I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO CALL MY CAT - guest blog with Simon Philip and Ella Bailey

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I am beyond thrilled to be able to welcome the creators of one of my favourite new picture books to the Book Sniffer blog today. 

I Don't Know What to Call my Cat by Simon Philip and Ella Bailey (published by the good folk at Simon and Schuster) is a wildly funny and deliciously charming celebration of the somewhat "challenging" relationship humans often have with their feline companions.

A madcap case of identity confusion, power struggles, daring escapes and mystery solving, wrapped up in the most purrrrfect picture book package. 

NB: I must admit I am ever so slightly in love with Steve the gorilla (everyone loves a bad boy) who doesn't love an ape who so daintily plucks goodies from his nose with such aplomb and scant regard for social etiquette. I just know you will fall for his masculin charms too... 

Simon Philip is one of my absolute top picture book authors of the moment and happens to be the mastermind behind my favourite picture book of 2016 (Award Winning) You Must Bring a Hat (illustrated by the magnificent creature that is Kate Hindley) His writing is both wonderfully warm and deviously intelligent and he is absolutely adept at weaving the most witty of yarns.

FIND OUT MORE HERE 

Ella's detail rich, beautifully stylised illustrations made me weep with laughter and the minute details had me pawing the pages repeatedly. Ella and Simon have proven to be a creative match made in picture book heaven. 

Where/How I Work 

with Author Simon Philip 

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER 

I work almost entirely at home.  The upside of this is that I work where I live – it’s the shortest commute in the history of commuting.  I don’t, but I suppose I could work whilst in bed, meaning I’d wake up and literally be at work in the blink of an eye.

The downside is that I live where I work.  Sometimes I wake up and – BOOM! – in the blink of an eye, I’m at work again.  It wouldn’t be so bad if the cleaner did his job properly, the binman actually took out the bins, and the chef washed up his equipment after cooking, but somehow that rarely happens.

It would be fun to tell you I’m one of those glamorous writers that sits in their very own corner of a cosy coffee shop, smashing out book after book whilst looking arty, intellectual and biscuit-crumb-free.  But that would be a lie.  The truth is I’m banned from my local coffee shops for ‘drinking coffee too loudly’ and making other customers ‘uncomfortable’ by ‘staring too intently at the muffins.’  Plus, I was always covered in crumbs.  Working from home will have to do.

Luckily, I’m not short of options and there are fewer restraints than in a trendy café or coffee shop.  For example, if it’s a warm, muggy day I sometimes choose to work in the fridge.  If I’ve hit a wall and need to shake things up a bit, I squeeze myself into the washing machine and set the spin cycle to 1800 (I’m smaller in real life than you might expect, although I still have to remove the washing first).  The disadvantage to this is that my writing can become a sloppy mess, which tends to irritate editors.

When I’m not in the washing machine or the fridge, I work at this desk in my study:

I recently moved house so the walls are still a bit bare.  However, there is this view of the cathedral from my study window:

Granted, it’s rather inconsiderately interrupted.  And I can’t see it from my chair.  But, trust me, it is still a view. 

Also, I sometimes work from this set-up in my living room:

You might notice that I’ve cunningly moved the footstool from my sofa to maximise lounging potential.  As you’d expect, I get lots of work done here: I definitely write millions of beautiful words and certainly don’t just sit there drinking coffee and watching videos of leopards chasing monkeys.  It’s a very comfortable arrangement.

And the radiator’s not on fire, by the way.  If it were, I’d just move to the fridge.

How I work is very simple.  I categorise my initial ideas into small, medium-sized, and enormous ideas. 

For small ideas, I use this delightful little golf pencil:

Medium-sized ideas require medium-sized equipment:

And if the idea I have is enormous, so too is the writing utensil: 

And on really bad writing days where none of those work and the words don’t flow, it’s normally because I’m using the wrong spoon.

By the way, just so you know, being a writer can be quite solitary.  It can make some people a little ‘odd.’

Thankfully that’s yet to happen to me...

How I work 

with Illustrator Ella Bailey 

I don’t always have a set process for how I go about my illustrations - I like to vary how I work depending on the needs and timescale of the project. Although I will very often start off by drafting ideas with a pencil and paper, I usually find myself nowadays drawing everything straight onto the computer! 

I would say that for most projects, I work 80-90% digitally, using my trusty drawing tablet and Photoshop - and this book was definitely no exception. I love the absolute flexibility that working digitally gives me, to be able to change anything, at anytime!

For the illustrations in I Don’t Know What to Call My Cat, I started of with a rough black and white outline of what I want to achieve - this was, at times, very rough! From there, I began to block everything out in lumps of colour. I find this to be the easiest way for me to work out the overall composition of an image. 

At this stage I usually like to decide on a colour palette, too. Colour is very important to my work - I love to limit myself to a few key colours, although with I Don’t Know… I will admit this went out the window a little bit!

Once I have all the shapes and colours laid out, this is when I can start to add line and details. This was an especially laborious, and extremely enjoyable, process for I Don’t Know…, as many of the pages ended up being jam-packed with detail! 

