CHRIS JUDGE,award-winning children's author and illustrator, on developing his own style and creating a loveable beast
Wow, your studio has an amazing view.
Yes, catch your breath a moment if you like. It’s a quite a climb. Imagine what an ordeal it was to move all my stuff up here? This is the top floor. There’s another illustrator’s studio below me and a design company below that.
And a lap dancing club below that!
Indeed. I had worked from home for many years. But my things began to take up too much space. Also, as I became busier, I needed to physically separate my work and home lives. Now when I lock the door at the end of the day, that’s it. I’m done.
You’ve achieved success as a children’s author, but that’s not your full-time job?
Commercial illustration is still my bread and butter. I do book covers, newspaper illustrations and advertisements for people like Vodafone, ESB and Aer Lingus. Originally, clients would come to me wanting me to emulate another artist’s work. But now they come looking for my own style.
'The Lonely Beast'and 'The Great Explorer'have both been very well received. Why did you decide to do children's books? I had 20 or 30 characters and I wanted to tell stories. On an advertising campaign, you usually only get to do one or two illustrations, so it's impossible to work in a narrative. Children's books are fantastic, I suppose, because you get to tell a story. But you're limited to 32 pages. There's a beginning, middle and end – that's perfect for illustrators. I had five or six failed children's efforts before I came up with The Lonely Beast.
What are some bad children’s book protagonists? ‘The Disaffected Janitor’?
Oh no, they were ghastly ideas I’ve hidden away and will never show anyone.
Go on . . . ‘The Highly Motivated Personal Injury Claims Lawyer’?
There was one about a weird red ant. It was just so stupid. I found some print outs I’d done recently and it was cringey.
Children’s books are like Bob Dylan songs, aren’t they?
There's always a protagonist who goes somewhere, and sees something, and hears something? Yeah, there really are only two basic stories. That's something I realised when I was researching the first books. The protagonist either leaves town, or a stranger comes to town. Think of any film you loved when you were a kid. Jaws– stranger comes to town; Indiana Jones –protagonist leaves town.
How did you finally find the right path?
I think it was probably attending the first Offset creative festival in Dublin in 2009. There was a panel discussion between the artists Oliver Jeffers, Dave McKeane and PJ Lynch. I was so inspired by that. I just sat there in the dark thinking, my God. I wanted to run home, there and then, and get back to work on the book.
‘The Lonely Beast’ character is just a black blob
Yes, he’s just a big black hairy shadow. It was a challenge because he has no facial features. Whatever he’s doing – reading a book, eating a piece of cake – you have to convey what he’s doing through his eyes. I made a dummy book called The Beast. I made 18 copies, at 20 quid a go. That pretty much wiped me out financially. I sent them out and the rejection letters came back. Then, out of the blue, Andersen Press in London got in touch to say they wanted to publish it.
There’s even a Lonely Beast iPad now, isn’t there?
Yes, it's called the Alphabeast. I developed it with my brother Simon and our friend James Kelleher and it's based on the world of the Lonely Beast.I had been thinking about doing an ebook version of the story, but doing it this way allowed us to explore a different side of the character.
As well as a glowing review from ‘The New York Times’, the book also picked up Irish Children’s Book of the Year. That must have been exciting.
It was amazing. I heard I was nominated but that I couldn’t tell anyone. That was so difficult. They were all great authors, but to be nominated in the same category as Oliver Jeffers, in particular, was such an honour. He’s probably the top children’s book author.
He was, you mean. There’s a new sheriff in town!
Not at all, he’s amazing. The next project I’m working on is a comic book I’m doing with my brother. It’s about an illustrator in the second World War. I don’t want to say too much about it for now. But it will be very low key.
