Lengthy-time industrial illustrator Jeff Drew’s debut image e book, Alfie Explores A to Z, is a seek-and-find marvel, containing lots of of humorous photo-realistic depictions of animals, meals, clothes, and extra to find. Compelling the reader ahead is a bespectacled bookworm, Alfie, who traverses a bookshelf alphabetically, venturing by means of 26 tongue-twisting titles like Kyle’s Kitchen Karaoke and Neighborhood Evening Walks, in search of a beloved mud bunny named Betty who he by no means fairly manages to identify earlier than she leaps to the following letter. PW spoke with Drew concerning the decade-long, list-filled course of of making the e book, the enjoyment that outcomes when you can also make a residing doing what you’re keen on, and what’s subsequent in retailer for Alfie.
A lot of your work has been in industrial illustration. What motivated you to do a seek-and-find image e book?
Every time I’m freelancing or working a day job, I’ve at all times acquired a ardour mission occurring within the background. I wished to make one thing that would final, and I’ve wished to do a youngsters’ e book since artwork college. Again in 1996, I attempted to do my first youngsters’ e book, however once I tried to get it revealed, it was simply crickets. Being a freelancer, there’s a variety of battle simply beginning out. No person actually, I feel, hits the ground working. So whereas I’ve been doing this for 30 years, I’ve actually been doing it for 10. It took nearly 20 years simply to get established, however my interest and my profession align. If I wasn’t doing this for a residing, that is what I’d be doing for enjoyable.
I acquired the thought for the e book once I began promoting prints and posters on-line. I used to be simply pondering from a gross sales perspective, what could be cool to have in your wall that you’d need to have a look at quite a bit? And I considered previous alphabet books that I keep in mind as a child—like, A is for apple, and C is for cat. I assumed, what should you simply jammed [a letter illustration] with all the pieces that would presumably go in there. It began off actually extra as an artwork mission than a e book. I wasn’t pondering of a story. I simply wished to make cool pictures. I completed A—I’ve so many variations of the letter A—and I feel I acquired all the best way to C earlier than I assumed, “Hey, this may be a very good e book.”
At that time it wasn’t very kid-friendly. It was extra critical. I figured I wanted to have a personality and so Alfie was the primary character. After which got here that concept of The place’s Waldo? that it’d be cool should you might discover this man each time, after which perhaps he’s doing one thing that begins with the letter. I used to be constructing the aircraft as I used to be flying. The e book initially was simply the illustrations after which a listing of phrases, so you possibly can undergo and simply discover stuff. I went again to the drafting board— “no, this wants a story,”—after which the thought of Betty, his pet, getting misplaced within the alphabet, got here, so now there’s two issues to seek out. It offers you a story to work by means of.
After I began writing the primary poems, that was as enjoyable as doing the illustrations due to the best way I set it up. A variety of artists suppose constraints are a foul factor. To me, it’s the best present of all. After I began the illustrations, I made a listing of nouns that begin with that letter—particularly, animals, mythological creatures, something I might consider. Then I made a listing of clothes that begins with that letter, after which meals—what are they consuming? what’s the situation, all that form of stuff. And it was the identical factor with writing the poems. I simply began with a listing of verbs, adverbs, adjectives. And it was like: these are the toys in your toy field. That is what you get to play with. Engaged on the entire alphabet, that’s a variety of stuff and after doing it, I spotted, gosh, I’ve illustrated each animal. I realized quite a bit doing it, and that was the opposite actually enjoyable factor. I felt like every letter was getting ready a time period paper.
Did you’re employed on every letter’s illustration and textual content sequentially?
I simply began initially, and I dreaded X the entire manner. I used to be like, “What am I going to do for X?” There’s solely, like, 5 issues on the earth that begin with X, and in order that’s essentially the most naked illustration. However writing the poem was really actually enjoyable, as a result of I might use “ex” phrases. After which for the again information, there’s somewhat illustration speaking about all of the phrases that finish in “x.” And similar factor with Q—all these letters that I assumed had been actually going to be bother ended up being the extra enjoyable ones to work on.
Did you learn a variety of seek-and-find books while you had been a child?
My seek-and-find expertise was Mad Journal, as a result of so a lot of these illustrations had been simply packed to the gills. That’s the stuff that I might tear out of the journal and grasp on my wall once I was a child, as a result of each time I checked out it, it was like, “Oh, that’s new.” I’ve at all times been a fan of that form of paintings. I’m from a small city the place the library was our greatest place, so I really feel like, so far as youngsters’ lit rising up, it was comedian books for me—comedian books and Mad.
