How
did you become a Bible illustrator?
I became
a Christian 30 years ago while training as a cartoonist for D C Thomsons in
Scotland,
on the Beano & Dandy comics. I got involved in illustrating Bible stories
almost straightaway. I became a full-time Bible illustrator about five years
ago.
Who do
you work for?
I work
for Visual Impact Resources,
a company set up by Jem Hudson and Adrian Flowerday to produce quality
resources for those involved in children's work. Jem is a full-time
children's worker who travels the UK with Bible exhibitions.
Is
there a big demand for Bible illustration?
Yes,
there certainly is. We get emails from around the world, from people who
have been searching for years for good Bible pictures.
Is
Bible illustration feasible as a full-time job?
I'm not
sure how many full-time Bible illustrators there would be. Most free-lance
artists would tackle illustrating the Bible as a one-off freelance job. The
problem with that is that you are working to a deadline, which allows little
time to do the research that is so important for work like this.
What
are the particular challenges of the job?
When I
started illustrating the Bible, I rarely used references. Now, I don't start
a story until I've done lots of research. I like to try and gather as much
info as I can before I start a story. The challenge to me is for the
pictures to be as visually accurate as possible, but also “attention
grabbing” to children.
I
noticed on your
blog
a reference to the problem of gathering references. Please tell me about
this.
Yes, I
find gathering references the hardest part of my work. You need good figure
reference for starters. But the best figure reference is photographic, and
finding photos of people in Bible dress is of course difficult! You need
good references for buildings too, and these are also hard to find. As I
mention on my
blog,
the dome-topped buildings that we see in every children's Bible didn't
actually exist until after New Testament times.
One of
the difficulties I have is that we produce around five-to-six pictures per
Bible story, which means that I need references of the same people/buildings
from different angles. Most Bible illustrators need only to produce one
picture per story. References are also needed for particular Bible
landscapes, Bible customs, Bible plants, pottery, etc.
Which
Bible illustrators do you admire most, and why?
I suppose
Frank Hampson (who is better known for his work on the British comic strip
“Dan Dare”) would be my first choice. His work on “The Road of Courage”,
which is a re-telling of the New Testament story, is superb! His attention
to detail, his draftsmanship and line-work are unequalled. There are many
others who deserve a mention too, but space doesn't allow. You'll have to
wait until I add them to my
blog!
How
many Bible pictures have you done already?
I've done
around 650 pictures so far. All hand-drawn in brush and ink, and digitally
colored.
How
much of the Bible have you illustrated so far?
I'm about
halfway through the Bible now, having done just over 100 stories! There are
roughly 200 stories in the Bible. This has taken five years!
Who
uses your pictures?
All types
of people - teachers, missionaries, youth pastors, Sunday School workers,
home-schoolers, whoever has the job of presenting the Bible message. When we
launched our new website in August, our first customer was a missionary in
Greenland!
What
will you do when you've finished the Bible?
Probably
start again at the beginning! Over the years, my Bible pictures have become
more detailed. I look at some of the earlier ones now and cringe! I want to
re-do them in the new style. Then, by the time I finish re-doing the first
half (God willing), I'll probably want to re-do the second half too!
Graham, thank you very much.
October 20th, 2006
