A Morning with Grandpa

Creating a picture book can be at times mysterious and magical. Often authors and illustrators of the same book never meet. Rather, once the author has completed the manuscript, it is then sent to an illustrator who will work with an art director in order to make sure the illustrations are just right. So we thought it would be fun to give an author and an illustrator the chance to interview each other about their contributions to the same book.

Today we are pleased to have the honor of hosting both Sylvia Liu and Christina Forshay, the author and illustrator of A Morning With Grandpa.

Author of A Morning With Grandpa

Illustrator of A Morning With Grandpa

First you’ll read Sylvia’s questions in BLUE to Christina about the illustrations. After that, Christina returns the favor by asking Sylvia questions in YELLOW about writing the manuscript. We hope you’ll enjoy their conversation!

Christina: I think the hardest part about illustrating A MORNING WITH GRANDPA was making sure the tai chi and yoga poses were correct. I used my kids and my husband for reference and took a lot of pictures of them posing so I could see the poses from different angles. But I had to make sure their posing was correct, so I watched a lot of YouTube videos and looked at a lot of tai chi books and pictures.

Christina: The easiest part of illustrating this book was laying down the colors. I love figuring out a color scheme for painting and once I decided on Mei Mei’s dress colors, the rest of the colors for the book fell into place.

Christina: This is a great question–there’s so much I would say! I think the most important thing I would tell my earlier self is that being a freelance illustrator means you are also an entrepreneur. You have to make sure you know about marketing, taxes, and contract signing/negotiating, and that those things will be an important part of your career.

Christina: Yes, definitely! The other advice I would give is to show your work! Find a critique group and/or a mentor who can guide you. Also go to conferences and workshops and put your work out there. You will see your work grow and improve.

Christina: Definitely a rock star–no doubt! 🙂

Sylvia: Growing up in Caracas made me appreciate how diverse people and cultures are. I went to an international school; my closest friends were Cuban-American, Iranian-American-Bahai, and Korean. I spoke Chinese at home, Spanish with my neighbors, and English at school. This mélange of experiences kept my curiosity alive and contributed to my creativity. Add a dash of tropical colors, music, and warmth and mix in a bookworm childhood, and you get my creative influences.

Sylvia: Continuing to grow as an illustrator and author—in what direction, I’m not sure.

Sylvia: From my daughters, who are so funny and interesting. From the fascinating ocean and its inhabitants, particularly cephalopods (octopi, squid, nautili, cuttlefish, and the like). From my favorite books (I have a soft spot for fantasy and science fiction).

Sylvia: Pretty much the same as above.

Sylvia: Probably somewhat like yours, but less disciplined. I take the girls to school, I run or exercise about 3 times a week, I check social media and Kidlit411 (the website I help run), and then I tackle my projects of the day. They can be an illustration, a story revision, writing, or lately, marketing for A MORNING WITH GRANDPA. If I need a break, I take a quick trip to the library or run an errand.

Once my younger daughter comes home from school, the rest of the day involves driving her to a practice, attending a game of my older daughter’s, or putting together dinner. I always have a middle grade or book club book handy (I’m the parent reading at ball games and practices), so I keep up with my reading.