in Bristol and is the creator of the popular 'People of Bristol'. Her work has featured in editorials, print and web campaigns for clients such as Boots UK and Failte Ireland and in various exhibitions.
Her debut picture book, A DUBLIN FAIRYTALE (O'Brien Press), was nominated for an Irish Book Award in 2015 and ZIM ZAM ZOOM! (Otter-Barry Books) was longlisted for the CLiPPA and UKLA Book Awards 2017.
www.nicolacolton.com
Interview
JASPER AND SCRUFF
STRIPES
APRIL 2019
JASPER AND SCRUFF is a wonderfully stylish early reader with real warmth and a gentle humour at its heart.
Jasper the cat lives a quietly elegant life, but he feels one thing is missing - he desperately wants to become one of the Sophisticats, a society for 'exceptional felines'. But his plans for a super sophisticated dinner don't go quite as expected when his life is overtaken by a small, scruffy pup.
We asked author and illustrator NICOLA COLTON to tell us more about her work and her new JASPER AND SCRUFF series:
Q: How did your work develop as an illustrator, and what took you into writing for children?
A: I have always loved writing and drawing from a young age and would often fill copybooks with stories and pictures. Sometimes I'd complete them with a 'cover design' and write 'Bestseller' on the front! I guess I wanted it to look like a real book.
I still love reading children's books and poring over the illustrations and that naturally led to a desire to write them as well. A lot of my ideas for stories start with a drawing first and then I brainstorm on what the character's story could be. The writing process for me is quite similar to illustration as the early stages are just about getting your ideas down before distilling them and piecing them together so that an image or story starts to emerge.
I've come to illustration via Graphic Design and I am mostly self taught. I have enjoyed learning by immersing myself in drawing and trying out new techniques and mediums. I'm really lucky to have worked in a couple of wonderful studio spaces with other illustrators and have learned a lot from seeing each their processes and different approaches.
Q: Jasper and Scruff is aimed at early readers, why did you want to write for this age range and what do you feel makes a great story for young children?
A: As I was writing the story I discovered that it needed to be longer to allow Jasper's character to evolve and grow as the story progressed. I also think that it's really important for children to have a stepping stone between picture books and chapter books and this new wave of illustrated fiction for early readers is really exciting for that reason. There wasn't anything like it when I was child.
I think strong characters are really critical to draw the reader in and humour is important to keep children interested. My favourite books as a child were always the ones that made me laugh but that also had heart. You have to care for and root for the characters to want to read until the end.
Q: There's quite a bit of slapstick humour - do you look for humour in books?
A: I do love humour and for that reason I adored Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake's books when I was younger and still do. It feels good to laugh and is a great reason to return to a book. The Sophisticats in the story are very rude and disrespectful and I wanted their comeuppance to be satisfyingly silly and humorous.
Q: What inspired the story of a sophisticated feline looking for friends?
I moved to Bristol from Dublin just four years ago and I think finding friends was probably on my mind as it was for Jasper. Jasper is quite materialistic at the start of the book. He has surrounded himself with the finer things and wants some high status friends in the form of The Sophisticats to complete his carefully curated life. He wants everything to be orderly and to go as planned. Then Scruff comes along and turns Jasper's world upside down.
It's just as well because The Sophisticats are not what Jasper expected. In fact they are pretty awful. Scruff challenges Jasper's perceptions of what he thought he wanted in a friend and he realises that you have to take the time to get to know someone and not judge them based on appearances or their background or circumstances.
I can remember being judged and treated differently in school by a certain teacher when I was 11. I grew up in a small village where everyone knows one another. One day the teacher read my essay to the class and said that he really liked it. I was so pleased. But then he added that it was really 'surprising' that I could write so well considering neither of my parents had been to university. I remember being really taken aback and wondering why that should matter? It really stuck with me.
Q: What gave you the idea to pair this super sophisticated cat with a scruffy pup for this story?
