Tasmanian illustrator and recent presenter at CBCA Tasmania’s Platypus Party, Jedda Robaard provides a window into her illustrative world with some fascinating titbits about her work processes and passions.
Jedda Robaard — “it’s not all fairies and dragons”
You might imagine an illustrator’s day begins with a relaxing coffee in the morning sun, in my case, admiring the beautiful surrounds of the Huon Valley from my veranda. And you’d be right… sometimes. Other times, it’s cold, or I’m grumpy so I stay in bed and work from there!
View from my window (© J Robaard)
Either way, there are emails to answer, notes to read and work to plan. Then there’s the drawing itself, storyboards, roughs and final artwork to get ready. Files to process and send. And, of course, a deadline that looks much closer than it did yesterday.
People often ask how I schedule my day. The truth is that I don’t really have a set routine. Sometimes I do most of my work in the morning, other times, the afternoon or evening. But when I begin on a project’s final artwork, I do have a rule: complete one illustration each day. Although that might sound speedy, you must remember all the planning is done, and the linework finalised, so it’s a matter of doing the colour work.
When it comes to describing the ‘job’ of drawing I think Beatrix Potter described it perfectly when she wrote:
The work might look wonderfully peaceful from the outside. Someone sitting quietly, drawing lovely things. Inside my head, however, there is a small committee debating whether a rabbit’s ears are too long and whether the whole picture needs to start again.*
© J Robaard
Fast-forward 100 years and anyone looking through ‘my window’ would see an almost immobile body on a couch, drawing on an iPad, listening to an audiobook surrounded by dachshunds.
And that’s the thing about book illustration and probably illustration in general, it might look like we’re not doing much but there are so many small decisions to make while you draw. Where should the eyes sit to convey the right emotion? Which colours work best? Where should the characters go on the page to create the right balance? And even before we put pencil to paper, the story and how we might bring it to life has been bouncing around our heads for weeks, even months!
© J Robaard
So don’t be fooled by outward appearances, there’s a lot going on! It’s not all fairies and dragons. There’s patience, problem solving and quite a lot of starting again. But after fifteen years and numerous books, I still love it.
There’s nothing quite like bringing a character to life, sharing it with the world and finding that other people love it too.
P.S. True to form, this was written on the couch, with the support of my ever-present dachshunds. Thank you, George and Bertie.
Currently working on...
Drift by Crystal Corocher published by Windy Hollow Books 2027
Whales Don’t Fit In Jars! by Jan Stradling published by Walker Books 2027
Just finished ‘Dad, you’re great!’ by Corinne Fenton by Walker Books 2027
*Quote from The Journal of Beatrix Potter from 1881 to 1897 Penguin UK, 26 Apr 2012
Jedda Robaard
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