Career Options
Bringing books to lifeFor the illustrator of the hugely popular Franklin the Turtle children's books, the path to success has been much like that of her beloved character: slow and steady. |
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 [ 2002-06-26 ] |
Children's book illustrator Brenda Clark, and some of the work she has completed.
"It really is a dream come true for an illustrator, but I wouldn't say it came with ease," says Brenda Clark, 47. "There were many years of ups and downs."
The Port Perry resident credits her father for nurturing her love of art and researching career opportunities as a commercial artist. She honed her skills at Don Mills Collegiate in North York before taking a three-year illustration and design program at Sheridan College in Oakville.
Clark began freelancing for educational publishers in 1977, within three weeks of graduating. She spent two years as an in-house illustrator with Ginn Publishing in Toronto, working nights on other freelance projects, including Chickadee magazine.
"I tried a bit of everything, but felt most comfortable with books," Clark says. "I didn't have the editorial bent you need to work with magazines.
Also, you get a lot more time to illustrate books and I'm not a quick illustrator. Books are usually around a while, and that's nice too."
Freelancing gave Clark a solid foundation. "I was able to do many types of work because I was very versatile. I never searched for that one style. My technique changes with every book."
After showing her portfolio to Kids Can Press, Clark was asked to illustrate Christopher and the Dream Dragon by Allen Morgan. She worked on several more books before tackling Franklin in the Dark by Paulette Bourgeois, a story about a turtle afraid to go into small, dark places, including his own shell.
Clark devoted the next nine months to creating Franklin, his woodland world and animal friends. It was difficult deciding how the turtle should look and he went through numerous changes. "Franklin didn't look very attractive in the beginning and the publishers told me so," Clark says. "I'm glad they did."
At the time, neither Clark nor the author had any idea there'd be more than one book. They didn't even meet until after the book was published in 1986, when it sold an astounding 10,000 copies. The pair has gone on to create more than 30 Franklin stories, available in 31 countries and in 17 languages.
The success of the stories was underscored when Nelvana, a leading animation company based in Toronto and now owned by Corus Entertainment, approached Franklin's creators and publisher about developing a TV series and licensing merchandise.
Clark continues to freelance with Kids Can Press, working by contract from book to book. She also has creative input in the animated books based on the TV series, along with Franklin merchandise. As an adjunct professor with Sheridan College, she encourages students to follow their dreams of becoming artists.
"I'm still learning. I look back at my first books and see all sorts of things I'd like to change," says Clark, who advises aspiring artists to draw every day. "I don't think I was better than any other kid my age. The fact that I kept at it made the difference."
Clark is taking time off from illustrating books to work on other projects, including assisting in the set design of a new Franklin play produced by Tanglewood Family Entertainment for audiences across North America.
"That will be fun," Clark says. "It's another way of bringing the books to life."
(Linda White is a freelance writer based in Brooklin, Ont., and can be reached at linda.white@rogers.com.)
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