FAQs
(Frequently Asked Questions)
About the book
How did you get the book published?
Usually a writer will submit a manuscript to a publisher, then the publisher will choose the illustrator they think would be best for the book. The writer and the illustrator may not collaborate very much, if at all. This book came about a bit differently. Norman and James started working on the text and storyboards before showing them to a publisher. They collaborated quite closely, passing ideas back and forth for the text and pictures. Norman had already been published many times with Fremantle Press, so he hoped they would like this new story. Luckily, the editor at Fremantle, Cate Sutherland, liked the work they had done so far. After Norman and James did some revising and tweaking, Fremantle Press offered them a contract. Then the real work began.
When did you start working on the book?
James did the first sketch of Josh in June 2009. Norman had the idea for a little while before that. Read more about it in this post.
When did you finish working on the book?
James finished the illustrations in January 2011. Norman was tweaking the text up until the final proofs in February 2011.
What media did James use for the final artwork?
James used many many 2B pencils to draw the lines. Then he scanned them and cleaned them up in a program called Adobe Photoshop. He added colour using digital watercolour brushes in another program called Corel Painter. These brushes mimic the properties of real watercolour. James used a Wacom Intuos 3 graphics tablet to control the brushes. See these posts for more details on the process.
Comments
What are the guidelines for making comments and asking questions?
Please see the Teachers page for all the details about leaving comments.
About Norman and James
What is James’ favourite colour?
Blue, or green. Mostly green.
What is Norman’s favourite book that he’s worked on so far?
This one.
What is Norman’s favourite colour?
Legal
Do Norman and James both have current, valid Working with Children Checks?
Yes they do. Both Norman and James are experienced and professional presenters with children.
FAQs last updated Jun 30, 2010
