Award-winning illustrator Korky Paul only had one question for the Qatar Academy students who met him during his school visit: What do you need to make a good drawing?
Students who have read his Winnie the Witch series answered colours that match the story while the artistic and tech savvy bunch thought good animation software would do the trick. For the veteran artist, however, imagination is the first and probably only requirement to express oneself through visual art.
He put this belief into action during his presentation, asking students for input while drawing a character onstage, mixing ‘donkey ears’ with ‘crocodile teeth’ to produce Snorky Snorlle, a totally unique and artistic character deserving of a new storybook of its own. In between, he gave out practical tips to the students. “When drawing, you are free to use whatever color you want”. He also added: “Watercolours are brilliant to work with, it teaches people to work with colour well”. Afterwards, he asked the students to raise their magic numbers and gave away his new sketch that came with a complementary signature.
Grade 3E student Jassim Al Thani was beaming when his number was called. “I really like drawing and this is special because Paul signed this work himself”.
Signing and giving away his on-the-spot illustrations is common practice for Paul – real name is Hamish Vigne Christie Paul – whose demonstrations also include reading from his varied collection of chapter, picture, pop-up and poetry books and lots of interaction with the students. Through this, his aims to directly inspire students and show them “that writing, reading and drawing can be fun”.
“It’s a 50-50 thing,” he says of the importance of both a good story and illustration. “They always go hand in hand. The most important thing is to never put a limit on the children’s imagination and to always practice”.
The Peninsula
