Spotlight On Hervé Tullet

Hervé Tullet studied Fine Art and worked in the advertising industry. In 1994 he published his first book for children and was to become one of the world’s most creative bookmakers.

Amongst his many successful books are The Game of Light, Press Here, The Scribble Book and I am Blop.

Learn more about Hervé as we put him under the spotlight for you... 

What was your favourite book when you were a child?

I have no memory of favourite books until I was a teenager when I discovered surrealism.  Then I also began to draw, just to express myself at first. 

What is your earliest childhood memory?

A sound like an explosion.  I think I was really young (less than a year old.)

 Hervé with children after an Outside In World workshop © Photo Alexandra Strick

What did you want to be when you were growing up?

A missionary was one possibility, travelling (Africa) and trying to convince and persuade people.  (I sometimes feel I am a kind of missionary of art now - and Blop is my flag!)

What book has had a particular impact on you and why?

“Little Blue and Little Yellow” by Leo Lionni.  This was the first book where I saw how powerful the imagination could be, how simple small pieces of paper could be turned in mum, dad, countryside, tears….

Which three words best describe you?

Impatient. Cool. Lazy (but I try not to be!)

When did you first decide you wanted to write/illustrate for a living?

Quite late, around 30 years old.  After some time spent in an advertising agency, I realised that I didn’t want to go on in this kind of stuff, and I wanted to try my hand at being an illustrator.

Describe where you work

I work inside my head, with some help from notes books. That makes it easy to work on a plane or train or in the shower!  Then I draw my ideas in a tiny workshop, just big enough to draw some dots or blops or scribbles.

What one children’s book would you recommend everyone to read?

"What Do People Do All Day?" by Richard Scarry.

Who do you most admire in the world?

Miles Davis as he was always in search of new experiences and shared a lot with other musicians.

What advice would you give someone who wants to become a writer/illustrator?

Think, look, read, find, understand, open.  If you do not search you’ll never find.

Do you have any pets?

Yes, a very sweet black and white cat called Bento!

What would you do if you were not a writer/illustrator?

I would love to be a musician or a chef. I think that there are a lot of links between my way of drawing and someone who makes music or cooks wonderful food.

What is the best thing about your job?

Diversity, new encounters, being involved,  passion, new things, having projects in progress.

Do you generally work on one book at a time or have several projects on the go?

I think about a lot of ideas, possibilities all the time but when I feel there's one idea that is ready in my mind or notebook, I just focus on it ( impatiently) to explore it entirely in a quite small but intense period, then I choose the music that will help me to inspire me to draw the final drawings.

If you could be a character in any children’s book, who would it be?

A character in one of Maurice Sendak's books, maybe even Rosie.

What is your favourite way to spend an afternoon?

Feeling lazy, relaxing, reading, swimming, then taking a notebook and finding an idea, just like that. It s not necessary THE idea but that could be a small one that will be useful in the future….

Thanks for the interview!

 Hervé running an Outside In World workshop © Photo Alexandra Strick