The Anatomy of a Monster

©Nicola L Robinson

The nights are drawing in, the shadows are getting darker....  As Halloween approaches, who better to divulge the method for making monsters than SCBWI's spookiest illustrator Nicola L Robinson. Sharpen your pencils, connect the power, bring the creature to life!!





Monsters fascinate me. Particularly the scary kind with big teeth and claws who lie waiting under the bed or in the attic and haunt childhood nightmares. They've always been part of my universe and as an illustrator they still make up a decent chunk of my creative work.

With Halloween almost upon us, I've been invited by the lovely SCBWI Words and Pictures blog to share some thoughts (by no means definitive) from an illustrator's perspective about these compelling creatures and consider what makes a monster, and a few guidelines for drawing your own...

Frankenstein - Nicola L Robinson

Monsters are widespread across most cultures and places, both feared and worshipped they have been kept alive through the ages via the arts, through visual representations in paintings and drawings and through retellings of myths and stories.

'Monster' is defined by the Dictionary as - 'A large, ugly, and frightening imaginary creature.' A Middle English word from old French 'monstre' and Latin 'monstrum' derived from the root 'monere' meaning, appropriately, 'to warn'.

Behemoth and Leviathan - William Blake

Monsters are traditionally big. From Biblical monsters like Behemoth and Leviathan, to mythological monsters the size of mountains. Being colossal in size, emphasises the strength and power of the monster. Jormungand, the Midgard Serpent from Norse mythology, was particularly massive - big enough to wrap itself around the entire world.

Monsters are commonly ugly, which is a little unfair, but generally the uglier the monster's appearance, the more monstrous he/she is perceived to be. Particularly ugly monsters include demons, man eating ogres and big smelly trolls...

Billy Goats Gruff - Nicola L Robinson

Imaginary or otherwise monsters are frightening. Even more so during the time less travelled and enlightened than ours where people could expect to find dragons and other beasties over the horizon. Before Darwin's Origin of Species it is easy to consider how the discovery of a huge dinosaur bone or strange shaped skull could have fuelled belief in monsters. An elephant skull with its large central hole for the trunk could have been the skull of a Cyclops, or a narwhale horn that of a unicorn. 

Monsters invoke fear and sometimes represent it too. If something out there is supposedly big, powerful, dangerous and has a mouth large enough to eat you, it's probably a good idea to be afraid of it. It is no accident that many monster characteristics are closely linked to our innate phobias, both environmental -  darkness, deep water, fire... and in appearance - snakes, poisonous spiders, bats etc...

The Gnarled Monster - Gustave Doré

Monsters, being imaginary, follow no set rules when it comes to appearance, although they are often inspired by nature, particularly exaggerations of it. Sometimes they are illustrated as a muddle of animal parts, like the work of a bad taxidermist, horrifying, but not aesthetically pleasing.
A good example is the Chimera, having the head and body of a male lion, with an extra head of a goat midway along its spine and a snake as a tail.

The Chimaera - Ulisse Aldrovandi

Monsters can be more subtle too. When a monster has an uncanny resemblance to something more familiar and less obviously threatening, it can be particularly frightening, consider the many horror films where a small child or family pet turns out to be more than it seems...

Mythological monsters are often human formed, usually with beastlike modifications, for example Medusa the Gorgon with her hair of snakes, the mermaid with her scaly fish tail, the Minotaur with the head of a bull and the giant figure of the Cyclops, man shaped in form but with a single eye in the centre of his forehead.

Cyclops - Nicola L Robinson

Even in our modern scientific world, where the monsters of old can be explained and written off as fiction, we are still fascinated by them. From literary monsters like Dracula and Jabberwock, to classic film monsters from Ray Harryhausen and our modern CGI incarnations, monsters have established themselves in our world, and they are here to stay.

The Jabberwock - John Tenniel

 
Obviously it goes without saying that monstrous things don't necessarily come monster shaped and sometimes the most monstrous monster doesn't have big teeth or breathe fire at all.

Drawing Monsters

There are no rules when it comes to drawing monsters, However here are a few guidelines which you may wish to consider -

Monster - Nicola L Robinson

1 - Start with an animal, a dangerous one is good, but if you make it big enough and with enough teeth even a guinea pig can be monstrous. You don't need to use the whole animal, but it can be a useful starting point to develop the monster's overall body shape. Experiment.

2 - Accessorise. Borrow a set of antlers, pair of fangs and a hairy mane, or whatever takes your fancy. Try to blend the elements together rather than applying monster taxidermy and sticking an extra head into the middle of the back ala Chimera.

3 - Texture. By combining hairy manes with a scaly belly, slimy tongue and feathery wings you can add more interest and texture to your monster.

