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Julie Vivas

Biography

Julie Vivas

From Julie's author page:

"Drawing, and making pictures for books, it took me a long time to find real work, that is with an author’s story that would be published. I was sixteen when I felt that was what I wanted to do. Going to design school, working in animation, and having two children, all happened before I illustrated THE TRAM TO BONDI BEACH by Libby Hawthorn, which was my first picture book. One book led to another, and POSSUM MAGIC by Mem Fox was very popular, so that meant I could keep working on more books. The royalties from such a popular book meant I had money to live on while I worked. It also meant I could choose those stories that come from the people and place I live. Drawing familiar things comforts me, even if the drawings are about an experience that has made me angry or sad. I think if I feel close to the characters in the story, the pictures I draw of them can be expressive.

The best part of illustrating a picture book is when you invent the characters in the author’s story, so I like the rough drawings at the beginning, when you discover exciting things. I draw different body shapes, and head and face shapes, until I see that the body shows a personality and you can see how he or she feels. Doing the rough dummy is where you try to make the words and pictures work together as a whole, and this takes a lot experimenting with different layouts. When you show the author and the publisher the rough dummy book, they tell you what they feel about what you have done. I like this feedback very much. It can make you happy or angry, frustrated too, but it is always exciting. Finished artwork takes ages, and I am not so enthusiastic about it. I love the white paper before I get in a mess, and it stiffens with my drawing, as I redo what I discovered in the rough. I do enjoy the first brush, laden with watercolour paint, to watch it touch the wet paper."

Books by Julie Vivas

Let the Celebrations Begin
written by Margaret Wild, illustrated by Julie Vivas - History, Picture