Can Monsters Really Be Cute and Cuddly?

They can if Bristol-based illustrator Jessica Bradley has anything to say about it. In fact, she’s made a career of drawing some of literature’s most fearsome beasts in all of their soft and squishy glory including an assortment of werewolves, fish men, zombies and – yes – even the Elder God himself, Cthulhu.

I had the opportunity to meet Jess, as she likes to be called, recently to discuss how someone who excels at “cute, colourful and quirky” could also publish something like Brains Etc: Zombie Survival for Kids! and stay relevant with her audience. As it turns out, it’s easier than you might think!

Thanks for joining us, Jess. Can you give us a brief introduction on who you are and where you’re from?

Hello there! I’m an illustrator and character designer from Bristol, England and I love drawing (obviously). I work on a lot of kid’s books but also do all kinds of other cool things like designing t-shirts, self-publishing my own books, drawing amusing fan art and attending a lot of UK comic book conventions. I also somehow manage to play a lot of video games and watch a lot of films too. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I left the house…

I heard that you’re also a big tea drinker… do you have a favorite kind?

I’m rather partial to Mr Earl Grey (being a Brit, what what, pip pip,) but I’m into a lot of the Asian smokey teas too. Lapsang and Oolong are amazing. They smell like bonfires!

So, how did you first become interested in illustration and charater design?

I’ve always been into drawing since I was a kid; my parents recently moved houses and I inherited a ton of old artwork and cobbled together comics I used to make. These will remain in a locked vault and never see the light of day because of how embarrassing they are but they are a nice reminder that I’ve always scribbled my way through life. I discovered illustration (or what it really entails) at art college in 1999 and fell in love. It was just a natural progression from there to University and onward to freelance illustration jobs while working part-time. I also worked in a comic shop for three and a bit years so that had a huge influence on the direction my work went in. I just did what I enjoyed doing and people started to notice so things kind of fell into place from there!

You graduated from UWE Bristol in 2003, what was the most important lesson you received there?

Be yourself and stay true to your own personal style. Which is ironic as half the time, our tutors wanted us to be more mainstream and keep up with current illustration trends. They despised comic books at the time too and tried to get us away from them, which goes to show how under-the-radar a lot of graphic novels still were at that time. I got a lot of great advice there though and I guess being myself paid off because I came away with a First (First-Class Honours).

Did you go solo after graduating or did you join a studio?

I went solo. A lot of my friends are all illustrators too but we all remain quite seperated when it comes to our artwork. I like the idea of working in a studio but I still get nervous if people watch me draw; I think I’d get too distracted working in a studio! My partner is a comic book colourist for IDW Comics though so it’s nice to have someone close by to panic over deadlines with! I’m a member of a collective at the moment called Jurassic Dorks which is a lot of fun. We do a lot of geeky, pop-culture stuff and [even] had our first gallery exhibition this past December which had a great turn out.

What challenges did you experience while trying to find your first clients?

The initial approach was very scary; I wasn’t sure if I was sending the right work, saying the right things, etc. but I had interest pretty much as soon as I left Uni so I must have been doing something right! I collected a great stack of rejection letters too which at the time was disheartening, but necessary for me to take stock of my own work. I found self-promotion harder back then too; now though, all my modesty has gone out of the window! *smiles* You really have to let people know you exist to get anyway as an illustrator. That’s why I’m all over the internet like a bad smell.

Speaking of bad smells… you recently released your first ebook, Brains Etc. (Zombie Survival for Kids!), for the Kindle. How would you describe the book?

It’s a fun and silly activity book/comic about the living dead. It’s all-ages and gets a lot of chuckles at comic cons! Last year, I had the Draw Yourself As A Zombie page photocopied and got people at comic cons to draw themselves and get their photos taken with their drawings. I’ve got hundreds of them! It’s a nice way to break the ice and people seem to like drawing themselves with maggots coming out of their ears and their skin hanging off.

Is there anything, in particular, about zombies that made you decide to put this book together?

I hadn’t drawn or produced a self-published comic for years so I wanted to get back into it. I thought something fun and humourous would be a good start and zombies have been a favourite ghoul of mine for a while. Hopefully I found a few new twists on a very used formula for my comic! The back of the book also has a list of my favourite zombie films, much to my partner’s chagrin (he hates zombie films!)

Actually, you seem to have a knack for doodling all sorts of pop culture icons, from Lovecraft to Legend of Zelda. What appeals to you about these types of characters?

As a kid, I was always very devoted to my cartoon heroes; I used to draw Bert Raccon from The Raccoons all the time along with characters from Dungeons & Dragons and Ulysses 31. It’s the same now but as an illustrator, you can add something new to a character everyone knows. I’m a total geek too so I can’t help but indulge myself in drawing my favourite characters from games and films; it’s great to see the reaction you get from people too when they see your version of a character.

I believe you’re also working on a Brains Etc. coloring app, is that right?

The lovely publishers of the ebook, Zeta Comics, are looking into this as we speak! I think it’s a great idea and has made me start to think about producing some interactive comics. I’m totally unsavvy with this kind of thing though so we’ll see how it goes! I’ve got some ideas that would hopefully work really well so I’m willing to put in the time to learn.

So are there any more books planned for 2012?

I’m doing some more kid’s books for various publishers (starting one as we speak) and I’ve got two more books lined up with Zeta Comics and about three self-published ones of my own; one based on H.P Lovecraft’s stories and characters, one about tea and one I’m keeping secret just incase the idea doesn’t work out! Hopefully I’ll also be working with some other awesome artists on various project too. A busy year ahead!

Busy indeed! If you had to consolidate it all into one word, what “fuels” your illustration?

Imagination!

www.jessbradley.com
www.squid-bits.blogspot.com