To prevent everything from looking a little flat, I have lots and lots of customised brushes that let me create all sorts of effects - I especially love chalky textures and paint splatters! I also have a library of various textures, from print effects to crayon scribbles, that I used to add depth and interest to the artwork.

The addition of texture is usually the last stage in my process for any project, and perhaps one of my favourite bits! 

A very important thing I like to be able to do at this point, is to step away from the illustration - leave it alone for a few hours (or days if possible), and then come back to it with fresh eyes! This helps me see if there are any bits that are not quite right, or any more details that can be added.

I Don’t Know What to Call My Cat was an especially fun project to work on for me - I had a lot of fun injecting as much humour into the illustrations as possible! I do, however, think I have drawn enough cats now to last me a while!

Images are attached for the post! I hope the length doesn’t prove to be a problem for you – it’s a little longer than I had anticipated it to be.

In fond remembrance of my cats past ...

Dolly, Little, Billy, Jimmy, Rupert, Ruskin, Truffle,Tabitha and Mouse...

and for my present companions Claude and Pearl

Ben Newman Illustrator, on cartoons, sketchbooks and living by the sea...

BUY A COPY HERE 

Professor Astro Cat's Atomic Adventure by Dr Dominic Walliman and Ben Newman hits stores today! it's a non-stop force of nature introducing even the most reluctant of future scientists to the wonderful fascinating world of Physics. 

So to celebrate this momentous occasion we invited Ben along to Book Sniffer Towers to give us a little bit more of an insight into this very special project. 

How has your style changed over the years? 

I find it difficult to think of my own work as a style. To me, it’s like handwriting. It’s how I think, see and solve things. Just like my taste, thoughts and opinions, it has grown up with me. For example, when I started university, I was intimidated by colour. I love colour but learning and understanding it is challenging. It took me a long time and lots of mistakes to finally feel confident and I still make plenty of mistakes even now. Placing restrictions on what I can do visually has been so useful in developing my work as you have to think of creative ways around these self-imposed restrictions. One example of a restriction is that I dont use line in my work so I solve and create things with just shape and colour. I never put restrictions on creativity, just the tools I use.

What was the best piece of advice you received at Art School? And what advice would you give to someone about to graduate? 

Dont be precious about your work. Making mistakes is the only way to learn. It is imperative that you fail a lot. Learning how to deal with that and learn is the most important thing I learnt and tell others.

How do you see Apps and books working together in the future do you see one superseding the other? 

I think both are important and should complement each other, not work against one another. Both offer very different experiences and its a case of getting the best out of each one. There is little point in trying to repeat the same experience across both platforms. I can’t see books ever dying out. The physical nature of books cannot be replicated and our homes would be souless without them. I think there will be more of a push for the two platforms to work in tandem and create a wider experience. (find out more about the Professor Astro Cat app HERE) 

If you could pick out one professional job form the past that you have really enjoyed / you are most proud of what would it be and why?

I was a senior bookseller in Waterstones for about 7 years. I met so many lovely people working there and also learnt a lot about the book trade. I didnt know it at the time but a little part of that experience helped me to create Professor Astro Cat.

Do you find time to be creative for pleasure when such a huge amount of your time is spent creating work professionally? 

Thats a tricky question… The first Professor Astro Cat book was done for creative pleasure but is now what I work on professionally. I think I get the best of both worlds. I wish I had more time to paint and make prints and sculptures but I’m so happy with my job that I can patiently wait until I have time.

Do you use sketch books? 

Only if I’m travelling because its easier. I usually just use loose, scraps of paper to draw on. I find working in a sketchbook makes me feel precious about my drawings but working on loose paper feels much more free and experimental.

Tell us about some other popular culture which influences / enhances your work / music / film / publishing? 

Mid- 20th century cartoons were always shown on TV when i was a child at very odd times, like after the football on a Sunday after noon but before antiques roadshow. I remember how excited I would get after one Pink Panther episode would finish and there would be another Tom & Jerry on afterwards. It was like finding treasure. It inspired me to make work that I want others to treasure and keep hold of for a long time. 

Do you collect anything? 

I collect too many things. I love collecting 50s/60s matchbox labels from Europe, old toys, books, records and ephemera. I have a huge comic book collection but I buy less of them now because I’m running out of space and would like to afford a holiday once in a while.

Is the increased pressure of social media content distracting to you or do you find it a good way of promoting your work? 

Yeah, I think it is. For all its uses (and it has many), the instant gratifcation of posting and getting responses or likes is very distracting. I sometimes watch films while I work as a way of distracting myself from looking on the internet by being slightly distracted. The world doesn’t stop turning and the internet nevers does too. I think they should have 1 hour a day where they just turn off the whole internet for a bit. 

What is the most satisfying part of the book making process and what’s the most frustrating? 

It really comes in waves. You start a book… yay! You realise that it takes ages to solve the bit before you can start drawing… boo! Problem solved, now you can start drawing… yay! You can’t think of a way to visually solve some of the pages and waste 2 days on it… boo! and so on and so on. It is fun though and always a big learning process. However, holding the finished book in your hand afterwards though is very satisfying but not as satisfy as seeing someone else enjoying it.

