“Do I Have to Pick One Style Forever?! (Part 1)” with Chris Haughton

How do you make picture books if you secretly hate writing? Can you REALLY just punch holes in a bit of paper and call it a finished illustration?! 👀

This week we’ve got a proper treat for you. 

This is part 1 of our chat with illustrator and picture book maker Chris Haughton! (Katie wasn’t there, but Helen and Tania held the fort and asked him all the juicy questions.)

Chris shares his brilliantly wonky career path from graphic design to editorial, picture books and his latest deep dive into the History of Information. 

A total freak-flag project that he's been obsessed with for nearly 20 years.

Chris tells Good Ship:

• How he ended up with a wildly colourful, unmistakable illustration style, even though he "couldn't do colour"
• How 10 years of editorial work shaped his picture book voice
• What hiding Mummy Owl in a picture taught him about storytelling
• Why your first sketch is usually the best one
• Drawing peas and chopsticks with hole-punch confetti (amazin')

🚨 This is just Part 1! Subscribe so you don’t miss Part 2. 

Part 2 will be released next week (on Friday 25th July.)

Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro from Katie, Helen & Tania
01:00 - Chris introduces himself and how his style evolved
05:30 - The origin of A Bit Lost and hiding things in the background
08:00 - How a greetings card turned into a picture book idea
10:00 - Chris' obsession with the History of Information
14:00 - Drawing as a form of information technology 
17:00 - Chris’s brief stint as a live scribe (!!)
21:00 - Publishing headaches when your audience is "everyone"
24:00 - Finding your style vs getting stuck in a style
27:00 - Undo button = illustrator superpower
31:00 - Hole-punched peas

Links an' stuff we mentioned:

• Chris Haughton's website: https://chrishaughton.com
• The History of Information, Chris Haughton's book
• History of Information lectures from UC Berkeley shared here via InfocoBuild
• Find Your Creative Voice, Fly Your Freak Flag course from The Good Ship Illustration
• Katie’s Live Illustration course

Byeeee for now!
x The Good Ship Illustration (Helen, Katie & Tania)

Come and say hello!

✏️ @thegoodshipillustration
🌏 www.thegoodshipillustration.com

p.s. We love answering your illustration questions. Click here to submit your question for The Good Ship Illustration Podcast 🎙