HER name is Lili. She’s not like the other kids in her village. She has fiery red hair and that makes it hard for her to fit in. Sometimes her hair is small, sometimes it’s big. Other kids don’t want to play with her. One day, Lili finds the village children lost in the deep dark woods and her bravery (and hair) leads them all home safely.
Lili, the fearless fiery redhead isn’t real. She’s the main character in illustrator Wen Dee Tan’s debut picture book, Lili, which was published in 2015. Tan is an award-winning local illustrator whose latest work on the children’s book, Grey Bear Days, was recently launched by Tunku Ampuan Besar Negri Sembilan Tuanku Aishah Rohani Tengku Besar Mahmud.
The event took place at Temu Tamu hall in Pusat Kreatif Kanak-Kanak Tuanku Bainun in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, KL.
Grey Bear Days, available at Borders bookstores, tells a story about a little boy called Little Bee who learns to cope with his mother’s depression.
The book is written by Datin Sabrinah Morad, the person behind the Depressed Cake Shop, a series of pop-up cake stores in KL, Ipoh and Penang inspired by the UK-based initiative to raise funds and awareness for the oft-ignored mental health issues.
GREY BEAR DAYS
The Grey Bear Days project started last February and was completed in May. Tan, who used watercolours and colour pencils with some digital manipulation for the illustrations, concedes that the book deals with quite a heavy subject — parental depression.
“There aren’t many books that deal with this subject, especially local ones. And adults usually shy away from this subject too. So for Sabrinah to do this, it’s really admirable. That’s why I agreed to come onboard,” she explains as we settle into our seats outside Temu Tamu hall.
Meanwhile, Sabrinah, in an email interview, shares: “It wasn’t easy to persuade her (Tan) to agree to illustrate my book. She was quite critical but I really appreciated her feedback. She also drives a hard bargain.”
But as it happens, Tan was the right illustrator for Grey Bear Days as she understood the nuances and subtleties of the text and story, says Sabrinah. “She really brought the book to life in the way I had envisaged my book to be. Her illustrations are beautiful.”
BRINGING LILI TO LIFE
“I draw when I have a purpose, for projects, stories or something that I set up for myself so I can improve my skills,” Tan says, smiling. “If you have a strong idea, stay focused and everything else will just flow.”
The illustrator confides that she doesn’t stick with only one medium in the course of her work. It all depends on the undertaking. “I don’t use watercolours all the time. It’s important to choose the right medium that can bring out the mood to make your story come alive,” says Tan.
And that’s how Lili was brought to life. It started with the character.
Tan kept drawing and developing the story around Lili. The hair was her focus. There’s no mention of fire in the book but Tan lured the readers in through Lili’s fiery red hair. “I like Lili. I usually don’t draw things like that, where I’m only using two colours — black and red pencil colours. I pushed myself to draw and I made it work,” she says.
That out-of-the-box-thinking for Lili paid off when it bagged a Sharjah award at the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF)for children’s books illustrations in 2015.
Sharjah is a United Arab Emirates city on the Persian Gulf. The aim of SCRF is to promote a love of reading, showcase Arab literature to the world and give illustrators and artists alike the chance to feature their works.
“I aimed for a certain effect with Lili and it worked!” she adds, in delight. “I mean, I know some people prefer more colours. Lili is just black and red. I’m surprised the judges liked it.”
The book, published in Britain by Fat Fox Books, also won third place at the Macmillan Prize, an annual picture book competition by Macmillan Children’s Books UK, in 2013. There are also the Spanish and Catalan versions, published by Babulinka Books (Spain) last February.
INSPIRATION
A few years ago, Tan had the opportunity to visit Bologna, Italy, for a children’s book fair. Since 1963, the fair has been held yearly for four days in March or April. It is here that professionals involved with creating and publishing children’s books meet.
“It was an eye-opening experience for me,” Tan recalls. “It’s something you don’t see here. The range of books is sophisticated and some are avant garde, you won’t believe they are children’s books.”
Tan has a few illustrators who inspired her to become one. One of them is Kim Minji, a freelance illustrator based in Yangju, South Korea. Tan says: “The way she works with water colours is truly amazing. I just love her work.”
Some books, like Wolf Erlbruch’s Duck, Death and the Tulip, piqued Tan’s interest due to its clever combination of story and illustrations. The book, which deals with death and the afterlife, was nominated for the German Children’s Literature Award. For his illustrations, Erlbruch received an honourable mention in the 2008 Dutch Gouden Penseel competition for best children’s book illustrations.
“If it were just for the pictures alone, it wouldn’t have excited me. I’m not a huge fan of Erlbruch. His works are not my cup of tea. But when he combined it with how the story was written, the impact was amazing,” Tan says, before adding: “He has published many books but it’s this particular book that I really like.”
BRANCHING OUT
After working for 10 years in the IT industry, KL-ite Tan resigned from her job and returned to her first love — art.
“I just love drawing, even when I was in school. I used to join the creative club. Back then, art was just a hobby. There was no option to study further,” says the 42-year-old, who graduated with a Masters in Children’s Book Illustration from Cambridge School of Art in the UK in 2014.
Since Lili, Tan hasn’t drawn the same way. She’s been working a lot with charcoal and soft pastel. “I like to experiment. I’m also trying to branch out and do book illustrations for fiction or young adults. I don’t want to stick to just children’s books,” she confesses, adding that she believes that good stories appeal across all ages.
When she’s not drawing, Tan will keep her creative juices running with needle felting, the art of creating something out of wool. “I’ve felted characters from my books before. I have my own shop actually. If I’m not illustrating, I find myself felting most of the time,” she adds.
Tan, who’s always looking for opportunities to expand her repertoire, concludes: “My dream is to be able to continue improving my artwork and to keep pushing personal boundaries. Right now, Grey Bear Days is my best yet. But when I work on my next one, I’ll do it better, and that will be my best.”
For details, visit http://cargocollective.com/wendeetan.