If you could collaborate with ANY other children’s author or illustrator who would you choose and why? 

I think Michael Rosen is a fantastic human being, activist, educator and writer. So him, i guess.

Tell us about 5 things you loved as a kid which have made you the grown-up you are today. 

1. The Pink Panther
2. American comic books
3. Jm Henson
4. My sister
5. My gran’s neighbour’s cat called Fluffy

Does the environment / town / city in which you work influence your creativity/style? 

Yeah, I think it does. I lived in Bristol for over 10 years where I went to university and then started my career. I knew lots of illustrators and musicians there and it was very inspiring. The people I met there had a big impact on me and my work which set me on the right track.

I lived in London for 3 years and it was amazing. In someways, it was a test to see if I could afford to live there and draw for a living. The people around me were working so hard at such a high level that it rubs off on you and pushes you harder creatively.

I now live in Hastings and am much more self contained. Being able to see the sea everyday is really calming. I know what I want to do now and I’m in an environment where I have space and time to enjoy doing them. 

VISIT BEN'S WEBSITE HERE 

Templar Summer Blog Tour with Helen Hancocks!

We are OVER THE MOON to be able to welcome fantabulous illustrator extrodinaire and star of the show  Helen Hancocks to the Book Sniffer blog today as we em'bark' on a week long summer blog tour with some of our very favourite blog buddies. 

As Helen's latest picture book masterpiece
'William Heads to Hollywood' hits the bright lights of the high street book store we are thrilled to be able to share with you an exclusive insight into how this book was created, Helens inspirations and a little bit about the elusive REAL William! 
What a treat. Slap on some lippy and a feather boa, we are about to set off towards the hollywood hills! BUCKLE UP!

William is very excited to be on the Booksniffer blog, not just because he wants to swap tips on cravats and bow ties, but also show you behind the scenes of his second book -  William Heads to Hollywood.  

 The story was partially inspired by this set of photos from LIFE magazine of lots of black cats queuing to audition for a film. William was very taken with the photos, he thinks he has the perfect airs and graces of any old classic movie star so it seemed the perfect setting for book two. Although I did have the idea for William hitting Hollywood long before Missing Masterpiece hit the printing press, it just took awhile to get the idea down.

It went through a lot of changes to get to the book you see today. Some of the ideas I had didn’t work out but I may use them in something else in the future, who knows.
I watch a lot of films (if you are interested I write a monthly post on my blog about what I have seen each month)  But here are a few films I watched that stood out in helping inform some aspects of the book. 

The Purple Rose Of Cairo, Sunset Boulevard, Paris When It Sizzles, The Big Sleep, Blazing Saddles, The Third Man, Singin in The Rain, 8 1/2, Bringing Up Baby.

This photo of the Disney Canteen and the MGM lion were also pinned up on my wall whilst working on the book. 

One scene/page of the book I had thought about including from day one was the party scene, after watching Paris when it sizzles I had a bit of an obsession of fitting a party scene in to some art work some how 

It was an excuse to go a bit crazy with costumes and things. William especially liked the idea too - he was very keen on mingling with the stars. Below is a few photos, from a very small initial thumbnail through to the painting of the party scene. So many fun things to spot in this page too. You may notice the Hollywood sign in these photos - but you may wonder why it isn’t in the book - well what I didn’t know and only found out once I had sent off the art work was the sign is copyrighted! Who would have thought?! 

Although this is one of my favourite spreads it is also the one that caused the most anguish in creating it - so much detail (my own fault) and a tight deadline, equaled  a random shakey hand and many tears. But I think it was worth it. I am just a little sad that the perfect Jelly I drew ended up in the page fold - I was so annoyed when I discovered that would happen. That and the fact i forgot to paint on Williams whiskers! shh don’t tell anyone.

The Hockney documentary came out just before I started painting up the art work, I think his use of colour rubbed of on me and helped to inspire the California feel. 

I always try and keep a sheet of paper to try out the colours before committing them to work, its like an extra bit of work. I also wipe my brushes on rags/kitchen roll and found they create nice textures too. 

Most of the time I never mix up enough for the big areas! But I do like the texture, tone and brush marks this can lead to. I use gouache paint and I think it has a mind of its own - i haven’t quite worked out if I am using it properly. oh well, sometimes the best bits are the result of happy mistakes.

I also use pencils to map out the page, i have just got in to using mechanical pencils, they are very pleasing to use. Also a rubber to rub everything out when it all goes wrong - it always means theres a lot of eraser lint to vacuum up afterwards. 

I hope you all enjoy Williams latest adventure, he is off to have some prawns and a cat nap - its hard work being an international cat of mystery!
In the mean time I thought I would leave you with a picture of what I am currently working on....

Don't forget to stop by and check out the other stops on the tour which are listed in the banner on the right hand side of this page! 

Buy a copy of 'William Heads to Hollywood' HERE 

THANK YOU Templar Publishing for organising this. 

HUGE thanks to Helen Hancocks (and William) 

for taking part. FOLLOW HELEN ON TWITTER @helenhancocks