Creative Cribs with Louise Forshaw! Mar 20 2019
Meet the artistsSpring is almost here and we are ready for sunshine and blossoming flowers to spark our creativity! In the meantime, Creative Cribs is back, featuring one of our talented artists, Louise Forshaw, showing off her beautiful studio.
Louise is one of our popular Children's Book artists, whose sweet, charismatic characters are perfect for our little 0-5 readers! Her illustrations are filled with vibrant colours, engaging narratives and lots of adventure! We wanted to find out from Louise what inspires her and where she comes up with these whimsical ideas. Enjoy the images above to get a sneak peak into her artistic hub and check out our interview below!
If you think Louise would be perfect for an upcoming project you have, get in touch with one of our artist agents to arrange a meeting to discuss the details!
1. Tell us a little about yourself and where you are based.
I'm Louise Forshaw, I live in a small town just outside Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK with my Fiancé. I work from home and share my studio with 3 very loud, furry and not so helpful assistants.
2. What do you have in your studio?
My studio is a large room in my house. So besides my desk, lots and lots of figures and soft toys. The other side of the room has my Fiancé's Lego collection.
3. What is a typical working day for you?
This depends on my workload. If I have deadlines or lots of projects on at once then I'll get up early to start work, usually around 5 AM. If not, I usually start work around 8 AM. I'll go through my schedule and see what needs to be done. I'll have lunch around 12 PM and then continue work until 4 PM, when I stop to walk my dogs. If needed, I'll then continue working till 9PM before stopping for the day.
4. Do you prefer to work traditionally or digitally?
I used to sketch in pencil, outline with fine liners and then colour in Photoshop.The first book I worked on (back in 2013) was done this way. I bought a Wacom Bamboo and then the 13HD Cintiq and now work completely digitally. I've never looked back! I definitely don't miss all the time spent scanning.
5. Do you have anything in your studio that you love, or inspires you?
I have a collection of Picture books by Illustrators I admire and who's work I love. I also collect 'Art of' books, I love animation so these are a huge inspiration to me.
6. Do you work straight to final artwork, or do you keep a sketchbook for ideas?
I do all my roughs straight into Photoshop. I've never really kept a sketchbook, even when I worked traditionally, I would sketch on hundreds of pieces of paper. Sketchbook pages intimidate me, like every page has to be perfect. Loose paper can easily be recycled.
7. Are you working on anything at the moment, perhaps you can show us a sneak peek?
I'm not sure how much I can show but I'm working on lots of super exciting things at the moment. A book about monkeys, two flap books and an author's debut picture book. With lots more on the horizon.
8. Is there a style or technique that you'd love to work in or bring into your work?
I'd love to have the patience, skill and time to work traditionally. I have a lot of admiration for those who do. I'm working on experimenting with my style a little and bringing in more texture and a hand drawn feel. Like this most recent folio piece of mine.
9. What's the latest sample you've received of your work?
Monkey Mischief (originally released as Monkey Tricks) published by Igloo Books. I worked on this back in 2017 I think. And Busy Airport published by Campbell Books. Busy Airport is the 8th 'Busy' board book I've worked on and Busy Boats is due out in May.