Photo © Tom Pilston
The landscapes that Aaron envisions for his books start off as physical miniature models.
The process helped to ensure the landscape remained constant, while the activity on it changed to reflect the impact of humanity. In the past he has used computers to create his templates, but he says this method provided a deeper connection.
“It turned out to be the right decision because it was completely organic. I started out with a blank landscape with just trees and one building, I took my photograph, set my lighting just how I wanted for the time of day and the weather. “Just like the people in Grenada
would have done it, I was able to shape the landscape. I had a real feeling for it, thinking they wouldn’t put a building there because it was too far from the river. And as it grew, I was literally involved in moving and touching them. When things got wrecked or changed, it was me going in there and doing it. There was something in that tactile approach that had a connection to what I was doing. “It’s like building sandcastles and then the water comes along, and you build on the remains. If you are just shifting geometric shapes around, then you don’t
6 PEN&INC.
Aaron also won the Shadowers’ Choice Award for Illustration.
get that organic growth. But if you tear down the building, you realise that they would have kept the foundation, so the next building has an echo of the previous one. Any other process wouldn’t have brought that to life.”
Photo © Tom Pilston
Creating a visual reference point – whether in clay, on paper, or on a computer screen – fits with Aaron’s visual brain. It is an extension of those interactions with books in his early years and goes a long way to explaining his signature style and the desire to give readers a framework to hang their own imaginations on. He says: “It all comes from thinking in pictures. What I love about crafting a story in this way, is that I can respond emotionally to a draft almost immediately; it stops being a cerebral experience of editing and becomes more visceral. I look through my wordless sketches and know right away if it’s working. Very much a feelings-guided process, which seems to be the way I know how to create. “It’s vital for me to leave the story in the hands of the reader as much as
Autumn-Winter 2024
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60
