Eugenia Nobati's EEK! You REEK!

Jane Yolen and Heidi Stemple have a new book out with the best title: EEK! You REEK! I just love the illustrations in this funny story, so was eager to interview their illustrator, Eugenia Nobati. English isn't her first language so I truly appreciate her taking the time to translate and answer my questions!
e: What was your creative process/medium for EEK! You REEK!, can you walk us through it?
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.
      For the color I scanned my sketches (I included my own pencil lines and the dirt of the graphite on the paper to give the image a warmer texture), then I painted digitally.
e: What was your path to publication?
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.
e: Is there a unique or funny story behind the creation of this story?
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.
e: Is there something in particular about this story you hope readers will take away with them, perhaps something that isn’t immediately obvious?
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.
Question from Heidi Stemple:
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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