James De la Rue was commissioned to illustrate the newly abridged version of Around the World in Eighty Days aimed at younger readers.

Originally from Guernsey, James studied illustration at the University of the West of England, Bristol and now lives in Nottingham.

A short interview with James:

How did you start off in illustration?
I first attended UWE for my art foundation, during which I discovered I wanted to do an illustration degree. Ian McCullough's course looked very good so I saw no reason to search elsewhere.

Was it hard work starting out in your field?
Since graduating in 2000 I stacked shelves in Bristol whilst trying to establish myself, but I ended up going back to Guernsey to do something completely different, which was exactly what I needed. I picked up my pencil again at the end of 2004.

How did you tackle the Around the World in Eighty Days book?
With my approach to Around the World in Eighty Days I did my best not to be influenced by previous versions and just tried to eke out something appropriate, with the right atmosphere. I'm only happy with a piece of work when I know I'm not copying anyone else. For research I followed the original text, of course, and was thankful for the existence of image search engines on the web, which prove endlessly helpful!

Did you enjoy working on the Great Reading Adventure?
I love the idea of the Great Reading Adventure, and the fact that it seems to be growing so fast every year. I hope it encourages people to read to each other more, which is more fun than you might think. Switch the telly off!

Which illustrators have inspired you?
Illustrators who have inspired me include Edward Gorey, Satoshi Kitamura and David Hughes.

Do you have a favourite children's illustrated book?
When I was little my favourite book was "Cops & Robbers" by Janet and Allan Ahlberg (I'd repeatedly copy the 'section' view of the police station). More
recently "Sheep in Wolves' Clothing" by Satoshi Kitamura is up there with the best.

What challenges do you face in illustrating a text?
When illustrating text it's important to achieve a balance between being faithful to the author's descriptions and avoiding getting bogged down in
every last detail they've written. The pictures you're making are meant to compliment, not replace, their efforts. Another challenge is to keep continuity, particularly with a character's appearance. One dodgy eyebrow and you'd swear you've never seen them before.

[www.jamesdelarue.co.uk]

Visit [www.uwe.ac.uk] to find out more about the BA (Hons) in Illustration - (choose courses, art and design and search for keyword ‘illustration’)