Authors & Illustrators
The Bookshelf: Inside Illustrator Christian Robinson’s Sacramento Studio
Written by Erin Feher
Photography by Michelle Drewes
Apr 4, 2019
If you think back to the books you loved most as a kid, we’re betting it’s pictures, not words, that first come to mind. Certain images and illustration styles attached to children’s books become iconic, and we don’t think it’s hyperbole to say the works of Christian Robinson are on the icon track. The young illustrator has thirteen books under his belt, and at least the same number of awards and honors, including a pair of Coretta Scott King Award Illustration Honors (Last Stop on Market Street, The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker), the New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book of the Year (Leo: A Ghost Story), and a Caldecott Honor. We here at Mother are transparently big fans, and have included his books in numerous roundups, including the Best Children’s Books of 2018, Black History Books for Kids, Beautiful Children’s Books to Give As Gifts, Books that Inspire Empathy, and many more.
So, when Christian agreed to show us around his sunny, newly renovated studio, located behind his charming Sacramento home, we were beyond excited. He invited us over just days after returning home from a nationwide tour promoting his latest book, Another—the first that he is credited as both illustrator and author. Below, Christian gets candid about his creative process, his upbringing, and why it’s so important to him that little kids see themselves in his books. Click through to see the whole tour!
For more children’s books inspiration, check out our previous “The Bookshelf” profiles with authors and illustrators Jon Klassen, Yuyi Morales, and Isabel Sanchez Vegara,
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- "Oak Park, Sacramento, California."
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- "My workspace is the detached garage in my backyard that I recently converted into an art studio. I’m inspired by the skylights that bring in a ton of sunlight. The garage door was also cut in half and repurposed as two giant, swinging doors, which is a feature that I love."
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- "My main tools are xacto blades, my trusty hole puncher, paint brushes, tape, Nori paste, and Windsor Newton acrylic paint."
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- "I mostly shop at Blick and my local art supply store, University Art."
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Christian's newest book, Another—and the first he both authored and illustrated.
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- "My work consists of creating stuff at home in my studio, but also going out on the road and sharing the books I work on at libraries and schools and book festivals. When I’m not on the road, I spend most days working in my studio. I like to get an early start in the morning, but if there is a crazy deadline, I definitely pull an all nighter."
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- "I respect and appreciate children as an audience. Kids are literally the future, and the books they read now will shape the world they create as adults. I feel honored to be in a position to create those books, and it is not a responsibility I take lightly."
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- "After college, I interned with Pixar Animation Studios. While I was there, one of the producers gave me the opportunity to illustrate a book based on the movie Up."
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- "I like to do my research. I’d describe the start as cultivating curiosity for the characters and setting in the story. I go to the library and absorb all the visuals and facts that will influence and inspire the work. Next, I start sketching, sometimes rough concepts; other times, more polished work. I basically work on creating enough art to share my vision with the art director and editor. The next step is creating layout sketches—I like to use very small Post-its. These are great, because I can easily switch out sketches that aren’t working. Once the storyboards are approved by the editor and art director, I create images in Photoshop, tying down shapes and colors. Finally, I create the final final art using collage and acrylic paint."
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- "As we get older, I think we feel the need to conform with what’s expected. We want to fit in. Kids, however, don’t yet have as many set ideas of how things are supposed to be and are more able to enjoy ideas and stories that are out-of-the-box and weird."
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- "When I illustrate a story, I’m not necessarily trying to create something that kids will enjoy. I am creating something that would bring me joy in the process of making it. I am inspired by work that is simple and colorful, and I think that aesthetic lends itself well to children’s books."
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- "I sometimes feel like I’m being inauthentic whenever I’m answering this question. I can list a few books I remember flipping through as a child, but the truth is I struggled learning how to read and for the longest time had a very distant relationship with books, especially ones without pictures. A few books I do remember reading (or at least looking at) include Are You My Mother by P.D. Eastman, those Dinotopia books, and Possum Magic."
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- "Thirteen!"
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- "My newest book, Another, is a wordless picture book about a girl who enters another world and meets another version of herself from a parallel universe."