How would you describe your inventive type, and what are a few of your favourite illustration particulars within the e book?
I feel as a result of I spent a lot time on A, I really like my alien in an argyle sweater. One factor that was enjoyable that I discovered later was altering up kinds somewhat bit. Working as an illustrator all these years, and in animation, I used to be requested quite a bit to work on totally different kinds. It’s form of like studying a distinct language. For example, I made the letter V right into a online game, and it’s a giant departure from my regular type, as a result of all the pieces’s form of like eight-bit graphics, but it surely was so enjoyable to vary it up. And for Q, the entire thing is laid out like a quilt. I’m at all times on the lookout for a little bit of a problem, and people issues take you out of your consolation zone, however they nonetheless find yourself coming again such as you one way or the other. I don’t understand how that magic works.
Did you map out the illustrations earlier than doing them?
Sure. In some unspecified time in the future, I’ll need to make a web page on my web site that shares all my handwritten lists. As I’m doing the lists, I’m doing little doodles, so I’ve an concept of what number of characters have to populate the place. The most important place to begin for me was the panorama they had been in. So, for P they’re in a public park, and I knew I wished so as to add pyramids and a pool. After which I simply consider my characters like motion figures. Every little thing’s on layers in Photoshop, so I can at all times transfer issues round—nothing begins or ends the best way it began. I do a variety of sketching, however collage can be a good way to get one thing began. I might like to know my Google picture search rely—it’s in all probability within the lots of of 1000’s.
How did your expertise with animation affect the best way you approached the scenes?
I used to be getting in direction of the top of the primary spherical, and I made a decision making a e book trailer could be cool, simply to assist promote it. And, what [the trailer] actually did was it put me in a story headspace that I wasn’t in earlier than, as a result of now I’m doing this animation explaining it, and it’s like, “Oh, the reason is fairly humorous—you must make that a part of the e book.” Doing the animation led me again to doing the entire e book once more. It unclogged some new concepts for me.
The mission took form over a decade. Do you have got any recommendation you’ll return and provides your self at first?
No, as a result of I did all I might do. After I say it’s over the course of a decade, it’s not like I labored on it 10 years straight. There have been perhaps a pair years the place I hardly touched it as a result of I used to be so busy freelancing, which is an effective factor, but it surely was arduous bouncing backwards and forwards.
All my illustrations have humor in them, however typically it’s critical stuff, after which to return into enjoyable time, it took somewhat bit. I really feel just like the consistency of my subsequent e book can be higher, solely as a result of it’s all I’m doing. I’m actually 100% morning to nighttime obsessive about it, and I don’t have to consider anything. In order that’s a luxurious I’ve by no means been afforded earlier than.
The paintings is jam-packed with objects, creatures, and all the pieces, as we’ve been discussing. How did you determine when every scene was completed?
Ha, effectively, that’s why I did it, like, three or 4 instances. Even immediately I have a look at it, and I’m like, “Oh, I might do this higher,” however in some unspecified time in the future you simply need to let it go. That’s one thing I’ve gotten higher at with age. I get a sure feeling when one thing’s finished, and that feeling lasts for that period of time, after which it’s over, and it’s on to the following factor.
You talked about you’re onto a brand new mission. Are you able to say one thing about it? Is there something subsequent for Alfie and Betty?
I don’t know if I’m purported to say or not, however the subsequent e book has to do with historical past—mainly, time journey—with Alfie in a variety of totally different time durations, and that’s all I’ll say. There’s somewhat mythology thrown in there, too. I feel it’s the plan to do not less than three Alfie books, if no more than that. I’ve a pair different concepts I actually need to do as effectively which are fully devoid of Alfie and quite a bit much less illustration. I’ve a pair fast ones that I need to do. I hope to be busy for the remainder of my life. I do know it’s uncommon for somebody to essentially have the ability to do this cross-section of “that is what I like to do, and I could make a residing at it.” That’s been the purpose all alongside. Actually the entire cause for freelancing was simply avoiding working in an workplace, ever. It’s that freedom factor.
Do you suppose you’ll stick with print versus animation?
I might like to. I might see how Alfie may very well be a present—how every letter of the alphabet might nearly be an episode of a present. However we’ll cross that bridge once we get to it.
Alfie Explores A to Z: A Search-and-Discover Journey by Jeff Drew. Random Home, $21.95 Nov. 5 ISBN 978-0-593-81311-9
