About the Artist - Stéphane Jorisch

Stéphane Jorisch
1. Where did you look for inspiration when designing the Destination Jungle poster?

I wanted to capture the literary tradition that goes with the idea of the jungle, books like The Jungle Book, and Around the World in 80 Days. Also, my own kids are very ecology conscious – if they catch me throwing out a plastic bag that can be recycled, I'm in big trouble – and kids these days are very aware of the quality of the earth and taking care of it, so I thought about how to work that into the poster. So I thought, maybe that's the interesting part.

2. What inspired you to become an illustrator?

My dad used to draw, and he drew very well. When I was small, I liked to watch him draw. I also drew a lot when I was a kid. I drew in the margins of books at school and people said my drawings were nice, so I felt encouraged. A lot of kids draw when they are small, and then, when they get to be 10 or 11 years old, they want to draw more realistically. Drawing becomes more work, and a lot of kids get discourage by this. I think the fact that my dad drew a lot, and I had seen his solutions to various problems, made it easier for me to make the transition from drawing for fun to drawing as a kind of vocation.

3. How do you create your illustration?

I try not to begin with any preconceived idea when I'm starting a project. In the past, when I've done that, it doesn't work. I avoid trying to determine what the end product will look like till I get to the end. I get the best results if I let things happen spontaneously and gradually.

The watercolour part is the most fun because it provides some surprises. I love watercolour because I can't spend too long on an image. I have to finish quickly with watercolour because it dries so quickly.

4. What advice do you have for someone who wants to become an author/illustrator?

People who are good at what they do become special because they are interested in what they do. Being interested is something like paying attention. Wayne Gretsky, for example, for some reason this guy was always at the right place at the right time and would score when the puck came his way. It seemed like he intuitively knew where to be, like he had some sort of sixth sense, so he could figure out where to be. But I think people who are great at what they do analyze each little thing, they pay attention, and they often have their own way of looking at things.

If you want to become an illustrator – whatever you want to become – you have to trust the things that interest you and not worry too much what other people say. So don't get discouraged if you don't impress the first person you show your drawings to.

In terms of actually doing drawings, my advice is to draw things from the inside. If you are drawing a cat, think of how it moves. Never draw from a static image. When you draw characters, if you draw them from the outside, they look frozen. But if you make up a story about what they're thinking, that means they have an intention, they are going somewhere, they are going to do something, they are coming back from doing something somewhere. They have a dynamic to them and you can capture that in your drawing.

5. What type of jungle animal do you feel you are most like? Why?

A fox. I don't know why. Maybe because I think I'm clever – not bright, just clever.

6. Would you rather have lunch with Tarzan or Mowgli? Why?

I'd like if they were both there. Tarzan would be macho, I think, and with Mowgli there, it would keep Tarzan in line and that way it could be a better conversation.

7. What is the most unusual food you have ever eaten?

I went to the Montreal Biodome with my kids once and I ate some kind of a bug. It didn't taste like much, I just felt a lot of crackling under my teeth. I ate some kind of exotic mussel in Europe; I'm not sure if I liked it. I just remember it was something really big and gooey.

8. What are the three things you would take with you on a trip to the jungle?

I'm kind of practical. I'd take a bug net, a good pair of boots – I've done a lot of camping and I like to give the people in my books good boots or shoes – and some kind of dictionary to help me talk to people in that jungle. No sketch book, though!