Eugenia: I am fundamentally a children's book illustrator, and greatly enjoy humorous texts. It is a pleasure for me to illustrate such books. When I first read Heidi and Jane's poems I really got excited because they gave me the opportunity to draw what I like the most and have fun in the process (this is the reason I chose this profession).
Like with any other book, the task began with several readings of the poems. In this particular case, I also needed to search for appropriate visual sources, so the species showed in the book were recognizable and their habitat was correct. Then I began to sketch the images, which in some cases were complex because they included all the animals mentioned in the book. It was almost like a puzzle. That's my favorite moment: sketching with paper and pencil.
Eugenia: In this particular case, the contact came through my agency, AdvocateArt, and the moment I read the text by Heidi and Jane, proposed by Lerner, I was very excited. I knew it was going to be a book I was going to enjoy.
Eugenia: We should ask the authors of the text, but in my case, it must have been making faces while drawing... I can't help but make faces imitating what I draw while I work. I don't do it consciously, but I guess it helps me identify with the character I am trying to represent.
e: What do you think makes an illustration magical, what I call “Heart Art” - the sort that makes a reader want to come back to look again and again?Eugenia: I think that's different for each illustrator. The secret for me is to fall in love with the text, and to feel engaged to tell that particular story the way I see it. When that happens, ideas arise almost spontaneously, even though there's still a process of polishing and selection.
e: How do you advertise yourself (or do you)?
Eugenia: In the pre-internet era I visited the publishing houses with my samples under my arm—that's how I started. Fortunately things changed a long time ago.
I am not a good self-promoter, and I have a hard time finding the moments to upload my work to the networks (formerly a blog, later Facebook, now mostly Instagram). I periodically push myself to review and upload illustrations from my latest published works. My agency helps a lot in that, from time to time they remind me that I have to take care of promotion.
e: What is your favorite or most challenging part of being a creator?
Eugenia: The first stage of sketching, when I start looking for a shape for the characters with pencil and paper, that's at the same time the most challenging moment and my favorite part. I enjoy it immensely.
Eugenia: One of the things that I loved about these poems is that I think they show that things that are maybe unpleasant for some can be great for some others. I think it helps to understand and respect diversity of interests.
e: What are you working on next or what would be your dream project?
Eugenia: I am very excited with a project of new funny poems with animals, they are my favorites! My dream project is changing all the time, but for a long time I've been thinking in a book about very crazy and funny villains. I'm working on that in my free time.
One of the coolest things (in my humble opinion) is the fact that you figured out how to illustrate smell--something that is, really, unillustratable. It's as if you branded the Eek You Reek odor--it is immediately recognizable on each page. Can you tell us how decided you were going to need to do that, and then, how you came up with the idea.
Eugenia: I've been a fan of comics since I was a teenager. A graphic language that represents nonvisual elements like movement, smell or sound, is fundamental part of comics. Odor is a protagonist in Eek, You Reek!. The way I chose to represent it is not the only one posible, but the it’s the one I felt best fits into these complex scenes.
e: Thank you, Eugenia and Heidi! I can't wait to see your next books! :)
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