Ask an (IGI) Illustrator no 9: Debbie Jenkinson
Q: Hi Debbie, tell us about you?
A: I am a comic creator and illustrator. I trained as an animator and worked in an animation studio on the New Jersey shore for four years before leaping the Atlantic in one single bound and starting a freelance illustration career at home in Dublin. My comics explore the small triumphs and frustrations of ordinary life, like Remorse, a long comic about a girl who gets trapped in a call centre job for ten years. Failed romances, overfed cats and the inner lives of office workers feature again and again in my stories. My next long project is another romantic misadventure set in Dublin, called Ghosting. I am a co-founder of the Comics Lab, (now part of DCAF) a board member of Illustrators Ireland and of Stray Lines Comics Collective.
A: I am a comic creator and illustrator. I trained as an animator and worked in an animation studio on the New Jersey shore for four years before leaping the Atlantic in one single bound and starting a freelance illustration career at home in Dublin. My comics explore the small triumphs and frustrations of ordinary life, like Remorse, a long comic about a girl who gets trapped in a call centre job for ten years. Failed romances, overfed cats and the inner lives of office workers feature again and again in my stories. My next long project is another romantic misadventure set in Dublin, called Ghosting. I am a co-founder of the Comics Lab, (now part of DCAF) a board member of Illustrators Ireland and of Stray Lines Comics Collective.
Q: What area of illustration do you specialise in/enjoy?
A: I do lurve my comics - that magic combination of words and pictures - it's like peering at the world through the lens someone else’s imagination.
A: I do lurve my comics - that magic combination of words and pictures - it's like peering at the world through the lens someone else’s imagination.
a wee portrait of Debbie
Q: What did you want to be when you were growing up?
1. A Guide Dog trainer
2. A mounted policewoman
(This makes me seem more serious and civic-minded than I really was. I was more interested in the animal part than helping people or upholding the law, to be honest.)
1. A Guide Dog trainer
2. A mounted policewoman
(This makes me seem more serious and civic-minded than I really was. I was more interested in the animal part than helping people or upholding the law, to be honest.)
Q: Why did you become an illustrator?
A: I am happiest when I am creating stories with pictures. It’s really as simple as that.
A: I am happiest when I am creating stories with pictures. It’s really as simple as that.
Q: How has your upbringing/environment influenced or shaped your illustration?
A: When we were about 7, my cousins and I invented an elaborate make-believe world, complete with countries, talking animals and intricate histories which we’d escape into and spend hours talking about. Sometimes I think my work is just an adult version of that.
A: When we were about 7, my cousins and I invented an elaborate make-believe world, complete with countries, talking animals and intricate histories which we’d escape into and spend hours talking about. Sometimes I think my work is just an adult version of that.
Q: What kind of illustration projects are you most interested in?
A: Any kind of sequential story-telling could be live scribing, or comics, or picture books. My dream job would be getting a (large) advance so I could research my next comic Ghosting, sitting in Busaras drawing buses and people.
A: Any kind of sequential story-telling could be live scribing, or comics, or picture books. My dream job would be getting a (large) advance so I could research my next comic Ghosting, sitting in Busaras drawing buses and people.
Debbie's studio
Q: What does your studio/workplace look like?
A: Here is a drawing of my desk (Photos). I actually do know where everything is. ^_^
A: Here is a drawing of my desk (Photos). I actually do know where everything is. ^_^
Q: Where do you find inspiration?
A: Overheard conversations, podcasts, novels, cafes, small ads. Just by pulling a thread of an idea and seeing where it goes, sometimes. Asking myself What if? If a story idea is rolling around my head, and won’t go away, it’s a sign there’s something there. It has to be something deep enough to keep my interest for months and sometimes years if it's a long project.
A: Overheard conversations, podcasts, novels, cafes, small ads. Just by pulling a thread of an idea and seeing where it goes, sometimes. Asking myself What if? If a story idea is rolling around my head, and won’t go away, it’s a sign there’s something there. It has to be something deep enough to keep my interest for months and sometimes years if it's a long project.
Q: What do you like to draw the most?
A: Bus Eireann buses at the moment, bus passengers and Busaras. I really really enjoy research. It depends what I am working on, but I can get a leeetle bit obsessed.
A: Bus Eireann buses at the moment, bus passengers and Busaras. I really really enjoy research. It depends what I am working on, but I can get a leeetle bit obsessed.
A favourite illustration
What illustration- or illustration related project have you been most proud of?
Remorse, my long comic. It’s far from perfect, but I’m fond of it, and now since I’ve more or less forgotten what happens, it’s like reading it fresh.
Remorse, my long comic. It’s far from perfect, but I’m fond of it, and now since I’ve more or less forgotten what happens, it’s like reading it fresh.
Q: How does your creative process look like?
A: It depends on the project, but for a comic, lots of frantic scribbling in a sketchbook, staring out of windows, traveling on buses. Then follows mad typing, followed by sketching, rough pencil drawings, cleaned up drawings, colouring (can be digital or paint), scanning. Then I cry: Et voila! (That part is essential.)
A: It depends on the project, but for a comic, lots of frantic scribbling in a sketchbook, staring out of windows, traveling on buses. Then follows mad typing, followed by sketching, rough pencil drawings, cleaned up drawings, colouring (can be digital or paint), scanning. Then I cry: Et voila! (That part is essential.)
Q: What are your best tips for staying organised?
A: I have outsourced my entire memory to Google calendar. Everything is in there, shopping lists, to long-term dreams, people’s birthdays to print deadlines. What could possibly go wrong?
A: I have outsourced my entire memory to Google calendar. Everything is in there, shopping lists, to long-term dreams, people’s birthdays to print deadlines. What could possibly go wrong?
a commissioned piece
Q: What do you think makes a good illustrator?
A: I like work that looks effortless, is full of feeling, and tells a story.
A: I like work that looks effortless, is full of feeling, and tells a story.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I'm working on a long comic called Ghosting. It's a romantic misadventure about a Bus Eireann driver and an Italian tourist with thrillerish overtones.
A: I'm working on a long comic called Ghosting. It's a romantic misadventure about a Bus Eireann driver and an Italian tourist with thrillerish overtones.
Q: Who, outside the world of illustration, inspires you?
an illustration from Debbie's early career
A: Writers like Paul Howard, Ann Tyler, Richard Ford, Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche. Music too, singing in my choir, the DCU Campus Choir.
Q: How do I go about commissioning you as an illustrator?
A: Email me. I love email.
A: Email me. I love email.