A: I've always liked the old fashioned dynamic of an odd couple and wanted Jasper and Scruff's personality's to really clash for comedic effect. I thought Scruff would be the ideal joyful, messy character to disrupt Jasper's 'perfect' life.
It was important for their personalities to jar initially, as the main thing Jasper learns as the story progresses is to not be so judgemental. Where Jasper is narrow minded and stuck in his ways, Scruff is very open, friendly and spontaneous. Jasper can learn a lot from Scruff.
Q: How did each character develop and how long did it take to get their 'look' right?
A: Jasper started as a sketch and the idea for the story came from that first drawing. Jasper took a bit longer to get right, where as Scruff bounded onto the page immediately fully formed. Visually I wanted them to look quite different to reflect their contrasting personalities. Jasper is made of neat straight lines where Scruff is all squiggles and messy strokes that change each time he is drawn.
Q: Is there a little of Jasper - or Scruff! - in you?
A: Yes, definitely. I'm probably a bit more like Scruff in that I'm naturally a bit messy and disorganised, especially when in the middle of a project. I do have people pleaser tendencies like Jasper particularly when he's trying to appease The Sophisticats. I'd like to have a bit more of Jasper's tidiness and Scruff's confidence to do his own thing!
Q: The Sophisticats aren't great 'friend' material, how did they develop and did you have fun creating them?
A: I really enjoyed writing these characters, especially Lady Catterly. Her voice was very immediate and felt like it wrote itself. She does and says as she pleases and doesn't care what anyone thinks. This could be positive except for the fact that she is a bully and has quite a mean streak.
She delights in abusing her power as head of The Sophisticats. Along with Reginald and Oswald, she really wants to make Jasper fret throughout the dinner party and is determined to not like or appreciate anything he prepares for them. I have met a few people like that in my life and have to admit it was fun writing The Sophisticat's comeuppance!
Q: Well laid out, highly illustrated books like this can really help to engage developing readers. Can you tell us a bit more about how you went about the design of the pages and what were your priorities?
A: Paul, the art director, and Katie, the editor at Stripes, had a really strong vision on how the layouts and text should work together and were amazing to collaborate with. They were really experienced in what would engage readers in this age group and I followed their lead.
Our priorities were to have a balance between some highly illustrated pages and more minimal spot illustrations so that the book flowed nicely and to ensure there were breaks between lots of text and more detailed images. It was important to walk the fine line between not overwhelming the reader with images or text while also having enough on the page to keep them interested.
Q: The colour palette is also distinctive, why these colours?
A: I picked orange and blue as they are opposite ends of the colour wheel and contrast nicely while being complimentary, a bit like Jasper and Scruff! I wanted the colours to be bright and attractive but at the same time not distract from the text and the illustrations. A limited palette allows space for the characters to really shine through.
Q: What else have you lined up for Jasper & Scruff?
A: Jasper and Scruff will be opening a bookshop in their second outing and will stumble upon a strange book that will take them on a new adventure. The Sophisticats will also make an appearance to wreak havoc once again.
Q: What else are you working on?
A: I'm currently in the middle of a picture book pitch and also working on some new ideas for early readers. I've also recently completed the artwork for the second Jasper and Scruff book which will be released in October.
Q: Who are your stand-out children's illustrators?
A: I am a fan of Yasmeen Ismail's bright colours and spontaneous linework.
I also love Jim Field's larger than life characters and Alex T Smith's detailed drawings. Kate Hindley's animal characters and her use of colour are really wonderful.
Q: What are your favourite escapes from your studio? Or are you never without pen and paper?
A: I like to go to a yoga class a few times a week to stretch and get some headspace. Though I love sitting at my desk to write and draw it's important to remember to move around and change things up. Ideas usually happen for me when I'm taking a break, going for a walk or daydreaming while doing the washing up.
I also love people watching and like to take my sketchbook to a coffee shop and draw passersby. I have an instagram page for these drawings called 'People of Bristol'.
Jasper and Scruff
Zim Zam Zoom!: Zappy Poems to Read Out Loud
