Hi, I’m Jenny Cooper and I draw the pictures in many Sunshine books. It is the best job – making up fun characters, crazy animals and trying to amuse and educate myself and everyone who reads the books.
I have been doing this for about 27 years. The very first book I illustrated was for Sunshine back when I was still at design school.
Today most young illustrators work on a computer, but I am still messing around with paint brushes, pencils and bits of paper.
By the end of a book, after months of work, my studio looks really untidy and I can’t find anything. And the rubbish bin is full of empty chip packets! I do get quite grumpy but I finish the book, send it away and have a huge tidy up – and some salad.
Then I start the next book. Every book is completely different and they each teach me something new.
I never get tired of creating characters, moving them around on the paper and bringing them to life. And if I get tired of working too much, I go outside and plant a tree. I have about 400 baby trees, and they will still be growing long after I have moved away, which is a good thought. Hopefully some of my books will always be around, too.
Here is a picture of my studio while I am working on a book. Can you tell that this book is about a pukeko? You can’t see the chip packets, but they are there!