Young AT HEART

Two of the best up-and-coming children’s book illustrators, ROBYN WILSON-OWEN and ALLISON COLPOYS , share the secrets behind their fairy-tale success stories with REBECCA BRADBURY

- REBECCA BRADBURY

A mustard-yellow lion with a giant mass of leaves for a mane peers morosely over a garden wall. His name is Hedge Lion and he was created by Robyn Wilson-Owen while she studied for an MA in Children’s Book Illustration at Anglia Ruskin University.

The melancholic but lovable-looking lion turned out to be more than just an assignment, however. He became the face of a Crowdfunder set up by the Harrow-based illustrator to raise fees needed to complete the course.

Not only did the campaign secure enough funding, however, it also attracted the attention of publishers, and Robyn graduated in early 2019 with an agent and her first illustrated book – No Longer Alone by Joseph Coelho – already on sale in bookshops across the country.

Robyn made the switch to children’s book illustration after spending a decade as a theatre designer. Her swift emergence onto the publishing scene follows a similar trajectory to Australian illustrator Allison Colpoys, who worked digitally as a book cover designer for 12 years before channelling her creativity into the illustrations themselves. Allison’s career change began when she picked up some ink and had a go at hand lettering for a cover she was designing.

This led to her illustrating a full cover and then, in 2015, a whole book – Davina Bell’s The Underwater Fancy-Dress Parade – which impressed readers and the industry alike, with accolades including two Australian Book Design Awards.