Will Hillenbrand – Illustrator/Writer
By Barbara S. Huff

Will Hillenbrand lives in Cincinnati, OH where he spent his early years surrounded by family stories. After college he worked in advertising until he discovered illustrating for children’s literature. Maurice Sendak, Arnold Lobel, Trina Schart Hyman and Ashley Bryan are some of the author/illustrators that inspire his work. Many awards have come his way from starred reviews in Publisher’s Weekly and twice receiving the IRA Children’s Choice Award to the ALA Notable Book Award for Traveling to Tondo.

You started out in advertising. How did you come to illustrate for children?
There are two main events that reshaped the direction of my career path from advertising to children’s books. The first event was reconnecting with Jane Barnick (we first met when we were less than a month old). We started dating just after college, Jane was teaching in an elementary school and using trade books with her students. I became interested in the books she was using in her collection. Some of those books included my old favorites, however most of her books were recently published. I loved looking and reading those books and being with her. The second event was the reawakening of my love of picture books through Jane’s collection. I then began working on a plan that would allow me to move from one career to the other. This transition gradually developed over a six-year time period. Working on my picture book portfolio was a little bit like going to night school (working on it after doing my day job in advertising). After my first book contract, I continued with my advertising/design work part time until about four and a half years ago. Making books for children now is my full time work. Jane and I were married back in 1986. We have one child, Ian. Now some of my books are a part of Jane's classroom collection.

What kinds of projects did you include in the portfolio that precipitated your first book contract?
Herewith a list of projects that I included in my portfolio when I interviewed with four of my favorite publishers in New York in 1988 (what I can remember anyway):

WEE WILLIE WINKE, the nursery rhyme,
illustrated in six full color panels with a mini book dummy and
thumbnail layouts

A book dummy that I had written and illustrated titled SPRING BREEZE,
about a boy and his father flying a kite, a story from my childhood.
(unpublished).

A book dummy for a fable, HANNAH ELIZABETH AND THE DOCTOR,
(unpublished).

A character study of the lady in, THE LITTLE OLD LADY
WHO SWALLOWED A FLY.

Various animal illustrations including a cow and pigs.

Jacket art from YA novels.

I also included my journal sketchbooks to show my process.

Could you relate any difficulties you encountered as you began your career in illustration for children’s books?
The most difficult challenge for me was figuring out how to shift from full-time Art Director to full-time Author/Illustrator. Both of these jobs are very demanding and time consuming. I also knew it was very important to have a life away from my art table, Jane has been a great help and support to me showing me how to strive for a balanced and meaningful life. She is also a good listener who also encourages me to always carefully think through my ideas before acting on them.

On your website you mention using a journal of sketches for each book you illustrate. Do you have a predetermined set of drawings for each book or do you let serendipity take the lead?
I plan time to work in my journal but I also keep it with me all the time in my travel field pack just in case. This approach allows me keep an idea resident, on the back burner. Most people have had the experience of coming up with a solution for an idea when they were not focusing on it, for instance, when they were in the shower, or driving down the road or while they were mowing the grass. I keep my journal by my side for those times too, the end result being that my journal(s) always end up being a hybrid of both planned work and serendipity with a bit of life mixed in.

What kind of research do you do for your illustrations?
I think about the idea of research in this way: if I don’t know, it is time to get a little help! That will require using all available resources to satisfy that investigation: any combination of library research work (books, magazines, CD’s or video documentaries), web searches, email to sources, field trips to a location, from personal interviews to finding an expert to review my work-whatever it takes to get to an authentic and reliable answer.
OK, then there are other times when you may need to visualize something like "the mother of wind". This is not a tangible subject and will call for a personal response referring to the context of the story source. I always end up knowing much more than when I started and that is always an interesting journey.

The color schemes in your books are so different from each other. How do you decide what kind of palette to use?
I approach the idea of overall color in this way: what is specific, unique and special about this story? Does this book have a setting or an emotion that is vital to communicate? Can color help me pace the story and how will I do that? Will too much color overpower the story? What time of day or night is it in this spread? Eventually after I have considered these basic questions and have played around with my response, a color field will emerge. Often the color of the end-papers will display that color.

Your human characters have a distinct style. How did you arrive at that Hillenbrand flavor?
I can relate to all of my story characters, human or animal. I get a chance to play them all, male or female, giant or baby, cow or owl. I try to put myself into their role, hopefully producing an outcome that reflects the individuality of my readers. It is also often noted that the creation is a reflection of the creator. That also might give my characters their thumbprint and voice.
Does technology play a part in your illustrating?
I have many tools in my visual toolbox; my computer is a technology I would not want to leave out. I can use it to email my editor or aid me in the layout of a book and more. Technology and my other tools (brushes, ink, paint etc.) allow me to create a book that is hand made.

Will there be more books coming out in the near future that you plan to write and illustrate?
YES, including one that Jane has written and I have illustrated WHAT A TREASURE, Holiday House (spring 2006). I will be working on two others that I have written and will illustrate later this year. The working titles are WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH A BOX and THE HARK OF HAROLD.

Do you have any advice for aspiring children’s book writers and illustrators?
Yes, that is simple, become a member of SCBWI as soon as possible!

You can find out more about Will Hillenbrand by visiting his website
www.willhillenbrand.com.

Barbara S. Huff writes picture books and middle grade fiction. She teaches private cello lessons and is an assistant school librarian in Oberlin, OH. She can be contacted at HYPERLINK "mailto:bhuff@oberlin.k12.oh.us" bhuff@oberlin.k12.oh.us.

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