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- "I feel like all of us have some story inside of us that we need to get out and share and express. In illustrating books for others, I felt like I was in a class, learning about story structure and what makes a picture book work. I finally felt like I was ready to tell a story of my own when the idea for Another popped into my head."
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- "Children seeing themselves reflected on the page was the spark that motivated the story. The thought that followed was, well, what if a child literally saw themselves in a story? Perhaps a version of themselves from some parallel universe. As a child, I loved stories in which the main character goes on some magical adventure to a world where anything is possible. Oftentimes, those characters didn’t look like me or come from a community that reflected my own. I want kids today to have a different experience."
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- "I think I tend to be drawn to stories that deal with very honest, real topics that allow parents and children to process the world we live in together. Children live in the same world we live in, and I think appreciate stories that include them in the conversation. Also, when illustrating, I enjoy the process, and I believe that same spirit of joy has a way of making its way into the work. It’s my hope that it brings a smile to the reader/viewer’s face."
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- "A smile. Also, given that it is a wordless book, I hope developing readers gain the confidence that they can unlock the meaning of a story and use their imagination to discover something new each time they read it."
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- "I go with my gut and choose stories that will bring me joy to illustrate. I think the strongest picture books show, rather than tell. I am drawn to stories that leave room for the illustrator to be a part of the storytelling process."
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- "Make stuff. Share what you’re making. Make more stuff. Accept that you’re not going to get it right the first time around, or the second, or the third. It’s a skill you develop over time. Most importantly, make sure you are enjoying and having fun with what you’re doing."
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- "After Another, I have two books that I worked on coming out in Fall 2019. The first is Just In Case You Want to Fly, written by Julie Fogliano. I was also able to contribute, along with many other illustrators, to Sunny Day: A Celebration of Sesame Street, a picture book based on the Sesame Street theme song written by Joe Raposo."
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- A peek inside Christian's Sacramento home, which he shares with his boyfriend, John, their four-year-old rescued greyhound named Baldwin, and many houseplants.
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- "I was born in Los Angeles and grew up in the Koreatown neighborhood. I was primarily raised by my grandmother, who took care of me, my brother, my two cousins, and my aunt in a small, one-bedroom apartment. After graduating from Fairfax High, I studied animation at CalArts. Once college ended, I interned at Pixar and moved to the Bay Area, where I have made most of my books, met my boyfriend John, and lived in an amazing house with great roommates."
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- "I’ve been a parking attendant at the Hollywood Bowl. I worked at a Crocs kiosk at the Universal Studios Citywalk. I was a cart collector at an Ikea in Burbank. I did something called web merchandising at LeapFrog, a children’s learning toy company. Those jobs were all part of the journey, but being a children’s book author/illustrator has been the most rewarding and fun."
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- "After seven years in San Francisco, my boyfriend John and I decided to move to sunny Sacramento, California, where I was able to buy my first home. Shortly after we moved here, my brother, his wife, and their two kids moved up from Los Angeles. I love having my family nearby! I also love Sacramento’s diversity, its friendly vibe, its proximity to Lake Tahoe and many rivers, and its farm fresh produce."
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- "My favorite Sacramento spots include Mother, which has the most amazing vegetarian food. I also love watching films at the Tower Theatre, and of course getting ice cream at Gunther’s, which has been a Sacramento institution since 1940."
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- "To be honest, I feel like sometimes I’m not able to get them out fast enough! I feel like I’ve hit the jackpot in getting to do what I love for a living. Of course, sometimes it can get overwhelming and feel like work, but it is also the thing that I’ve done my whole life to restore and center myself. Making stuff is fun and I have fun doing it"
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- "After finishing my internship at Pixar, I was doing everything I could to make living in San Francisco possible. This included nannying, doing something called web merchandising, and doing art workshops with kids. I was also sharing my art on a blog as frequently as possible. One day, I got an email from Steven Malk, a children’s book agent, asking if I had ever considered making books for kids. Having him in my corner as my agent has been life-changing and has allowed me to make doing what I love a career."
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For more on Christian and a behind-the-scenes look at his creative process, be sure to follow him on Instagram.
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