'The best books, reviewed with insight and charm, but without compromise.'
- author Jackie French

Thursday 29 June 2017

Meet the Illustrator: Judith Rossell

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less. 
Detailed, careful, time-consuming, funny, colourful, moody, a few different things.

What items are an essential part of your creative space?
Light, paints, pencils, paper, movies and tv shows,

Do you have a favourite artistic medium?
I like pen and ink, pencil, and a product called ‘Magic Color’ which is liquid acrylic ink, and I use it for just about everything.

Name three artists whose work inspires you.
Edward Gorey, Anita Jeram, Chris Riddell




Which artistic period would you most like to visit and why?
I’d like to visit the 1880s. Not so much for the art, but because it would be great research for my current book (which is set then). That would be excellent!


Who or what inspired you to become an illustrator?
I always loved drawing. As a kid, our neighbour was an illustrator of bird books. I was very impressed that someone could draw pictures for a job.


Can you share a photo of your creative work space or part of the area where you work most often? Talk us through it.
I generally work at a desk in my spare room, which faces the street. My desk is next to the window so there’s lots of light and also I can watch people walking up and down outside, which is interesting. I watch movies and tv shows on my computer while I work, and often my cat keeps me company. He likes to push everything on to the floor and stretch out.


What is your favourite part of the illustration process?
I like colouring in.


What advice would you give to an aspiring illustrator?
It’s worth spending lots of time getting your folio together, making sure you’re really happy with all the images. To get work illustrating kids’ books, you’d generally include pictures of children and/or animals, doing active things. Include black and white pictures as well as colour. Keep practicing! Good luck!


Judith is a writer and illustrator. Her books include maze and puzzle books, picture books and novels, and have been published in more than 20 languages. She has written 12 books and illustrated about 80. Her most recent picture book was Bogtrotter, written by Margaret Wild. Her illustrated novel Withering-by-Sea, won a number of awards, and the sequel, Wormwood Mire, was published in November 2016. She teaches at RMIT and has a cat the size of a walrus.
You can follow Jude on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and visit here website for more information.