I was used to the world of graphic design where everything happens fast. I have to make friends with last year’s work all over again. Then, by the time the book does come out, I’ve finished art for another and my mind is in a whole different space. At first I feel like I’ll explode with impatience. And no present was ever as wonderful as the fantasy of it.įinishing up art for a book and then a waiting a year for the book to come out is unbearable. The wishing and hoping and preparing were the best parts. When you were growing up, what was one of the hardest things to wait for? A holiday? special birthday? the school bus? a sibling? the bell to ring? your driver’s license? graduation? How about now–as an author/illustrator?Īntoinette: I loved the build-up to Easter and Christmas. But I wouldn’t be surprised if that theme shows up again. My next two books I’ve written and illustrated, BEST FRINTS IN THE WHOLE UNIVERSE and NOW, are the first two I’ve done that don’t address the theme of creativity. I can look at FROODLE as a metaphor for facing down my inner critic, the voice that tries to shut me down. Imagination is a super power all children possess-and it’s one power they can exercise freely. I remember the bliss I felt making up a fantasy scenario that completely entertained me, and the neighborhood kids, too. NOT A BOX is an ode to the joy of creating. Which of your many wonderful books could be a metaphor for your process or journey as an author/illustrator?Īntoinette: Most of my books are about aspects of the creative process as I experience them. I make many, many versions of each dummy. Once the text seems to work, I storyboard it to work out the pagination and composition and then a make a full-size dummy.
Sometimes I sketch a character or a scene while I’m still writing-kind of a key image that cements the mood of the book for me. Endings are hard! I’m good at coming up with ideas that are all middle. If I can’t come up with a beginning, middle and end, then an idea is probably not worth pursuing. As an author/illustrator–which comes first: thumbnails and quick-sketches or a rough draft of text?Īntoinette: I usually start with text. Thank you Antoinette, for the fun and informative interview! Portis takes word-play to new heights–to the delight of children and adult readers alike–and I am in awe of her ability to make every word count. KINDERGARTEN DIARY, plus two forthcoming titles,
NOT A STICK, A PENGUIN STORY (also chosen as a NYT Best Illustrated Book), NYT Best Illustrated Book and a 2007 Theodore Seuss Geisel Honor Book, Her amazing books include WAIT! as well as Portis and her editor Neal Porter–of Neal Porter Books–Roaring Brook/Macmillan
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