Wonderfully Weird Creatures of the World is here!
We sat down with the author to discuss his 19th author/illustrated children's nonfiction book to get the inside scoop on exactly what goes on behind the scenes of this phenomenal creation.
1. What is your creative process like when it comes to illustrating and then collaging together a book like Wonderfully Weird?
Well first comes the list! I collate a list of top 10, top 25 and top 100 weird animals from multiple angles and different Google searches. Like; “top weirdest birds and mammals”, “strangest animals ever recorded” and “weirdest ugliest creatures ever discovered”. I need a general consensus of what the world believes is weird to truly standardise my list. Then I add or “pepper a few” of my favourite creatures and worthy mentions. That started out at 12-15 iconic weird creatures and over 100 on the big list. Honestly nature has a wonderfully weird way of saying “pick me” when it comes to weird adaptions and cool stuff to add.
Once I have the list I do three to four things to get my reference and then it’s just draw write and design! The first thing I do is gather images on the internet. The second thing is I open up loads of encyclopaedias and books and find historical references and depictions of all these creatures. Then I look through the many photos I have collected over the years. Finally go on a trip and try and find as many of these creatures I can and get them in camera from the wild, in our oceans and in zoos and sanctuaries. I like to meet as many of my featured creatures in person and in the wild. It helps with understanding the way I draw them and it helps knowing they are real and do exist.
Then it’s months in front of computer and at my desk; sketching, planning, drawing, colouring, collaging, designing and writing and preparing the books for printing. Editing, Publishing and Printing along with distribution to bookstores I can’t do! That’s why I have a team of publishers to bring my imagination and hard work to life.
2. Do you have a favourite animal or page spread in the book? Why?
The tarsiers of the Philippines are the wonderful favourite. They are super cute and when you get to see them in person you’ll understand why. They just steal your heart, melt your soul with those big gorgeous eyes and their hands, proportions, shape and size puts them on my weird list. But for specifically the weirdest favourites must be The bearded Vulture and the Proboscis Monkey. Pretty cool and totally wondrously weird in my opinion.
3. Is there a really cool story behind one of your favourite animals you illustrated in the book? Perhaps a real-life encounter?
I’ve been going to the Philippines where 20-40 creatures in this new book reside and are endemic. I’ve been chasing these Draco Flying Lizards of Mindanao and surrounding islands. When I first saw them on a Sir David Attenborough documentary they looked huge full screen and captured my imagination - Flying Dragons in reality! So when a local kid said he’d just run up the coconut tree out the back of the hotel and local woodland it seemed weird that such a big lizard was just a skink-like creature of the coconut grove. So he caught one that day and showed me and for the past six years I’ve been trying to film them in action like in Sir David Attenborough’s documentary. Over the past years I got to catch them, hold them, film them, study them in person but filming them flying was insanely difficult.
4. How long does it take to illustrate a book like this?
The process starts silently while doing many other things; travel, thumbnails, discussions and making lists. That’s 3-4 months of thinking and concurring the will power to commit to the drawing and the loose vision or ultimate design. Then it takes 2-3 months of hard yakka! Twenty hour days non-stop for two months minimum; a solid process of drawing, colouring and compiling 100’s if not thousands of sketches and finished elements to be collaged into a fully designed and written book.
5. What is the best thing about getting to illustrated such incredible and fascinating books? You're up to 21 now!
Translating my own deep fascination and curiosity through illustration and my own lived experiences to the classroom, to the library where kids first discover these things and in the hands of parents where bedtime becomes a wonderful world around us. I imagine the kids excitement in discovering these creatures exist and I smile every time I draw another weird and wonderful creature knowing this one will annoy mums and dads with all the questions that come after.
You have google and ChatGPT to answer all the questions these days … but books are the way to gather the lists of curious inquiry and feed imaginations with questions and fascinations. It’s my role to keep kids wanting to go outdoors and discover the world, and having 21 books now I’m truly delivering an encyclopedic library of knowledge.
Wonderfully Weird Creatures of the World is available at all good bookstores or via our website HERE.