An Interview with Illustrator Jeremy Tankard
It’s a Tiger! is a delightful picture book
that deserves to be celebrated two days in a row, so that’s just what I’m
doing. Author David LaRochelle dropped by yesterday to discuss reading, writing, and pumpkins, and today I’m excited to share my interview with illustrator Jeremy Tankard. Thank you, David and Jeremy!
Mr. Schu: My first graders and I love your bold and
expressive illustrations. We think David LaRochelle’s text and your
illustrations work together beautifully.
Jeremy Tankard: Thank you, Mr. Schu (and first graders!). I’m prodigiously proud of this
book. David’s text is what convinced me that I had to illustrate this book: It’s
funny; whimsical; smart; quirky; clever; and just plain FUN! The funny thing is
that when I started doing sketches for the book I somehow lost all the humor of
the text -- largely because David wrote a story in which the book itself is the
narrator (which is actually one of the things I liked best about the text).
Then I realized that the humor wasn’t necessarily in the appearance of the
tiger every time but in the reaction of the reader to the tigers appearance.
But since I can’t illustrate the readers reaction I had to come up with another
solution: create a narrator who could react instead. Thus I was able to find a
fun and humous way to illustrate all those “surprise” appearances.
Mr. Schu: Why did you use ink and digital media?
Jeremy Tankard: I LOVE drawing with ink. My father bought my brother and me sketchbooks
and pens for a vacation in England when I was about 12 years old. He said
something like “real artists keep sketchbooks and draw with pens”. He was
partially correct: most artists like to keep sketchbooks. However, they often
use pencils or markers or paint or other drawing materials in them. BUT, I
learned that drawing with pen is very rewarding.
The thing about ink is that if you make a mistake you can’t fix it! This
is kind of scary when you first start using ink, but after a while you get used
to it and you either learn to live with the mistakes and imperfections or you
quit and go back to something “safe” like pencils. In my case I learned that
those imperfections often give the art a certain quality. And it is strangely
liberating when you give yourself permission to live with the mistakes. These
days I mostly draw with a brush which is much, much more difficult than drawing
with pen. But I like the uneven line it makes and try to find the beauty in all
the imperfections.
As for using a computer: I’m quite enamored with the possibilities that
the digital environment presents. And I like the ease with which I can make
corrections. Perhaps because my ink drawings involve a certain amount of risk I
like the control that the computer offers for the rest of the production. So I
use the computer to color and assemble my ink drawings into finished art for
the book. Also, I LOVE working with bright colors and the computer makes it
much easier for me to control the final appearance of those colors as they
print in the book.
Mr. Schu: I like that the child is androgynous. Was this a conscious
decision?
Jeremy Tankard: I’m so glad you asked this. It was a conscious decision, yes. My first
attempt at a narrator involved a rabbit, because I thought an animal would be
easier -- everyone can see themselves in an animal. Can’t they? Or is it just
me? But then I decided that I didn’t like that because really, the tiger would
probably just eat the rabbit when it first shows up! So I created a boy. Or I
thought he was a boy when I started drawing him. But in the end I opted, quite deliberately, to make that
distinction vague. I like that a boy OR girl reading the book is able to see
themselves in the character. I have heard children argue amongst themselves
about the child’s gender. And ask me! I tell them that he or she is whatever
they want.
Mr. Schu: Which animal was the most fun to draw? Most challenging?
Jeremy Tankard: The tiger was the most difficult. I LOVE tigers. They are my favorite
mammal. Which is kind of funny because I’ve never drawn one before this book.
Cats are so wonderfully slinky and lithe and powerful. But of course this is a
children’s book so I didn’t want the tiger to be too scary or mean. But he also
couldn’t be too cute or cuddly. What the book really called for was a
fierce-looking teddy bear -- scary but not by any means terrifying. A tall
order, really. I spent the better part of a year sketching tigers of all
shapes, sizes and kinds before finally landing on the one that appeared in the
book. I’m VERY happy with my tiger drawings.
Mr. Schu: Did you and David LaRochelle interact at all while you were illustrating It’s a Tiger!?
Jeremy Tankard:Nope! I actually met David when I was doing a book tour for Boo Hoo
Bird, and he knew I would be illustrating his book back then. But we had no
contact again until after the illustrations were finished. I didn’t want his
influence while I was drawing -- he is a gifted illustrator himself and I was
afraid that there could be tension if he had one idea in mind and I had
another. Especially since I opted to add a whole new character to his story! To
be perfectly honest I was afraid that he wouldn’t like my interpretation.
Luckily for me he is very happy with the outcome. Or at least he claims to be!
You’ll have to ask him.
Mr. Schu: What’s one of your earliest memories of illustrating
stories?
Jeremy Tankard: I used to steal paper from my father’s desk drawer, fold them in half
and staple them together to make little books. Then I’d write and illustrate my
own stories. This began when I was about seven years old. I often wrote stories
in which a character would get in trouble or hurt and they would shout “HELP!”
Only I sometimes spelled it “HALP!”
Mr. Schu: What are you working on now?
Jeremy Tankard: A whole bunch of things. My main project is a book I’ve been writing for
the last five years that I’m super excited about. I won’t say any more at this
point because it’s still very much “in progress”. And I’m writing another book,
a longer illustrated thing, that grew out of a sudden inspiration I had. But I
can’t say much about it either. And I’ve been offered a couple of other picture
books to illustrate. There might also be another Bird book at some point. But
time will tell. I don’t believe in writing something unless I’ve got something
that I really want to say.
I have just moved across the country, from Toronto to Vancouver, and am
still getting “settled”. I have two children and my youngest (age 3) is having
a hard time with preschool and childcare. This means that my work-time has been
drastically reduced as I try to help him get comfortable in his new routines.
It’s frustrating to have so little work-time but family has to come first.
I’m itching to have get cracking on some of these projects.
Mr. Schu: I have a metafiction section in my school library. Do you have any
favorite books about books?
Jeremy Tankard: Well, I thought It's a Tiger! would be one, but with adding the child to
the art I created a narrator that I don’t think David imagined. So I’m not sure
if it really qualifies as metafiction any more. I love Lane Smith’s It's a Book.
I can’t really think of any others right now. Is that bad? I also love Bad Day at the Riverbend by Chris van Allsburg.
Is that metafiction? It’s very
funny. And clever. It isn’t so much a book about books as a book about coloring
books. If you’ve seen it I’m sure you’ll agree that it is fantastic. If you
haven’t seen it...well, it’s worth a read.
Mr. Schu: Please complete this sentence:
Picture books are magical windows that let in the purest of light.
Borrow It's a Tiger! from your school or public library. Whenever possible, please support independent bookshops.
LOVED these interviews and videos! Thank you :)
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