There was a buzz of excitement in the Byron House Library as some of the children in Form 2 assembled to take part in an online sketching workshop by author and illustrator Chris Riddell. Mr Riddell, who was Children’s Laureate, has also won the prestigious Greenaway Medal three times for his illustrations. The online session was designed to help inspire a love of reading and drawing and Art Teacher and Librarian Mrs Julia Clarke remarked, ‘Author visits are so crucial to inspiring children to read from an early age. Seeing Chris in action, doodling and sharing stories was fantastic.’
Throughout his humorous talk, Chris produced a number of amazing live sketches as he talked about his writing and drawing process. He mentioned the strange ideas that end up in his ‘Naughty Drawer’ only to be pulled out and expanded later: the map that inspired ‘Guardians of Magic’ was one of these. He also described his first experiences of drawing, some of his current projects and his previous work, particularly his illustrations for ‘The Tales of Beedle the Bard’ and his ‘Goth Girl’ series.
He encouraged all of the aspiring writers and artists to carry a sketchbook wherever they go and shared many of his own sketches. These included some of his daily “visual diary” sketches, which he started this summer. He described the process of drawing as “therapeutic” and a good way to feel better. He said this was particularly the case with some of his more topical and political cartoons. He also shared pages from a “magic” law library book from 1945, including the story of how he got it and why it is particularly magical, and images in his ‘Mournful Eye’ sketchbook.
One Form 2 child commented, “We did a workshop with Chris Riddell the illustrator of the ‘Goth Girl’ books. His drawings are unique and he has his recognisable style, many of his characters often have long noses! I found the workshop really exiting as he gave us lots of tips to help us with our own drawing and encourages us to explore are own unique style.” Another child remarked, “The tip that I learnt from Chris Riddell’s workshop was that drawings do not always have to be perfect and that a good way to improve your drawing is to just keep going even if you don’t like it at first.”