Picturing Story: An Interview with David Melling

28/06/2011 by Patricia Kennon · No Comments

An interview by Chris Judge.

Chris: Hi David, it's great to speak to you having been a collector and fan of your books for years. As an illustrator myself, I’m always fascinated by how people get a grounding in design or animation before finding their calling in illustration. Can you tell me how you discovered illustration?

David: I had done a brief spell at graphic design before deciding to study photography. I would draw my ideas for my photo shoots but didn't like the outcome as much. That was when I realized it was illustration I wanted to do. When I was getting a portfolio together in the 80's, colour pencil work was very popular so I jumped onto that band wagon but I wasn't getting that much magazine work. Someone said there was an animation company looking for illustrators so I went along and got a job as a renderer which worked very well with my style. I worked for four years on backgrounds and animation cells. I was one of about 150 people in this production line. It was during this period that I fell in love with the process of creating stories with characters. I worked on a few films such as Raymond Briggs’ Father Christmas and the Beatrix Potter TV series. There were three or four large studios at the time and after a couple months working on a film or advert you’d move between them. Chris: Some of the more prolific illustrators I know have a similar animation background, it seems to be a great bootcamp to get into illustration. Do you find that the years spent in the animation studios influenced your style when you became a freelance illustrator? David: I was a renderer rather than an animator so I was mostly concentrating on backgrounds and layouts but I was lucky enough to work with a great animator who gave me lots of tips. Certain sequences in my books to this day are heavily influenced by these techniques. I used to love seeing the key steps of an animation and getting the rhythm down on a single page. It took me several years to get my own style together however, my initial cartoons were more newspaper style like Ralph Steadman. Everyone kept suggesting I make the characters young and cute. I used to shudder at this - I still do really - I tried to capture the balance by injecting as much humor into my characters and stories as possible. Chris: When I started out in illustration I tried desperately to find a single clear style and it really constrained me whenever I got a new project. It was only talking to other more experienced illustrators that I realised I didn't need to focus on one style and that it is important to try new techniques and explore new styles to keep yourself interested. Did you experience this at the start? David: Absolutely, I think when you're a young illustrator you're very conscious of trying to find a single distinct style which can often be quite constraining. It was only when I got older and more comfortable with my drawing that people began to say that a very distinct style had developed. Once I relaxed in my own drawing, a clear style began to emerge. Chris: You mentioned you started out as a commercial illustrator, would you take on a commission now if you were asked? David: Yes I probably would, but I think the whole industry has changed so much. In the 80's there were a lot of beautiful hand- illustrated billboards which have since disappeared as everything is done on computers now. I often struggled with commissions back in the day as the style I worked in was based on photographs so it was an extremely complex technique involving getting mates to pose for me for photographs, developing the photos myself and then tracing them onto watercolor paper and finally painting them. It was just too time consuming. I feel very lucky that I'm able to concentrate on my books full time now. Chris: I'm very curious about your influences. The first time I saw the Jack Frost cover it really reminded me of Hokusai’s 'The Wave'. I'm not sure if this was intentional, but do you find your influences emerging in your books or would you deliberately tip the hat to things you like? David: I hadn't noticed that! As I mentioned, Ralph Steadman was a huge influence but you wouldn't see any of that in my illustration work. Ronald Searle was also a huge influence on my draughtsmanship and I’ve always loved his humour. I had just started work on Jack Frost and went to see an exhibition of Jill Barklem's work, 'The Mice of Brambly Hedge'. The original paintings were beautiful and I was amazed at how tiny and incredibly detailed they were. I think that filtered through my work on Jack Frost. I think you absorb these things subconsciously. Someone like Ronald Serle is hugely influential to many illustrators but you can see his own influences the further back you go. Chris: When you are coming up book ideas do you have a plot in mind before you start and how long do they take? David: I keep sketch books constantly and an idea might come from one simple illustration. I'm constantly drawing and redrawing these characters as they evolve. With Jack Frost, I was very conscious that I wanted to do a proper 'Once upon a time...' picture book so there's no set rule or pattern but I always use the sketchbook as a starting point. I'm very lucky that, as the years go by, I'm in a position where once a book is finished, I'm already starting another one straight away. I would generally aim to have two picture books a year published. The gestation and completion of books generally crosses over now - one in the Spring and one in the Autumn. Chris: The Goblin books are a move away from your picture books in that they are more like novels. How did you find writing them? David: I loved writing the goblin books but they slightly wobbled the schedules as they take up to 12 weeks to do, from a blank piece of paper to the final draft. In the greater scheme of things it was viewed as being too long a gestation period so eventually I had to drop a picture book as my schedule fell so far behind. Unfortunately, with a series of books you really need to release two a year, but I just couldn't sustain it. I got to the fifth of a planned eight and had to shelve it. It was difficult to do that but picture books are more my thing. I enjoy them more but I'm still very proud of the goblin series. Chris: What kind of reaction have kids had to the goblin books as opposed to the picture books? David: They actually get a great reaction because the age group reading them would be slightly older and would give more feedback. We get letters and great drawings which is really nice - there's more interaction with them. Chris: I love seeing artist studios and how they work. Can you tell me where you work from and what would an average day be like? David: Well, having kids changed everything. I’ve always worked from home but when my children were born, I moved around the corner into a studio where I work. It provides me with that detachment from my home life. I don't think it's fair for kids to grow up in the kind of 'keep quite dad's working!' environment so it has worked very well. On an average day, I drop the kids off at school and I’m at my desk by 9.30am. My wife usually picks the kids up from school. Routines vary of course but my day is usually 9am to 6.30pm. It’s not unusual to do a bit at the weekends or a couple of late nights if deadlines are tight.

Chris: I can't get through the day without listening to music or podcasts and more recently audiobooks. Do you need these distractions or do you prefer to work in silence? David: When I'm writing, I certainly do need silence. My roughs are very free and loose so music and radio are great entertainment. I love listening to audiobooks too. I also love commentaries on DVDs in the background, things like Monty Python, you'd have Michael Palin telling great stories and you don't have to watching it. One dangerous thing is the BBC iPlayer which can be hugely tempting and dangerous to switch on. Chris: Luckily we don't have that here yet! I can imagine being sucked in by it. Thanks very much, David, it was great talking to you. David: My pleasure.

Chris Judge is an artist and illustrator based in Dublin. His first picture book The Lonely Beast was published by Andersen Press. He is currently working on his next book The Great Explorer .www.chrisjudge.com