Illustration Inspiration: Christopher Weyant

The Children’s Book Review | August 7, 2014

Christopher Weyant’s work has been published worldwide in books, newspapers, magazines, and online. His cartoons are in permanent collection at The Whitney Museum of American Art and The Morgan Library & Museum in New York City. YOU ARE (NOT) SMALL is his first children’s book. He is currently working on the sequel with his wife, author Anna Kang.

Latest published book …

You Are (Not) Small

Inspired by …

So many things! My children, my wife—listening to their conversations and their laughter. The thin light of autumn. The sound of wind in the summer trees. A good thunderstorm. It’s the small, often overlooked, moments which tend to ignite my imagination.

Art medium used …

India ink and watercolor.

Artistic process …

I’m not sure I have a specific process but it usually depends on the project. Some ideas come quickly and others require a bit more labor. In the end, it’s lots of sketches and trial and error until the picture on the paper looks as close as possible to the picture in my head (or so I hope). . . .

Favorite place to create & illustrate …

I tend to write at coffee shops where they have the magic mix of caffeine and a bit of distance from my home studio. All my illustration, however, is done in my studio where I can listen to music or podcasts and have access to procrastination snacks.

Most used art supply or tool …

I love my Pigma markers, Staedtler 4B pencils and a beloved, worn down, Windsor & Newton sable brush that’s like a dear, old friend.

Illustrator idols …

There are so many! Sendak, Seuss, Ezra Jack Keats, Steig, Richard Scarry, Remy Charlip, Shel Silverstein, and also many of The New Yorker magazine cover artists, such as,  J.J. Sempé, Peter de Sève, Ana Juan. Too many to name.

All-time favorite children’s book you didn’t illustrate …

Remy Charlip’s Arm In Arm or maybe Tomi Ungerer’s The Hat or Keats’ Snowy Day or. . . .

A literary character to create art with …

I think the white whale from Moby Dick would be a good partner. We don’t get to hear his/her perspective much and I sense there’s another side to that story. Plus, I’m pretty fond of whales.

Currently working on …

I’m currently working on the follow-up book to You Are (Not) Small, written by my wife, Anna Kang, entitled That’s (Not) Mine.

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