The Art Of Chris Riddell

The Author/illustrator and Political Cartoonist Talks to Stephen Kelly.

That Chris Riddell is Britain’s Children’s Laureate, that his work has captured the childhood imagination, is no surprise: his art is a world unto itself, a lavishly bright and beautiful place rich in magic and detail – a place that any child would want to live in forever. That he also uses the same style – fairytale animals and all – for a weekly political cartoon in The Observer newspaper is possibly a bit more unusual.

“I wouldn’t say there’s a difference between them,” Riddell says. “If doing a simple book for under-threes you use bright primary colours and colourful animals doing amusing things. And when you’re working for The Observer, you will draw nice, colourful things and use animals for amusing effect. It’s about how you communicate visually. I think cartoons are amongst the most powerful literary tools we have.”

In the wake of Donald Trump’s presidential victory, Comic Heroes sat down with Chris Riddell to talk political art, children’s art, Neil Gaiman and why Alastair Campbell thinks he’s “obscene”...

COMIC HEROES: Let’s start by talking about your style. What’s the process there?