John Bigwood is an illustrator and graphic designer based in London. He has worked across a range of books for children and adults, including How to Draw People for the Artistically Anxious and the Sherlock Bones series. Shelf Awareness spoke with Bigwood about creating the art for Sherlock Bones and his own love of puzzles.
How do you make your art?
I use a mixture of traditional and digital methods. I start the process with rough pencil sketches and, once I'm happy with the general look and composition, I begin to add more detail and character. This leaves me with a reasonably developed draft, which is then scanned into Photoshop, where I digitally create the final line work using a Wacom tablet and pen. I find placing a piece of paper over the Wacom tablet, so that I'm drawing directly on to the paper, helps to create a more organic line with the pen. The shading and textures are then added digitally, using a variety of brushes I create in Photoshop.
Producing the final artwork digitally helps me to work a lot faster and allows for any mistakes to be quickly amended, which is always helpful! I do find the initial process of drawing and sketching on paper very important, as it allows me to create the artwork more intuitively and with greater freedom. It's also nice to be able to work and draw somewhere away from my desk every now and then.
Are you a big puzzle fan yourself?
I am. I'm not sure how good I am at them, but I certainly enjoy the challenge of trying to work them out. Riddles and logic puzzles are perhaps my favorite. When I was younger, I received a book of riddles and logic puzzles for Christmas, which I absolutely loved. I spent the next two days reading aloud puzzles to my family, assuming they were enjoying them just as much as I was. Mysteriously, the book disappeared without trace just after Boxing Day, a puzzle I'm still trying to solve!
Is there anything in the art that readers should look for that might not be in the text?
I wouldn't want to give too much away, but there are a few subtle clues in some of the illustrations that might help eagle-eyed readers work out some of the story's mysteries. Being a good detective is all about spotting clues and being able to decipher what they might mean. If you look hard enough, you may well spot the odd pointer that could help you solve the case, even before Bones and Catson. --Lynn Becker