Absolutely love peeking into your sketchbooks-- you use them the way they're meant to be used. Sharing them is a big deal, so thank you for being so candid with them. You learn a lot about someone's process from seeing (and reading) things like this. Keep up the great work!
Hi Catherine! I'm so happy that my simple decision to join Substack allowed me to find great author-illustrators like you! Thank you for sharing your journey! ✨️
What just a lovely start to my morning and day. Very nice to hear all about you and your illustrations, which are absolutely beautiful. I love animals. Your tiger is amazing!
Thank you Catherine, it was heartwarming to see how Augustus and his Smile was created. As a children's librarian for nearly 30 years I have had the real pleasure of buying all your books and seeing them being enjoyed by our young library customers. They are all perfect to share at story time. I have also gifted hundreds of the dual language versions of Augustus as part of the Bookstart programme and families always feedback how much they value having a story in their own language to share together. Lots of children (and children's librarians) finding their smiles!
Thank you so much for your LOVELY comment. Thank you also for your support with my books - you've absolutely made my day and I am just so happy that reading them brings you pleasure. I truly appreciate you making them available for borrowers. Libraries are magic places and librarians are magical and very important people. Thank you so much for all that you do xxx
So cool!! I love this! My friend Faith just released her first illustrated book and I got to help her publish it. I’m so inspired by the cool colorful illustrations people like you and faith make! Thanks for sharing!
Fascinating. I had no idea what goes into creating and illustrating a children’s, or any, book. It’s a lot of work! Thank you for taking the time to record how your first book came to be. It was wonderful!
Catherine, I loved the videos! I've never written a children's book, and it's so clear how much intense work goes into creating one. I think it's awesome that your first book on the non-smiling tiger garnered the attention of a publishing company and has won awards! I loved that you knew your main character inside and out. I am amazed by your talent and work ethic and perseverance. Congratulations on 20 years of illustrations!
Thank you so much for such a lovely comment. I’m really pleased you enjoyed my first ‘post’ and that it gave you a little insight in to the children’s publishing world ☺️
Catherine, this was so so lovely to watch. Thank you so much for sharing your process of Augustus and how you got your start. I'm an illustrator and stationery designer coming up on my 10 year career anniversary and I've recently started my pivot into picture book illustration which I'm most excited about but also incredibly nervous. Hearing you celebrate your 20th year anniversary gave me the reminder I need that I'm in this for the long game and for the pure joy of illustration and picture books, no matter how I get there.
One question for you, after Augustus was out into the world, was it easy to find more publishing opportunities right away? Did you continue to work with the same publisher?
Hi Carly. Congratulations on your own ten year anniversary! I’m so pleased to hear that my post triggered a positive reminder for you. It’s not a straightforward journey but it’s worth it ☺️.
To answer your question. Augustus went well and co-editions well and so I was offered another contract straight away. I went on to make 6 books with that publisher then moved on by choice. Alongside that publisher a second publisher (hachette) also offered two contracts which was wonderful. Although I don’t work with either of those publishers at the moment - work has been constant ever since.
Wishing you all the very best with your own work 🥰
You have put soo much heart and soul to it. I fell in love with picture books when i bought picture books for my son. I am interested in those than him.Thank you for sharing your lovely work & journey. Wishing you prosperous 20 more years of success in you work.
Catherine, thank you so much for sharing this. What a beautiful and inspiring journey! You had me in tears. We are all so lucky that you’ve shared your love of drawing with us. Augustus is my favourite and I often gift him to my adult friends because the story is timeless and so relate-able to many of us. However the part where you shared about knowing your character SO MUCH that you KNOW their soul and can translate that onto the page is just magic. YOU are magic! THANK YOU and many blessings to you and your paintbrushes and pencils!
