Tim Bowers was born in Troy, Ohio where he developed an active imagination and a love for art. After graduating with a Bachelor's in Fine arts from the Columbus College of Art and Design, he did work for companies such as Proctor and Gamble and Wendy's while at an illustration studio in Dayton Ohio. He then worked for Hallmark in Kansas City, where he helped launch the Shoebox Greetings line. While in Kansas City he illustrated his first three children's books. Tim's illustrations have also been published in children's magazines and used on products and greeting cards. He now lives in Granville Ohio.

Tim has won many awards including: Children's Choice Award, Child Magazine 2001 Best Children's Book Award, Chicago Public Library's "Best of the Best" list for 2005 and several Junior Library Guild selections. He has presented at the Mazza Museum Summer Institute, the 2004 OSU Children's Literature Conference, the SCBWI-MI Spring Conference 2005 in East Lansing, MI and will be a keynote speaker at the 2007 Young Author-Artist Conference, the Mazza Museum in Findlay, OH. His artwork is also included in the Mazza Museum collection.

Tim has illustrated 21 children's books including his forthcoming books Matilda's Humdinger and Custard Surprise. The use of detail and movement in Tim's illustrations makes his characters practically jump off the page. He employs a wide range of illustration styles, which evoke whimsy and comedy, appealing to the funny bone of the child in all of us.

1. You worked in commercial art for many years before illustrating children's books. How did your first book contract come about?

I worked in an advertising studio after my junior year in art school and was offered a position with them after graduation. After working there for several months, I decided to leave the studio and pursue my interest in children's book illustration. I reorganized my portfolio and flew to New York City to test the waters. I had contacted the Children's Book Council for information on publishers and received a list of names, numbers and addresses. I called some of the publishers on my list and set up some interviews. For the most part, everybody was very supportive. I received some good feedback on my portfolio.

With a continued interest in children's books, I returned to Ohio and freelanced for a year or so, interviewed with Hallmark Cards and was soon headed to Kansas City, Missouri to work there. One of my earlier contacts from Dayton, Ohio called to ask if I would be interested in a possible children's book project. They were a 'book packager' and had a manuscript (written by fellow Ohioan, Jan Wahl). I created a sample illustration and they sent the manuscript, a book dummy and my sample to publishers across the country. It floated around for almost a year while I worked at Hallmark. Just when it seemed to be going nowhere, I received a call with good news… a publisher in California was interested. The Toy Circus (by Wahl) was my first book. It was published by Harcourt-Brace-Jovanovich in 1986.

2. The illustration styles you use with each book are so different. How do you decide which style and/or palette to use?

I have always been interested in using a variety of styles and techniques in my work. I admired the work of a variety of artists (Sendak, DePaola, Tripp, Van Allsburg, Rockwell, Wyeth and others) and emulated many of them in school. As students we experimented with a lot of techniques at the Columbus College of Art & Design and I feel fairly comfortable with a number of them. Most of my recent work is done in oil or acrylic, but I try to approach every project with an open mind to find what works best for each particular book. When I read a manuscript, I try to imagine which technique, colors and design ideas make sense for that story.

3. Do you have any unique or fun techniques for doing preliminary studies before you start the final work on your book projects? I've seen clay figures on the author Amy Axelrod's website.

Yes, sometimes I make clay models of characters in the story. These are made of Super Sculpy ™ and painted with acrylics. I've done that for Little Whistle (Rylant), Underwater Dog (Wahl) and two of the dog characters from The News Hounds in The Great Balloon Race (Axelrod). This helps me maintain a consistency in drawing the characters. Several years ago, I took a hot air balloon ride with my camera to capture some reference shots for The Great Balloon Race. Many of the illustrations from Sometimes I Wonder If Poodles Like Noodles (Numeroff) were painted from photos of my own children and wife. Two new books I'm working on for next year, tell stories that take place in diners, so of course I had to visit some diners for inspiration (and lunch). I'll be working on some dinosaur characters this fall, so if anybody out there has a time machine that I can borrow, call me.

4. . In the illustrations for the Little Whistle books, by Cynthia Rylant, you use wonderful details like: shavings that spill from the guinea pigs cage when he exits (bottom first), store shelves with chipping paint, rumpled ears on a bunny, worn edges on some wooden blocks. How do you decide which details to put in and which to leave out? Does it come from your sense of playfulness or are you more methodical than that?

Well, I'm not sure that I think about it that much. I include whatever I need to help tell the story. If the setting is to be familiar and warm, the worn edges and other small details help pull the reader into the story as a real and believable place. This also comes from my experience. As a boy, I had a guinea pig and my kids have had hamsters. When the animals get out, they drag along some of the wood shavings. Those and other details are recalled from my memory and help make the story feel more authentic.

