Australian author Leigh Hobbs has written and illustrated 19 children’s books. His hits include the Old Tom series (pictured below), about an unruly young cat adopted by an old lady, which has been adapted into a TV series. Other classics include Mr Chicken Goes to Paris (pictured above), the tale of a monster who finds friendship in the city of romance, and the Horrible Harriet series, about a lonely little girl trying to win friends.
This month, Hobbs comes to The Bookworm for a kids’ workshop on how to draw. So we asked him to give us a few inside tips on how to create your own successful children’s book – whatever your age.
How do you come up with your main characters?
I had a normal suburban childhood but there were always weird characters swirling round my head. I’d be drawing every morning at 6am, even when I was seven years old.
My characters are more like ‘personality types’. For example, the character of Old Tom is never called a cat; he is written as if he were a mischievous seven-year-old boy, and Angela Throgmorton, with whom he lives – his adoptive mother... well, she thinks of him as her baby – is the archetypal mother figure, endlessly trying to socialise her feral son. She of course loves him no matter what, and he her. But, like a naughty boy, he may not want to show it. Kids identify with Old Tom, and parents identify with Angela’s predicament.
So, you’ve got an idea for a character – how do you draw it?
This is completely instinctive. A dot or a line, the tiniest mark on the paper, can make all the difference between a character looking sneaky or evil or angry. Anyone can create a character but bringing it to life so that others can relate to it is another matter.
I seldom try out my characters with anyone – too many opinions can throw you off – but it’s different when you are just starting out. With books, you are communicating with readers, not just making a work of art, so it’s a good idea to get a feel for other people’s reactions. I tried out the character of Old Tom before he was published and the positive response from kids kept me persisting even when I was being rejected by publishers.
And what about the story?
The stories come from my imagination. They’re usually triggered by me thinking about situations where my characters might find themselves. My books are not about issues; they are character studies. For example, the Old Tom books are about the love between a mother and a son, and Horrible Harriet, the ‘school freak’, is shunned by other students, but is forever in search of friendship. Mr Chicken Goes to Paris is about friendship in spite of his berserk appearance. His normal-looking French friend, Yvette, is completely nonplussed by how he looks, which I think is true to the nature of childhood – I suspect that judging by appearance is a learned thing.
So how do you get published?
As far as getting published goes, It certainly didn’t happen for me straight away. In the early 1990s, I’d illustrated a few picture books that were written by other people, but eventually I lost interest as I couldn’t really relate to the stories or the characters in them. So I sent out sketches of Old Tom and a rough storyline to about five publishers, who all rejected him and my ideas before Penguin Australia said ‘yes’. They published my first book, called Old Tom, in 1994.
I think of myself as an artist primarily – I didn’t set out to be an author. The writing aspect of my work came about as I wanted to ‘control’ my characters and stories as much as possible. I was thrilled to see it on the shelf for the first time. Recently, I saw
Mr Chicken Goes to Paris prominently displayed in the Louvre bookshop in Paris – not far from where I was when I got the idea for the book three years ago.
Leigh Hobbs is at The Bookworm on Tuesday 7 June.
Class acts
Regular courses to turn your kids into Picassos
The Familier Center
Check out The Familier’s special Sunday oil-painting class for kids at 200RMB per child.
Ms Mao’s art class
This non-profit, volunteer-run, free art class is held every Sunday. Subjects range from origami to painting for kids aged four to 12.
Classes are held at Building 311, Cunwei Meeting Room, Caochangdi Art District from 3.30pm every Sun. Call 135 5244 2047 or email
maohaiju@gmail.com.
Home delivery
Nina Griffee offers two-hour kids’ art classes in the comfort of your own home. Subjects range from oil painting to crafts and drawing for 175RMB per visit.
Contact Nina on ninagriffee@gmail.com to book an appointment.