Local artist profile: Chris Kennett

This week, we speak with Bendigo-based international children’s book illustrator Chris Kennett.

 

What motivated you to become an illustrator?

 

I’ve always been into drawing, ever since I was a kid. In the beginning I was interested in becoming a comic artist and would constantly read comics like The Beano. For the longest time, that’s what I wanted to be. So I would design and create my own characters for fun and I never really stopped. I kept going all through primary and high school and all through my 20s. I landed a few jobs early on with greeting card companies, advertising agencies and animation studios. But it wasn’t until around 2010, when I had children of my own, that I thought I would start approaching book publishers.

 

How would you describe your style?

 

I would say my style is bright, fun, and colourful. I’m always looking to make my illustrations as engaging as possible and so I try to inject as much humour into them as I can. I work with a lot of humorous authors, so having a style that complements them is a big bonus. After a while you find that you start to develop a shorthand for the way you approach work, which is also dictated by time constraints too. This is when you find your style really starts to emerge. It becomes your default setting.

 

Which illustrators inspire you?

 

I think at every age I’ve discovered someone that’s pushed me to draw in certain ways. Way back in the beginning it was “Mr Men” creator Roger Hargreaves, then Garfield creator Jim Davis, who I would copy endlessly. There were also many, many UK comic artists, who I never knew, because their work was often uncredited at the time. A lot of their style and humour still finds its way into my work today.

 

What are some highlights from your career?

 

It’s hard to go past the series of Star Wars books I worked on from 2015-17. I was approached to illustrate a series of Little Golden Books all based on Star Wars characters, spanning all eras of film and television. That was a real ‘pinch me’ moment for me. I’d grown up with those films, so it was an absolute dream job.

 

How can people check out your work?

 

You can find me at chriskennett.com where I share lots of art from my books and behind the scenes stuff, or @crikeyboy on Instagram

 

What would you say to young regional aspiring illustrators who are thinking of making a go of it?

 

I would say that the world has become a significantly smaller place. There used to be a time when people thought you had to move to the big cities to be able to be a success. That wasn’t really true then, and it definitely isn’t now. Getting your work out there has never been easier. Although, admittedly, there’s a lot more content competing for people’s attention. But I would say just get stuck in and create, and don’t be afraid to share. We all get feedback we don’t like from time to time, but that’s all part of the process. It’s how we improve. The more you share, the more you increase your chances of the right person seeing it, and sometimes it only takes that one person to give you the break you need.