The Wonderful Dogfish Racket ~ Part 2
Last time,
we heard from renowned poet and writer, Tom
Dawe, about his recent publication The Wonderful Dogfish Racket
(Pennywell Books/Flanker Press). Today we hear from the book’s
illustrator, C. Anne MacLeod, about her prolifically creative career and her
cohesive, collaborative relationship with Dawe.
MacLeod is
a video/film animator and graphic artist, originally from the Isle of Man, who
has been living in Newfoundland since 1968. She is the illustrator of a number
of books including The Clothes Lion stories, Winter of the Black Weasel and Moocher in the Lun.
She has led animation workshops in elementary schools across Newfoundland as
well as educational activities around the world. Earlier this year, her design
was selected to be the logo for the newly designated UNESCO World Heritage Site
at Red Bay, Labrador.
What
inspired you to illustrate this book?
CAM: I
enjoy working with Tom Dawe and love his writing. The stories evoke images that
unreel in my mind. I have a film/animation background and Tom’s writing
inspires that kind of story-telling through images.
Did
the work come together quickly or did you really need to work at it?
CAM: Tom
spoke to me about the idea he was working on and I started to research the
period and the setting for the story. Once I had worked through the first draft
I identified the characters, underlined the action to be reflected in the
illustrations and the images began to emerge easily.
What
was the most challenging aspect of the process?
CAM: The
period between Tom outlining the idea and waiting for the first draft – I’m
doing research while waiting, but it’s only after the first draft of the story
arrives that things begin to come together.
What
was the most rewarding part of the experience?
CAM: Tom
and I work well together and so it is always rewarding to get his feedback as
the characters and settings begin to emerge. In turn, Tom will often make
adjustments to his text and I make adjustments to images based on each other’s
feedback.
What
did you learn during the process?
CAM: The
illustrations for “The Wonderful Dogfish Racket” are the highest resolution
(600 DPI) and the most complicated I have worked on. Photoshop layers made it
possible to move and change characters at will. It also gave the layout person
at Flanker access to images he could pluck from pictures and insert them
throughout the book. The cover was created from the independent Photoshop
layers of characters throughout the story. Having a backup drive is essential
to save daily work as the files were huge and redoing them would have been a
mind-numbing task. I used InDesign to layout the book and sent PDF files to Tom
to see how things were developing. All the multi-layered Photoshop files of the
artwork and a Word file of the text, plus a PDF of the layout were delivered to
Flanker on a jump drive. As each project becomes more complex there are new
procedures and new capacities of the software to master.
What
has the response to the work been like so far?
CAM: Very
positive – especially from people who lived through the 1930s and express the
opinion that the time and place are well-reflected.
What
made you want to be an illustrator?
CAM: There
has been a natural progression in my work from animator through art director of
films to illustrating stories. I especially enjoy working on stories like those
Tom Dawe writes – stories full of imagery and fun.
Are
they the same reasons you do it today?
CAM: Yes;
and there is an excitement waiting for the next story. Right now, our publisher
and I are waiting for a “Christmas ghost story” to take shape.
Is
your creative process more one of inspiration or perspiration?
CAM: Both!
The inspiration comes from the text and absorbing the spirit of the story. The
perspiration part is breaking the text into blocks for pages, laying out
initial pages and experimenting with a variety of “looks” to decide which way
to go. What medium will best help tell the story: watercolours, various
computer generated styles, oil or another medium. In this case I settled on
working in the computer. I worked up pencil sketches of the images and scanned
them. At this point Tom and I begin to interact through e-mails – I attach my
imagery for his feedback; he may adjust text and offers ideas that I can
incorporate. Once the layout for each page is settled I begin to work on the
details – adding characters and components, selecting and applying colours,
shading, etc. Much of this book was finalized in Photoshop – with many layers
for each image. We also bounce some of the work off others – and sometimes
actually make adjustments based on their reaction; for example one image both
Tom and I liked depicted a starving dog with a dead rat in its mouth, but both
our spouses suggested it was too disturbing and would receive negative reaction.
So we substituted a somewhat toned down image.
In
your estimation, what makes a good book?
CAM: It
all starts with a good story or poetry supported by evocative imagery. The
cover must “hook” the reader, but without strong content he/she won’t consider
reading beyond the first page or so. This type of book is a marriage of word
and picture; a common comment on the book is that people will return to it time
after time not only for enjoyment but also because each time they go into it
they discover something new – an element in a picture that was overlooked or a
turn of phrase that takes the reader deeper into the story and the period.
What
are your thoughts on the current state of literature in Atlantic Canada?
CAM: It
seems to be vibrant. Certainly our publisher, Flanker Press, is very active
with a wide variety of titles coming out on a regular basis.
What
can we do better?
CAM: I
just enjoy illustrating and don’t have a feeling for the industry. Possibly
support for wider regional promotion and exchange would help – but this may
already be taking place more than I know.
Do
you have any advice for aspiring illustrators?
CAM: It
is important to believe in what you are doing – in your “vision” – and not
allow yourself to be discouraged by rejection. I believe it is also important
for an illustrator to have a positive creative relationship with the author of
the story. Certainly that creative experience has been important for me.
What's
next on your creative agenda?