4 - Like creating a character, adding a back-story can help flesh your monster out and make him or her even more monstrous, elevating him from just a big hairy shape with lots of teeth to something a little more sophisticated. Consider things like - where does the monster live? What does he eat? Does he have any special powers?  Etc and adjust his appearance accordingly. For example a pond monster might have gills like a shark and spiky fins, or a cave dwelling monster might have very tiny eyes, or none at all, compensating with his particularly keen sense of smell.

5 - Exaggeration. Think big, think extreme, think monstrous!

I hope this helps a little in your monster making, and continues to keep the traditional monster species very much alive. They may well be out there somewhere, perhaps closer than you think.

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Monster Listening Party - Nicola L Robinson

Monster Links 

Monsters, Inc - An Interview with Ray Harryhausen

The Lure of Horror - Christian Jarrett, The Psychologist

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Nicola L. Robinson is an Artist, Illustrator and creator of monsters...
Nicola's website - www.nlrobinson.co.uk
Nicola's blog - http://nlrobinsonart.blogspot.co.uk
Nicola on twitter - @NLRobinsonart
Nicola's shop - www.teethandclaws.co.uk

13th December - Nicola Robinson

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FEATURED ILLUSTRATOR - Nicola L Robinson

Nicola L. Robinson

This month's Featured Artist is Nottingham based Nicola L Robinson. From comic playfulness to high gothic fantasy, check the Featured Illustrator Gallery to see the full range of her sharp, graphic work!


Thank you very much for inviting me to be the featured illustrator for August! it's a real pleasure to be here on the brilliant Words and Pictures blog.

Banner image

I've chosen one of my favourite illustrations for the banner art, I apologise that it isn't in the least bit summery for August! It is titled Downtown and was a very loose idea I had for a dark picture book, inspired by my love of cityscapes. I nearly went mad drawing all the tiny windows... I was very pleased to win the Silver Award for Self Promotion at the AOI Images 36 awards with this.

Downtown - Silver Award winning illustration at Images 36

My journey

I'm an only child and I've always loved drawing, favourite things to draw as a child included dragons, monsters, dinosaurs and crocodiles and now at 30 things haven't changed too much... haha

Cover illustration (Floris Books)

I studied art at school at GCSE and A-Level along with History, Psychology and English Literature before going onto university to do a degree in Fine Art in Cardiff, where I spent a lot of time building cities out of cardboard. However, creating narrative images was my real passion and I started working as a freelance illustrator when I graduated. My work included designing beer labels and pump clips for breweries, concept art, poster art, private commissions and work for magazines and journals. 

Part of what keeps us going as illustrators is the thirst to progress and create new work

Eventually the dragons, crocodiles and monsters came back (they never left really) and I started moving into children's books, which I love. I got my first commissions by contacting publishers who had published 'similar' work to my own and politely introducing myself and my work, which led to my first commission and my work has grown from there. I've never had an agent.

Interior illustrations from The Cat With Iron Claws - Catherine Fisher (Pont Books)

My children's book work so far includes illustrations for covers, popup books, spot illustrations, decorative motifs and borders, character design, hand lettering and interior illustrations. 

The Cyclone - The Wizard of Oz (Tango Books)

Arriving in Oz  - The Wizard of Oz (Tango Books)

I've also written and illustrated my first picture book, The Monster Machine, published by Pavilion Children's books. It has been an amazing experience and the first time I've worked for such a young audience. I was thrilled to be shortlisted for The Read it Again Cambridgeshire Children's Picture Book award (receiving runner up prize) and to be included in the current Creepy House Summer Reading Challenge. 

The Monster Machine Cover (Pavilion Children's Books)

I'm always striving to improve and develop my work. It has taken a number of years to settle on a 'style' to call my own and I have a long way I want to go yet. I think part of what keeps us going as illustrators is the thirst to progress and create new work. Who knows what little character or new universe might pop up next?

My Process

I've always loved detail and do a lot of my work in pen and ink before adding colour using a combination of watercolour, inks and digital techniques. My finished work is usually quite precise but everything starts out very rough like this-

Downtown - Preliminary scribbles

At this point I have an image in my head of what I want and I'm trying to carve the space and composition out on paper. I'll often write words and phrases to help describe what I want to achieve.

Downtown - Pencil drawing

I'll then redraw, sometimes a number of times and when I'm happy, work in more detail usually in pencil to get a much clearer drawing, which I can present as a rough for clients or use as a base to ink and colour.

Here's another rough scrawl, this time a dragon (honest) -

Hairy Dragon - Rough thumbnail

and inked -

Hairy Dragon - Pen and ink

I love pen and ink and traditional media but I have found it increasingly useful to work digitally to supply artwork to clients, often working in layers particularly for pop-up books and covers where there are movable elements. Working this way also allows for slightly easier adjustments to be made. For example when a client decides the sky really does have to be blue rather than the brilliant tangerine you've painted it, or the teeth have to be rounded down.

