Welcome to the Plum Family, Charlotte Cotterill!

Our new Plum Charlotte had a chat with us about her life as an illustrator and what she likes to do when she's not drawing- take a look below!

Hello Charlotte!

Where do you live/work?

I currently live and work in a tiny village in the Peak District, I have a desk in the spare room and take up a lot more room than I should. I have only recently moved here but it’s a really beautiful place to live. At nighttime you can usually hear owls hooting and see the stars shining really brightly.

What do you like about working there?

My desk is right in front of the window and I have a beautiful view to look at when I am stuck with my drawing or taking a break. 

Charlotte's Studio View

A sketch from Charlotte's back garden

What do you love most about being an illustrator?

There are too many good things to count! I love solving design problems with my images, that’s basically what illustrating is – problem solving through drawing. I also like meeting children at events and book festivals and showing them how to draw some characters or animals, I love to see what they have all created/learnt at the end of a session.

How do you work – what are your techniques?

I always start with rough designs and drawings in my sketchbook, usually in pencil. I draw out characters and ideas until I think I have them just right. Then when I am ready to start the finished pieces I will move out of the sketchbook and onto some really nice paper. For picture book illustrations I draw all the line work by hand with some beautiful Faber Castell polychromos pencils. Then I scan in the images and colour them digitally in Photoshop so I get beautiful bright colours. I also love working in ink and watercolour for sketches and one off pieces. 

Charlotte's Watercolours

What or who are you most inspired by?

I collect lots of beautifully illustrated books and I am always looking at them for inspiration. I am intrigued by the way other artists and illustrators use colour, tone, line, materials etc. to make images. I will never fail to find inspiration in the work of others.

What is your favourite thing to draw and why?

I like drawing people and their facial expressions and body language, telling little stories through my characters emotions and movements.

Do you have a particular favourite character that you’ve illustrated?

I love all of my characters, but my favourites are Hack and Whack, the naughty Viking twins who are the main characters in the picuture book I illustrated, ‘Hack and Whack’ by Francesca Simon. They were so much fun to draw because they are so mischievous and caused total chaos for their parents and the other villagers. They also have amazing eyebrows. 

Hack and Whack!

Do you have a favourite illustrator?

At the moment they include; the Fan brothers, Melissa Castrillion, Vera Brosgol, Orlando Weeks and Alexis Deacon. I tend to be attracted to artwork that is very different from my own; I like more painterly and whimsical images as they are so beautiful and I wouldn’t be able to produce work like that myself. One of my all time favourite illustrators is Raymond Briggs because of the beautiful characterisation and the very British sense of humour in his images.

What do you like to do in your spare time when you’re not illustrating?

I like to go on walks, visit stately homes, watch films, cook and spend time with my friends and family. I also really like music, I love collecting and listening to my records, I usually listen to quite melancholy music by people like Bob Dylan, Jonny Cash, Kate Rusby and First Aid Kit.

Chatsworth House, where Charlotte used to work as a guide

Charlotte at Chatsworth in the gardens

How did you get into illustration?

Like most illustrators, I have always drawn, ever since I can remember and I couldn’t stop reading as a child and listening to audiotapes. My mum used to take my sister and I to the library and I used to devour everything! This combined love of drawing and stories is what led me to illustration. Also, drawing is genuinely what I am best at and enjoy the most, it has been a steady constant throughout my life.

What are your three top tips for aspiring illustrators?

Hmmm… this is hard one, but I would say:

·      See criticism as constructive – its really hard not to take criticism about your work personally whether its coming from a friend, tutor, agent or publisher. However, try and use the criticism constructively and to your advantage when creating your next image. Also, remember that your work is never going to be everyone’s taste.

·      Try using limited colour, colour can be very complicated and overwhelming and it really helps to work with just two or three colours carefully selected colours and then just build on it from there.

·      Don’t get illustrator guilt. Just because you love being an illustrator does not mean that you have to do it 24/7. It is important to take breaks and have a step away from your work every now and then; it is unlikely you will be able to create amazing work if you are running yourself into the ground.

What were your favourite books when you were younger?

‘Carrie’s War’ by Nina Bawden, the Famous Five stories by Enid Blyton, ‘The Magic Faraway Tree’ by Enid Blyton, ‘Danny the Champion of the World’ by Roald Dahl, ‘Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents’ by Terry Pratchett, the Narnia stories by C. S. Lewis, all the Harry Potter books, ‘Artemis Fowl’ by Eoin Colfer, ‘The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, aged 13¾’ by Sue Townsend, ‘Charlotte’s Web’ by E. B. White and many, many more. I wish I read as much now!

Some of Charlotte's favourite childhood books

What was the last book you read? What did you think? 

The last book I read was ‘The Subtle Knife’ by Philip Pullman, which is part of the His Dark Materials series. I am re-reading all the series at the moment and I am so enjoying them, the last time I read the trilogy I think I was probably in my early teens and it is interesting reading them again as an adult. Philip Pullman is so good at creating other worlds that are totally magical and believable.

What are your aspirations for the rest of the year?

My aspiration in life is always to worry less, I am a terrible over thinker. My new years resolution for 2019 was to take more photos with my friends and family and the things we do together, as I usually find myself forgetting. So far I am not doing too badly so I have to keep it up.

What’s your ultimate dream?

To get a dog and some day write and illustrate my own picturebook. (Not necessarily in that order).

Welcome to the family, Charlotte!