It’s time for our next Featured Student! For September we are featuring:

Gary Wilkinson

• Website: garywilkinsonart.com

• Instagram: @gwillustration

• SVS Forum: @GARY WILKINSON

Below is an awesome Q&A that Kathryn Adebayo (@KATHRYNADEBAYO) conducted with Gary Wilkinson:

If you find yourself immersed in a world of vibrant colors and bold shapes, surrounded by a display of child-inspired imagination, emotion and creativity, you may be reading a book illustrated by Gary Wilkinson. In this Q&A, Gary shares some of his approaches towards his art, goals for the future and some useful advice.

Hi! Could you tell us a bit about yourself?  

My name is Gary, I’m 35 years old and originally from Hull, England, however I currently live in Kagawa, Japan with my wife and 1 year old son.

I work as both a freelance children’s illustrator and a preschool teacher, so my life is mostly centered around children, although I’m still undecided as to whether that is a good or bad thing.

Prior to moving into children’s illustration I built up a portfolio as a digital caricaturist and even spent some time drawing people at events. However I found that I much more preferred to spend my time creating worlds and cute and colorful characters rather than portraits and caricatures, though I may return to it someday.

Like many fellow artists, I’ve been drawing since I was very young, but I had always kept it as a hobby rather than a path that I wished to make a career out of until relatively recently. After completing University, I moved to Japan to work as an English teacher, which helped develop my initial interest into illustration after I started creating pictures for some flashcards. I had intended to stay only 1 year in Japan, however it has now been over 10 and it’s unlikely I will be moving anytime soon.

What’s your favorite memory of the beginnings of your art career?

One memory that always stuck with me during my primary school days was during art class, where we all had to paint a picture of an animal, and I believe I chose to paint a lion. After finishing it, I thought it looked terrible and didn’t want anyone to see it, but my classmates seemed to love it and it was hung proudly on the wall. I have always been my worst critic, but it was nice to see that others could enjoy looking at my work even if I couldn’t . 

What effect do you hope your art has on its viewers? Could we see some of your favorite pieces to date? 

I hope that when people see my art they can put themselves into the shoes of the character and experience the world or scene I have created as a jumping off point. Children especially have such an amazing imagination that I don’t want the picture to tell them exactly what to think, but to give them enough to pass it on to them so that they can keep the story going. I often get asked by my students, “Why is this character doing this or wearing that?” and I ask back, “Why do you think they are doing it?” and it leads to stories that I hadn’t even thought of.

Lost Toys - Smartphones have overtaken the world in the last decade and along with it the attention of our children, I just hoped someone might think of the toys too.

The Birthday Surprise - I love to create scenes in the “just before” moments and this one is probably my favourite because we have all had our bad days that have turned into good ones.

Cardboard Adventures – I always think that cardboard is the best toy you can have and I wanted to create a series of paintings that help show the adventures you can have with it.

Sand Sharks – Created for the monthly SVS contest after going to the beach, I wondered, what if there was a world of tiny creatures living in the sand castles facing their own battles.

Patrick Picklebottom and the Penny Book – A spread from my first upcoming book that took a long time to get right, but is a painting I also love.

If you could illustrate any picture book in the world, and set your own terms for payment, contract, time frame, etc., what would be your dream project?

Personally, I wouldn’t say that I have a vision of a dream project. There are always advantages and disadvantages to any parts of a project, and what might work for one book or painting might not work for another. If I am given too much time, I would worry about the details, yet if I am not given enough time I would feel the result is rushed. If I am paid too little then my art wouldn’t feel valued, but if I am paid too much then it’s a big responsibility (I’d prefer too much to too little though...).

One thing that I would love to illustrate, however, would be the short story “The Distance of the Moon” by Italo Calvino. I came across this story through the Radiolabs podcast and have listened to it dozens more times because of the beautiful world and characters that the author had created. Pixar also made a short film inspired by it, called “La Luna” but as far as I know, there is no fully illustrated picture book of Calvino’s version yet....

You shared that you’re both an artist and a teacher. Do you have other jobs or life-ambitions? 

Currently my art projects are part time, however I would like to transition into making it my full time profession in the near future. I do still feel like there is so much left to learn and experience to gain, so I am pleased to have not jumped into the deep end so early. With the world in a state of lockdown and economical instability, I think playing things safe is a good choice at the moment.

Even working part time, I have still been fortunate enough to work on 3 books in the last 2 years and although it has been a great learning experience, it has also been a challenge, especially after the birth of my first child after starting the first book. Trying to manage my work and life balance, time management and the responsibility of working on something that will be printed and sold were all a heavy weight, but one that has become lighter with time.

What are some hopes or goals you’re pursuing currently? Do you have any particular methods by which you work towards your goals?

Being a part time artist, I would have to say that my main goal is to pursue it as my full time career. Although I have been kept very busy with my own personal projects and paid work I haven’t quite made the leap yet. I have been considering searching for an agent as many of the larger publishing houses seek those that are represented, but I still have to consider the positives and negatives of making that decision (time to rewatch Will Terry’s agent video again).

On a positive note with my 1st book coming out next month and the other 2 ready for publication shortly next year, I can start dreaming of my goal of retiring early and relaxing in the sun with all the royalty money. (A man can dream…)

What’s the best advice you have to pass along to other illustrators that you either heard from someone else or have come to through experience? 

Something that I try to teach others and especially myself, is to enjoy making mistakes. Enjoy choosing the wrong color or making the values too light or dark. Look forward to the struggle of drawing a face, or an animal that looks less like a monster. Mistakes are the things that we learn from, and it’s only through trial and error that we can improve. You never know, that mistake might have been the right choice all along.

Thank you so much, Gary, for sharing!

We are holding a special edition of the Featured Student for October and would love for you to participate! Check out the post on the SVSLearn Forum for more information!