Make work about things you love and have a passion for, create the kind of work you'd like to be commissioned to make. 

   

Tips

It may be stating the obvious but practise your art! Draw as much as you can and read as much as you can too, and read widely. I find as an illustrator having a broad range of interests helps enormously with charging ideas and adding new elements to your work.

When it comes to getting published it is a tough business, having a thick skin and dogged determination helps! But in the mean time keep developing your skills and getting your work out there. Make work about things you love and have a passion for, create the kind of work you'd like to be commissioned to make. Obviously within reason, and keeping your audience in mind!

Finally I can't underestimate how important it is to educate yourself on the business side of being an illustrator. Don't undervalue your work. You are running a business at the end of the day, so it is vital to understand things like fees, contracts, copyright and the day to day running of the business.

It can be a lonely existence, but there is a wealth of information out there to help you and organisations to offer support and advice. Join the SCBWI and if you're an illustrator I'd recommend the AOI too.

...and obviously enjoy what you do. I know I do :)

Sleeping Beauty (Don't sleep with your mouth open) Pen and ink

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See more of Nicola's work on our Featured Artist Gallery Page.  

and for more still try Nicola's own portfolio website
She also has a blog  
and is on twitter @NLRobinsonart 

Beaky Monster

Nicola's online print and card and shop Teeth and Claws can be found here.

SCBWI Members Scoop up Awards, Deals and Debuts!

Mo O’Hara celebrates the debut of her first book while Nicola Robinson, Ruth Eastham and Rosemary Hayes are delighting in award nominations and Liz De Jager and Rebecca Colby sign their first deals! Is there enough champagne in the whole of Britain for so much celebratory joy?!





Mo O'Hara and her big brother once brought their pet goldfish back from the brink of death. Happily this did not inspire her to become an Evil Scientist. Instead, actor, writer and storyteller Mo wrote My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish and Macmillan published it on February 28th!

 

Mo O'Hara

Mo grew up in Pennsylvania, USA, but now lives in south-east London. An active SCBWI member for about five years, Mo’s been a previous Masterclass Series organisor and has served on the conference committee. Hoorah for Mo and the hilarious Frankie! 

@NLRobinsonart

 From zombie fish to Monster Machines.  Nicola Robinson’s picture book The Monster Machine has been shortlisted for the 'Read it Again!' Cambridgeshire Children's Picture Book Awards. Nicola is thrilled to be included as the award is for a debut picture book where writer and illustrator are the same person. 

 Nicola is a freelance illustrator based in Nottingham, working mostly in the world of children's books, her work includes cover art for YA, popup books, colour and black and white illustrations for interior spreads and more. Monsters, animals, dragons and other creatures with teeth and claws are favourite subjects. Working in both traditional pen and ink and watercolour, Nicola also uses digital techniques to create her illustrations. Don’t forget to check out our Illustrators page.

@RuthEastham1
 Photo: Tim Simpson Photography

Rosemary Hayes

 Meanwhile there’s more award news for former Carnegie nominee Ruth Eastham and Rosemary Hayes. Rosemary’s book Loose Connections has been shortlisted for the 2013 James Reckitt Hull Children's Book Award while Ruth’s second book, The Messenger Bird has been nominated for the Redbridge Libraries Book Award 2013. Ruth is already on an astounding number of shortlists including the Warwickshire Book Award, the Essex Schools Book Award, the Sefton Super Reads Book Award and the East Sussex Book Award 2013. 
The Messenger Bird was also chosen by Booktrust UK as a title for the nationwide secondary schools’ BookBuzz programme. What a fantastic achievement both of you! 

Liz de Jager
@LizUK

From debuts and awards to deals. Liz De Jager has signed an amazing THREE book deal with Tor Books. Liz grew up in South Africa but moved to the UK in 2000. Liz signed with agent Juliet Mushens in August 2012 and after two sets of rigorous edits, they went to the market in mid-January. The end result was an auction leading to an incredible three book deal with Tor UK, an imprint of Macmillan Publishers. 

 Kathleen Rushall of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency sold Rebecca Colby’s first picture book, IT'S RAINING BATS AND FROGS, to Feiwel and Friends, a Macmillan US imprint. Before writing for

Rebecca Colby

children, Rebecca inspected tights (pantyhose to the American speaking world), taught English in Taiwan, travelled the world as a tour director, and worked as a librarian. Born in America, Rebecca now lives in North Yorkshire. Rebecca is one of ten crazy poets on The FunEverse - we look forward to seeing more of her crazy writing in picture book form. 

 SCBWI is proud of you all! How can we not be inspired? Back to your desks everyone – Success Comes By Writing and Illustrating!!

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Kathy Evans is Celebrations Editor for Words & Pictures. She is South East Network Coordinator with Mariam Vossough and is represented by Sophie Hicks at Ed Victor.