Andy Geppert is an Australian illustrator based in Brisbane. He won the Crichton Award for new illustrators for his work on Little Big Tree in 2010. His follow up picture book, Meep, was selected as a Notable Book by the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) in 2016. Andy is also an award-winning marketing designer. His latest book is called Backyard Birdies.
Today, Andy Geppert is on the blog to share his love of birds with us, as well as a little insight into his picture book illustration process. Read on …
Andy Geppert
Birds are full of personality, and when you watch them through the lens of a child, a beautiful, funny and entertaining world opens up.
My two-year-old daughter Harri played the most important role in developing my latest picture book. Her love of birds reignited mine, and together, we created an unexpected visual diary that makes us both laugh.
Growing up, I loved birds. I had a poster on my wall of Common Australian Parrots. My friends, however, preferred posters of common American bands like The Red Hot Chili Peppers. And so I was appropriately nicknamed the bird-nerdle. Even today, I can still identify most Australian birds as they flit and flutter by.
So naturally, I thought I loved birds more than anyone else. Until my daughter Harri came along.
Harri was an early bird herself. She used to wake up before most roosters and our daily ritual was to go straight outside onto our small back deck and search for birdies.
We did this together for many months until one day, she rubbed her sleepy little eyes, pointed to the neighbour’s roof and said her first (ridiculously cute) audible word: “BIRDIE.”
Hearts melted everywhere that day. Well, mine did, and an idea was born that quickly grew into my latest picture book titled Backyard Birdies.
During the next little while, we experienced some COVID restrictions and we spent many (happy) days out on that deck. It was a welcome delight when the birdies came. I began attaching personalities and traits to each of them to try and make us laugh. We once spotted a pigeon spinning around on top of a whirlybird (a round air vent on tin roofs). The pigeon was riding this thing like a merry-go-round while five other pigeons sat there watching on. I bet they were jealous!
This hilarious moment reaffirmed my approach and the ‘roof chicken’ was on the top of the list for inclusion. As my scribbles turned into double pages, elements like a feather stuck down with sticky tape, splotches of colour, and heights measured by a plastic bucket started to turn empty pages into a picture book. The somewhat factual my first field guide to Backyard Birdies was taking shape.
The somewhat factual aspect of this book has allowed me to base the book mostly on facts while still allowing me the freedom to turn the humour dial right up to 11.
Did you know: That Budgerigars poop every twenty minutes!
Noisy miners are very quiet birds until they spot kids.
And Kookaburras love hearing jokes from everyone except dads.
Even Kookaburras know that dad jokes are terrible.
My writing challenge was to try and give the copy more personality than the birds staring out at the little readers as they turn each page and vice versa.
I love creating my illustrations digitally. My delicate water-colour style is unique and disarming. It draws you in through the softer palette, then layers on personality and emotion through the extra details and textures particularly around the eyes.
The relationship between the words and the pictures was deliberately set up to be a battle over which one could have more personality. If I managed to get this right, I knew I’d have a strong end product with the right level of charm and humour for both parents and children.
I am a bit of a perfectionist, which is why I love the digital medium. There’s always a way to improve my work. I am really happy to showcase Backyard Birdies as the best example of my work since I began making picture books after winning the Crichton Award for best new illustrator, 11 years ago.
Backyard Birdies is out now and proudly sits in a unique space fluttering somewhere between nonfiction and fiction – where children and parents alike can learn a little and laugh a lot. I hope I have captured the absolute joy and privilege that it has been to create Backyard Birdies. It will always hold a special place in my heart.
I hope it brings some joy to your family too.
A special thank you to my team at Hachette AU for their incredible support and guidance.
—Backyard Birdies by Andy Geppert (Hachette Australia) is out now.
Backyard Birdies
This is a common pigeon. Common because it's almost identical to every other pigeon. You'll sometimes see a white one. That's because it's just had a bath. I made that last bit up.
If you would like to learn more VERY REAL facts like this about some of Australia's most common backyard birds, this is the book for you...
Comments
October 30, 2021 at 1:24 am
A thoughtful insight and suggestions I will use on my blog. You have clearly spent plenty of time on this. Properly done!