Interview with Children’s Book Illustrator /Author — Benji Davies
Benji Davies has gone from strength to strength as a children’s book illustrator and author. Most recently, Davies was shortlisted for the 2017’s V&A Awards (more information on this can be found here), for his book The Storm Whale in Winter. The Storm Whale in Winter is a sequel to The Storm Whale, where the boy, Noi, is caught in a storm at sea and his whale friend comes to his rescue.
A beautiful book trailer was also released in conjunction with the release of the book, animated by the award-winning animation studio of The Moth Collective.
We are thrilled to have Benji Davies here to talk about this book, his nomination, and his career as an illustrator so far…
For those of us that don’t know who you are, can you introduce yourself?
My name is Benji Davies and I write and illustrate picture books.
How was life like after university? How did you fall into animation, and how did you transition into children’s books?
I studied animation at university with dreams of becoming a filmmaker. Not longer after I soon realised that I wasn’t going to make a living purely making short films, which are hard to fund, and so began developing an illustration portfolio. I ran the two side by side, illustrating for other authors and also directing animated commercials and music videos. I did both for several years before I started writing my own stories for picture books, the first of which, The Storm Whale was published in 2013. At that point I decided to hang up my animation directing hat for a while and haven’t looked back. Writing and illustrating my own picture books is much like being the director of a short film, in a visual storytelling sense, being the author of the entire work. So I’m much closer to my original aspiration now than I was making commercials or illustrating for other people.
What inspires your work?
Inspiration can strike at any time and anywhere. Perhaps a story in the news, or a moment in everyday life. Perhaps something that is visually interesting that I see, and take a photo to reference later. My love of illustrated books as a child also drives my work… the part of me that enjoyed going into those worlds contained within the pages of books is still very much alive.
What sparked the idea for The Storm Whale in Winter?
The Storm Whale was originally a film I made at university so it was a kind of completing of a circle turning the idea into a picture book.
I’d never intended to make a sequel, but there were lots of moments and ideas that started coming together and forming a new story. I loved the idea of seeing how the protagonist, Noi, would cope if winter came to his island.
What were the challenges you had to encounter to complete The Storm Whale in Winter?
One of the hardest things about illustrating a picture book is keeping the artwork consistent and having the stamina to complete the whole book to the same level. It can be a bit of a marathon and I tend to flag towards the end. To try and redress the balance I mix up the order in which I artwork the spreads and once the book is finished, I try and give it a bit of space before finalising the work and sending it off to the publisher. That way I can stand back and make any changes that didn’t seem so obvious in the run up to completion.
Did you always wanted to be a children’s book author/illustrator?
From a young age I was a big fan of all things drawn and I genuinely wanted to illustrate children’s books back then. As a teenager I started to get more into animation.
So luckily I’ve had the chance to do both.
What do you wish you’d have known starting out as an illustrator?
I guess I wish I’d realised that I could also write, that it wasn’t so different from making animated films, and pursued that sooner. It gives me the most satisfaction to create the whole work.
It is often said that it is hard to make a living as an illustrator. How long was it before illustration became your primary source of income? And how do you keep a constant stream of projects coming in?
Well I was juggling both animation directing and illustration, so its hard to say exactly.
I think I’ve been lucky at times, and it has fluctuated massively, but there were some tough years in the early stages for sure.
These days its more of a case of working out what fits where and making sure I’m using my time effectively.
Besides hard work and talent, what other traits has led to your success?
I don’t really believe in talent and I think to a degree you make your own luck. I think we all have a certain gravitational pull within us, something that makes us tick. Its making sure we listen to that inner pull and don’t get discouraged by outside influence. By which I mean you have to do what you love, or you’ll have a lifetime of regret.
How do you feel in being shortlisted for the V&A Awards?
It’s huge honour to be recognised. I’ve always missed the deadline before so I’m extremely pleased I entered this year!
What advice would you give to your younger self?
I think my best piece of advice to someone starting out is to work hard and pursue all opportunities presented to you. Knock on doors, take all the advice and guidance you can — rejection can be tough — but don’t give up.
If you could let people know anything else about you, what would it be?
I’m a cheese and ham toastie connoisseur.
Any projects coming up you would like to share with us?
My next picture book is called The Grotlyn — it’s publishing with Harper Collins this September.