Thank you for such a lovely and heart warming comment. I'm so happy you enjoyed hearing more about Augustus - I'm also delighted that you've been sharing the book with your friends. I get so much pleasure knowing that people are smiling because of him x
This is just beautiful! And it's so wonderful to see you, living your dream. Your family of characters are glorious! It was also really interesting to get a glimpse of your process—it's long and takes many re-workings. Also good for us creatives to know. Thank you for sharing, and congratulations!
thank you for your lovely comment. Yes - I also find it reassuring knowing that others take their time creating work - especially when I am stuck on something! I often have to look back over old sketchbooks to remind myself not to give up when something is particularly tricky to figure out. I'm hoping my blog will be helpful to other creatives as a share more - and it's lovely to get feedback too x
Sharing is caring!! And inspiration and beauty and motivation and wonder 💖 It makes me think about sliding doors and what might have happened if I’d pursued fine arts (my first choice) instead of History & Literature 🤔
It was very interesting and inspiring to hear about how you started your career, Catherine! 🧡Thank you so much for sharing with us. I am a self-taught illustrator and just starting my journey. I like to learn from other picture book illustrators how they work. I'm interested to know, do you create a picture books for other authors or do you always use your own story? 🙂
I'm pleased you enjoyed it :) I do illustrate for other authors - if you look through my books online you'll see that it's something I do from time to time. I illustrate fro Julia Donaldson - we are working on our third book together just now. I've also worked with Michael Morpurgo and Michael Bond - as well as others over the past two decades. Though I do usually write for myself! x
Catherine, I loved hearing about Augustus and how it all began …. So interesting. And learning of the souls of the animals …. your ‘Teddy’ is now hanging on my wall and it brings a smile each day.
Absolutely love peeking into your sketchbooks-- you use them the way they're meant to be used. Sharing them is a big deal, so thank you for being so candid with them. You learn a lot about someone's process from seeing (and reading) things like this. Keep up the great work!
Thanks for your lovely comment. I'm really pleased you enjoyed the post. I'm new on here and I appreciate the feedback :)
Hi Catherine! I'm so happy that my simple decision to join Substack allowed me to find great author-illustrators like you! Thank you for sharing your journey! ✨️
That is just SO lovely :) x
What just a lovely start to my morning and day. Very nice to hear all about you and your illustrations, which are absolutely beautiful. I love animals. Your tiger is amazing!
Thank you so much - I'm delighted you enjoyed it! x
Thank you Catherine, it was heartwarming to see how Augustus and his Smile was created. As a children's librarian for nearly 30 years I have had the real pleasure of buying all your books and seeing them being enjoyed by our young library customers. They are all perfect to share at story time. I have also gifted hundreds of the dual language versions of Augustus as part of the Bookstart programme and families always feedback how much they value having a story in their own language to share together. Lots of children (and children's librarians) finding their smiles!
Thank you so much for your LOVELY comment. Thank you also for your support with my books - you've absolutely made my day and I am just so happy that reading them brings you pleasure. I truly appreciate you making them available for borrowers. Libraries are magic places and librarians are magical and very important people. Thank you so much for all that you do xxx
So cool!! I love this! My friend Faith just released her first illustrated book and I got to help her publish it. I’m so inspired by the cool colorful illustrations people like you and faith make! Thanks for sharing!
You are welcome and thank you for your lovely comment!
Fascinating. I had no idea what goes into creating and illustrating a children’s, or any, book. It’s a lot of work! Thank you for taking the time to record how your first book came to be. It was wonderful!
I’m really happy you enjoyed it and thank you so much for your well wishes ❤️
Catherine, I loved the videos! I've never written a children's book, and it's so clear how much intense work goes into creating one. I think it's awesome that your first book on the non-smiling tiger garnered the attention of a publishing company and has won awards! I loved that you knew your main character inside and out. I am amazed by your talent and work ethic and perseverance. Congratulations on 20 years of illustrations!
Thank you so much for such a lovely comment. I’m really pleased you enjoyed my first ‘post’ and that it gave you a little insight in to the children’s publishing world ☺️
Loved your story and enthusiasm 🧡🖤🧡
I’m so pleased. Thank you!