5. You seem to be able to find a new character, human or animal, with each book. Even your animals have whimsical faces with a wide range of emotions. How do you develop character?

All of my characters share some similar qualities. I think it reflects my experience in cartooning. I learned to draw expressions and gestures with cartoons as a boy. From very simple and graphic characters to very realistic ones, the essence of the expression or gesture is the same. The difference is usually in proportion and the amount of realistic detail. In fact, my first sketches, done after reading a manuscript, are usually very cartoon-y. I first try to capture expression and gesture to tell the story, regardless of how realistic or stylized the art will be. And then, if the characters are to be realistic, my understanding of anatomy (human or animal) is helpful. My most successful realistic animal characters are ones that combine realistic anatomy with cartoon-y playfulness.

6. How do you decide what parts of a story to illustrate? How much input do the editors have regarding what should be illustrated?

After reading a manuscript several times to get a feel for the story, I draw a small thumbnail sketch of each page on a sheet of paper. I go through the story, using the page-breaks that the editor has indicated. The author envisions the story unfolding in a certain way and the manuscript usually reflects that. I quickly draw my first impression, trying to capture the action or emotion of each page. As I work through the book, the text page-breaks may need to be altered to fit the page count or keep the story moving. I make these changes and submit them in the form of a book dummy.

It's important to keep the story moving from page to page and I try to think of the art as a dance partner to the writing. As dance partners move in-sync through the dance, with steps and twirling, the illustration and text should flow together as one seamless team. Or, like a piece of music, one instrument plays a solo as the other moves to the back of the 'soundscape'. As the solo ends, the focus may shift to the other instrument, but both continue to play. Art and words work that way in a book. I look for places in the story where pictures can 'solo', and where they can 'move to the back' and let the words carry the tune.

The editors are a vital part of the team. They see the story (the words and pictures) with a fresh eye. With all of the hard work that goes into planning the art, sometimes a small thing that has been overlooked, or an idea that makes a better story, is added after the editor has had a chance to taste the mixture of words and pictures. Sometimes the dish needs a dash of salt or pepper. The editor is the dancing coach, symphony conductor and head chef (and often, a most needed cheerleader) through the bookmaking process.

7. In "Cynsations", Cynthia Leitich Smith's blog of Aug, 5, 2005, the author of The Bravest of the Brave, Shutta Crum, says:

What sparked the idea to use your illustrations to extend the storyline? Can you describe the process?

I'm reminded of movies that I've seen where the story starts and the setting is established, even before the title appears. You are immediately drawn into the story from the beginning. That's what I did with The Bravest of the Brave. The butterfly was an added minor character to establish the opening situation. It also became a visual thread that would tie the book together, appearing at the beginning and end of the story. It completes the story and resolves the question of how the little skunk started in the deep dark woods. In the end, everything is restored. The family is together, the little skunk is safe, and the butterfly friend has returned.

8. I find a lot of movement in your illustrations. The characters or background figures are acting or being acted upon. Did this come naturally to you or was it something that you had to consciously consider in your creative process?

It's important to keep the story moving from beginning to end. The pace may slow down for variety but the story keeps moving. It's something that I consciously consider. I try to relate one page to the next, finding things to tie the story together. In Sherman Crunchley (Numeroff and Evans), the story starts in Sherman's apartment with a bakery seen outside the window. The next page focuses on the bakery and some dogs are arguing in the background. The following page shows the arguing dogs in an all-out fight scene. None of this was indicated in the text but the subplot was a fun addition. It added consistency and humor. It also kept the story moving forward.

9. The fight scene in Sherman Crunchley is hilarious! You must have an amazing sense of humor. Do you find yourself laughing while you paint?

Yes. (My shortest answer!)

10. What new projects are in the works that we can look forward to?

Two new books will be available, soon. In October, 2006: Matilda's Humdinger, written by Lynn Downey (published by Knopf), and in 2007: Custard Surprise, written by Bernard Lodge (published by HarperCollins). I'm currently working on a book for Simon & Schuster, and another book for HarperCollins is due this fall. After that, I would like to work on my own projects that would include some of my own characters. I have a lot of ideas that are waiting for my attention. This is one story that I hope is ongoing.

You can find more information and examples of Tim's work at: http://www.timbowers.com.

Barbara Savage Huff writes picture books and middle grade fiction. She lives in Oberlin, OH where she is an assistant school librarian by day, cello teacher by evening, and writer in the deep of night (usually 3 a.m. when she has to put some thought that wakes her up into her laptop before it escapes.)
Would you like to be a featured member? Contact Barbara at barbarahuff@oberlin.net