Spookasem
Skrywer: Jaco Jacobs
Illustreerder: Stephen Wallace
Pan Macmillan South Africa
ISBN: 9781779992093
Candyfloss
Written and translated by: Jaco Jacobs
Illustrator: Stephen Wallace
Pan Macmillan South Africa
ISBN: 9781779992116
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Any writer or artist can tell you that it is within the creative process that the humanity in our stories lies. I’m not interested in anything willing to give that up.
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Stephen Wallace is the illustrator of a graphic novel by Jaco Jacobs and talks to Naomi Meyer about Spookasem, also published as Candyfloss.
Stephen, you are the illustrator of a graphic novel by Jaco Jacobs, called Candyfloss (Spookasem in Afrikaans). What is the difference between a children’s book illustrator and an illustrator for a graphic novel? Is illustration for a graphic novel more grown-up?
I wouldn’t necessarily say it is more grown-up. It depends on the story, of course. With popularity in graphic novels growing around the world, there are some fantastic books for younger readers out there. However, this particular story meets a slightly older reader at a time in their lives when they are trying to figure out their place in the world, and it needed to have more emotional range, as the characters deal with complex feelings and situations.
As with younger children’s books that I’ve illustrated, the goal is to have the images work together with the text to tell the story. You want to add to the overall story, rather than just show exactly what is being described in the text. One of the main differences with the graphic novel is that you have more room for nuance. A moment can be expanded over a number of panels. We can work through a thought or a feeling with the characters in real time.
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You want to add to the overall story, rather than just show exactly what is being described in the text. One of the main differences with the graphic novel is that you have more room for nuance. A moment can be expanded over a number of panels. We can work through a thought or a feeling with the characters in real time.
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To draw a picture of candyfloss and to draw the breath of the characters in the book are both unique challenges. Not so? In this story, the breath of the humans (whether they are alive or not) is particularly important.
The challenge was to show the relationships between the world of those still breathing and the ghosts, whose breath has, in some cases, literally been taken away. I had to show that the ghosts lived on a slightly different plane, where they could interact with the physical world around them, but were also largely unseen by the living. It was important that they didn’t fade into the background, as ghosts often do. They may not be living, but the characters still have a lot of life.
These pages from one of the books are provided by the publisher and published with permission.
Which pictures in this book were the most fun to draw?
I loved doing the action scenes, but it was also satisfying to do the quieter, contemplative scenes, like the inside of Mia’s mirror, her safe space away from the rest of the world. It allows the reader to have some real one-on-one time with her. Another character I enjoyed drawing was the janitor, who is a sort of surrogate father figure for Mia. As a father of two girls, I could relate to his exasperation with her persistent nagging, and how ultimately he can’t help but give in to her.
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Another character I enjoyed drawing was the janitor, who is a sort of surrogate father figure for Mia. As a father of two girls, I could relate to his exasperation with her persistent nagging, and how ultimately he can’t help but give in to her.
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If you draw pictures, do you also read the book; or does the publisher tell you exactly what she has in mind, and then you start drawing?
Oh, yes, you have to read the story to understand the characters and how they will react to the situations they find themselves in. Each character’s personality will have their own set of postures and facial expressions, and you can only really understand these once you’ve seen their full character arc. The author and publisher provided me with the manuscript, which in this case was mainly the dialogue and some general descriptions of the scenes, but the rest was pretty much left up to me to fill in.
How did you start your career? Did you always like drawing, and did you think, since you were small, that you would one day like to be an illustrator?
I did always enjoy drawing a lot from when I was a child, but it didn’t dawn on me that it could be an actual career. At first, I went into graphic design for a few years; and then, as luck would have it, an opportunity came up to illustrate a chapter book. My first book was actually Jaco’s My ouma is ’n rockster. I had no real idea what I was doing, but the bug bit and I’ve never stopped from there.
These pages from one of the books are provided by the publisher and published with permission.
Which children’s book illustrations do you remember from your childhood?
I think, like for many illustrators, Quentin Blake’s work was a big part of my childhood, whether it was in Roald Dahl’s books or some of his own authored stories. I also loved cartoonists like Charles Shulz, Jim Davis and Gary Larson. Albert Uderzo, who illustrated Asterix and Obelix, was also a huge influence.
What is your view on AI "illustrations"?
I think that sharing stories, through words or pictures, is one of the most human things you can do, and I really battle to see the point of bringing AI into it. It bypasses the creative process and jumps straight to the finished project. Any writer or artist can tell you that it is within the creative process that the humanity in our stories lies. I’m not interested in anything willing to give that up.
Also read:
Jaco Jacobs gesels oor sy 300ste boek (en oor Wêreldboekboekdag)