Hilary walks us through her illustration process below, from research to sketching to painting.
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I am a picture book illustrator living in Aotearoa New Zealand, ever immersed in the wonder of picture books, the beauty of watercolour, and the joy of drawing. Creating this book was a really special process for me—I got to focus on creating a book about the delight of ‘baches’ in New Zealand culture. In order to do this, my friend and I went on an overnight trip to a beloved old bach on the east coast. I took many photos, sketches, and created the world for the characters of At the Bach. In the posts to follow, I’ll share a little behind-the-scenes of the creation of this book—including my studio, and some videos of the sketches, colour roughs, and final artwork. Enjoy!
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I love the creative freedom of pencil sketches, roughs, and storyboarding. This aspect of the process feels incredibly free, endless possibilities abound in terms of how the book might go. Drawing in pencil feels like sculpting for me, I love watching the lines find the characters, and the characters reveal themselves to me. I never really know where it is going. It’s an incredible feeling of trusting the process, and leaning into the unknown. A lot of drawing is required in the early stages of a picture book—and it moves from incredibly rough forms into the final line work.
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As the linework is getting further refined, I also am thinking about the colour palette and what colours I will use for the book. This is decided in relationship to the context of where the story is set (in this case, it is the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand), as well as the mood/emotion of the story. I explore lots of different colour options, and do sample colour roughs to test out how I will paint the final artwork. This stage often feels a bit nerve wracking for me—leaping from black and white line to colour is a big step in the process, and, as you might know, watercolour can be incredibly subtle and changeful. Part of me begins to surrender to the process at this point!
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The final art for any book feels immense. I block off everything in my calendar and dive in for a couple weeks. Like any creative might know, it can take over your life! It’s an incredible feeling to be in the stage of final art because I feel almost one with the artwork, and the work reveals itself as I keep painting. I’ll be painting for ten to twelve hours a day (it takes a LONG time!), listen to a lot of music (though usually, I end up with the same album on repeat) and the occasional podcast. I’m in my utmost concentration mode. It’s almost like a meditation, single-minded focus for a long stretch of time. Snacks are absolutely essential. Coming out the other end feels incredible, and then is usually followed by crazy exhaustion. What a wonder the creative process is.
I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing some behind-the-scenes of the At the Bach illustration process!
At the Bach is available now from all good bookstores in New Zealand and on our website. It is available as Good Night, Good Beach from all good bookstores in Australia, United Kingdom, and United States.
