John Shelley on British Children’s Illustration and Work in Japan. Part 1 of 2

John Shelley was born in Birmingham, UK. But soon after he graduated university, he went to work and subsequently live in Japan. He’s been there ever since. Thanks to SCBWI Philippines and the British Council, he was able to come over to British Council Philippines and talk about his work and the long tradition of British pen&ink illustration that has inspired and influenced him.

John’s talk began with who he is and how he grew up (full of fantasy, adventure and inspiration,) and then quickly followed by a slideshow art tour of 18th century to 20th century British picture book illustrators and their works. The tour was a mix of history, art appreciation, and pen&ink technique & reproduction – a visual feast. It came with a handout naming prominent British illustrators across the two centuries.

For those who weren’t able to catch Mr. Shelley’s British Children’s Book Illustration History 101… you missed 3 hours worth of great inspiration & influence. It sounds long – especially if you’re not an illustrator.

During that tour, I thought of pen & ink illustrators here in the Philippines. I don’t know the names of any significant Filipino pen & ink illustrators until already after Britain’s Golden Age of British Children’s Book Illustration (1875-1920). Those Filipino illustrators I know worked primarily in komiks. Is there a tradition of Filipino children’s book illustrators or even komik book illustration during the Spanish colonial times (1800s) that I am not aware of?

After the history, John talked about his work in Japan. He got accustomed to Nihonggo 日本語　within 6 months. (He had a LOT of time to learn it at his sponsor’s office, where he “worked” intially.) John was penniless after his stint at that office, and after having found his own place it was eventually personal networking and his portfolio that got him a few years worth of commercial work. He became aware and and gradually accustomed to the Japanese aesthetic. He mentions a few instances wherein his highly detailed illustrations were essentially minimalized and toned down by Japanese designers. Nothing too “loud” or too “scary”, they would say. After a couple of years doing commercial work, he knocked on Kodansha’s door for a chance to illustrate for children’s books them – and soon he was working on Japanese picture books as well. So now he balances his work at 20% for commercial work and 80% for children’s books – the 20% paying off a greater deal financially.

He has his studio located in the suburbs of Yokohama. During our lunch break, he mentioned to me that the suburbs could be a pretty dull place compared to the countryside or city, so he must draw his inspirations largely from childhood. His studio is really an apartment because, quite frankly, there are no made to order studios. No Japanese anime/manga icons were immediately seen at his studio and this is because these never caught on with John. Nevertheless he still has his childhood trove of miniature soldiers in a tall glass case and probably a model boat or two in the bathroom, I suspect.

More to follow on John Shelley’s workshop on developing story visually as well as some details on the portfolio review.