Neil creates a visual space for his illustrators to occupy, giving us texture, description and leading details to fire our imaginations. Was there anything particularly different or interesting about these illustrations, interesting facts you’d like to share? The only comment was Neil asking me to change Silas’ hair from white to black.įrom your experience, does the publisher have the final say regarding the design of the book, or does the designer/illustrator have free reign?īloomsbury have been very good at allowing me free rein to draw the covers and illustrations in my own way. As long as I respect the text, he gives me freedom to envisage the characters as I see fit. Neil is remarkable in that he doesn’t give directions for how I should interpret the characters. How was the author involved? Was there some back and forth conversation with Neil Gaiman, any ideas or suggestions? Neil and the designer approved my rough with no alterations and I went to finished artwork.
The designer gave me a loose cover brief and I drew a rough and suggested hand lettering. The process with the covers of The Graveyard Book and Coraline were similar.
How was the process of developing the covers? Was there a clear goal in mind? I loved it and readily agreed to illustrate it. Sarah Odedina at Bloomsbury contacted me and sent a message to Neil, who e-mailed me the first draft of The Graveyard Book. How did you get involved with these covers and illustrations? Did Bloomsbury / Neil Gaiman contact you directly, or did they already know your work? My heroes were Sir John Tenniel and William Heath Robinson (shown below, respectively). I decided when I was quite young that I wanted to illustrate books. The books I read provided the inspiration for my drawings. I became an illustrator because my twin passions were reading and drawing. How did you become an illustrator? Was it an area you always wanted to explore, or did it end up happening? Chris Riddell is known for illustrating Neil Gaiman’s Coraline and The Graveyard Book, as well as his own books Ottoline and Goth Girl, and political cartoons for the Observer. He has won awards such as the Nestlé Gold Award and the rare honour of two Kate Greenaway Medals.
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