Catherine, this was so so lovely to watch. Thank you so much for sharing your process of Augustus and how you got your start. I'm an illustrator and stationery designer coming up on my 10 year career anniversary and I've recently started my pivot into picture book illustration which I'm most excited about but also incredibly nervous. Hearing you celebrate your 20th year anniversary gave me the reminder I need that I'm in this for the long game and for the pure joy of illustration and picture books, no matter how I get there.
One question for you, after Augustus was out into the world, was it easy to find more publishing opportunities right away? Did you continue to work with the same publisher?
Thank you again xo
Hi Carly. Congratulations on your own ten year anniversary! I’m so pleased to hear that my post triggered a positive reminder for you. It’s not a straightforward journey but it’s worth it ☺️.
To answer your question. Augustus went well and co-editions well and so I was offered another contract straight away. I went on to make 6 books with that publisher then moved on by choice. Alongside that publisher a second publisher (hachette) also offered two contracts which was wonderful. Although I don’t work with either of those publishers at the moment - work has been constant ever since.
Wishing you all the very best with your own work 🥰
You have put soo much heart and soul to it. I fell in love with picture books when i bought picture books for my son. I am interested in those than him.Thank you for sharing your lovely work & journey. Wishing you prosperous 20 more years of success in you work.
I'm really pleased you entoyed my post and thank you so much for your well wishes x
Catherine, thank you so much for sharing this. What a beautiful and inspiring journey! You had me in tears. We are all so lucky that you’ve shared your love of drawing with us. Augustus is my favourite and I often gift him to my adult friends because the story is timeless and so relate-able to many of us. However the part where you shared about knowing your character SO MUCH that you KNOW their soul and can translate that onto the page is just magic. YOU are magic! THANK YOU and many blessings to you and your paintbrushes and pencils!
Thank you for such a lovely and heart warming comment. I'm so happy you enjoyed hearing more about Augustus - I'm also delighted that you've been sharing the book with your friends. I get so much pleasure knowing that people are smiling because of him x
How lovely this is! Augustus 🐅 is adorable and my granddaughter has the book 📕 and loves it.
As an old artist wannabe I loved seeing the sketches that made Augustus come to life. Thank you so much.
I'm really pleased you enjoyed it - and that your granddaughter loves the book too! x
This is just beautiful! And it's so wonderful to see you, living your dream. Your family of characters are glorious! It was also really interesting to get a glimpse of your process—it's long and takes many re-workings. Also good for us creatives to know. Thank you for sharing, and congratulations!
thank you for your lovely comment. Yes - I also find it reassuring knowing that others take their time creating work - especially when I am stuck on something! I often have to look back over old sketchbooks to remind myself not to give up when something is particularly tricky to figure out. I'm hoping my blog will be helpful to other creatives as a share more - and it's lovely to get feedback too x
Sharing is caring!! And inspiration and beauty and motivation and wonder 💖 It makes me think about sliding doors and what might have happened if I’d pursued fine arts (my first choice) instead of History & Literature 🤔
It was very interesting and inspiring to hear about how you started your career, Catherine! 🧡Thank you so much for sharing with us. I am a self-taught illustrator and just starting my journey. I like to learn from other picture book illustrators how they work. I'm interested to know, do you create a picture books for other authors or do you always use your own story? 🙂
I'm pleased you enjoyed it :) I do illustrate for other authors - if you look through my books online you'll see that it's something I do from time to time. I illustrate fro Julia Donaldson - we are working on our third book together just now. I've also worked with Michael Morpurgo and Michael Bond - as well as others over the past two decades. Though I do usually write for myself! x
Thank you for your answer, Catherine! 😊✨
Catherine, I loved hearing about Augustus and how it all began …. So interesting. And learning of the souls of the animals …. your ‘Teddy’ is now hanging on my wall and it brings a smile each day.
I'm so happy you enjoyed it! I'm also really happy you are enjoying Teddy! xx
Adorable!
Thank you!