• Meet the Author •
Nick Glass of TeachingBooks.net interviewed Grades Kadir Nelson Kadir Nelson at his San Diego County studio, K–2, 3–5 Colorado.
every day—all the way through There were a number of elementary school, junior high, children’s book illustrators and high school. at Pratt. Did any of them My uncle, who’s an art influence you? teacher, took me under his wing KN: No, I didn’t even think and gave me a really strong about children’s book illustra- foundation in art. I spent sum- tion when I was in school. I mers with him, and he taught wanted to be either a gallery art- me how to draw, how to see, ist or just a freelance artist doing how to mix colors, how to use editorial, CD covers, advertising, different mediums and perspec- and stuff like that. tive, and so forth. He really gave www.kadirnelson.com What kind of jobs did you Photo from me a head start on my peers. I have while you were in ended up getting a scholarship school? to study art at Pratt Institute. KN: I paid for my tuition by You hold multiple awards What did you like to selling paintings and drawings, for your books for children, draw? and I got a big job doing some specifically for your illus- KN: As a kid, I drew cartoon T-shirt designs for Nike. Right trations: the Coretta Scott characters and comic book after I graduated, I got a big job King Illustrator Award, the heroes. Spiderman and the X- for and with Caldecott Honor Award Sports Illustrated and the NAACP Image Men were my favorites. DreamWorks on the movie Award among many. How did your art focus Amistad. Please share what your change as you grew up? What did you do for childhood was like; have KN: My first year of college, Amistad? you always been an artist? I went to architecture school KN: I did concept work called KN: I have two sisters and a because people had always said “visual development,” which brother, and we all were into that it’s hard to make a living means I was illustrating key our own things. I was a kid that as an artist, and you won’t be scenes from the movie. It’s dif- liked to draw more than any- able to provide for yourself or ferent from storyboard, which is body else, and I really wanted to have any notoriety until you’re shot-by-shot illustration. I illus- get better. I also loved the atten- dead. I didn’t like that scenario, trated specific scenes to estab- tion I got from drawing. It’s nice so I thought that I would study lish a tone, a look, a palette, and to be good at something. architecture and get a “real” a mood for each scene during We moved around a lot when job. the movie. I was a kid, so whenever I’d go But the only thing I liked They hired a number of to a new class, I’d start drawing about studying architecture was African American artists to tell or ask someone if they liked to design. I didn’t enjoy anything the story of Amistad for Steven draw, and that kind of broke the else about it, so after a semester Spielberg in order to convince ice. I switched over to illustration him to take on the movie. My mother made sure I always and decided that I really wanted Steven wasn’t really sure if he had art supplies, and I drew to make a serious go at art. was the right director, because
December 2010 Web Resources • LibrarySparks • Meet the Author
he isn’t an African American, I was a good student. I got fortunate because my wife and and he wanted to make sure really good grades, and I was I were expecting, and I didn’t that he could tell it in a confi- very proud that I stayed on have a job. dent way. top of my work. As a result You succeeded because Over the course of six of my hard work in school, I you worked hard in school months, we did tons of work, got an internship at Society of and people were inter- and, using our illustrations, Illustrators in New York, and ested in your work. they walked Steven through the I interned there for a month. KN: I think it was a combina- movie so he could see what it As a result of doing that, they tion of hard work, willpower, could look like and could be gave me a ticket to one of their and also preparing myself for able to tell the story with confi- shows. any opportunity that might dence. I went to the show, and I met cross my path. All students When did your art begin a young lady there who had just know what it feels like not to to take on its very strong graduated. I was passing out my be prepared for a big test or not African American themes? new business cards, and I gave doing your homework and then KN: I think it was in high one to her. A week or two later, realizing that you could have school—in the early 1990s. she called and told me she had really taken advantage of it if There were a lot of very strong, this job she couldn’t do. She you would have just done the positive images of African thought she wasn’t the right per- groundwork. Americans that were prevalent son for it, and she thought I was I knew that I was doing the in music and film and television a better fit. I took the job, which groundwork. My mother had at that time. needed to be done in maybe always talked about the power Spike Lee was doing his thing three days. of visualization and self-realiza- with movies, and there were a I met with the guy regarding tion—that if you want to be lot of hip-hop groups that had that job, and he liked my work, successful at something, you that very strong theme of posi- so I did the job for him and should imagine yourself doing tive affirmation of identifying got him out of that pinch. He it and prepare yourself for it. with your African ancestry and liked me and my work so much That’s what I was doing. It’s kind roots. There were also a number that he wanted to help me get of like blind faith, but I believed of television shows featuring started in my career. I gave him very strongly that I was going strong African American char- a portfolio of my work, and he to succeed at whatever it was acters. The idea of embracing sent a few pages around. One that I was going to do—if just African American culture was of them ended up at a record given the opportunity. For some blossoming, and I became company in Los Angeles, and reason, I knew that something attracted to it and wanted to someone at the record company was coming, because I wanted it become part of it and contribute knew about this film in the so badly. works at DreamWorks—which to it. You worked in illustration was a brand-new studio at that Is that how you came to and on some incredible time. get the Amistad work? professional jobs, and then They passed my work on KN: A lot of the work that I made yourself a niche in to the production designer at was doing when I was in col- children’s book art. How DreamWorks, whose name was lege had to do with my African did that prepare you for Rick Carter. He liked it, and American ancestry. I loved work in children’s books? they called me. I had just got- doing historical artwork, so KN: When doing artwork for ten married, and I was on my serendipitously, the Amistad film, a lot of the skills that are honeymoon when I get this call project appeared right after I necessary for that type of work from DreamWorks as well as graduated from college. There lend themselves very well to from Sports Illustrated about two was a lot of momentum that doing children’s book art. You really big projects. I was very made that happen. have to learn how to do char-
• LibrarySparks • December 2010 Web Resources Meet the Author
painting over the photocopy. ies of what people think art is When I had this book to do, I or should be, and that’s how realized I didn’t have that much they’ve made their work rel- time, so I just photocopied all evant. That’s what I’m trying to of my sketches and painted figure out for myself. over the photocopies, and that What was it like to be worked out pretty well. I was asked to illustrate a book able to meet my deadline and about Michael Jordan? please the art directors and the KN: Oh, that was really cool, editors, so that’s the style that I because I was a Michael Jordan used to work in for some of my nut when I was a kid. He was acter design and environmental earlier books like Brothers of the my hero: my whole bedroom design, and you have to tell Knight, Big Jabe, Salt in His Shoes, wall was plastered with Michael stories with your artwork using Dancing in the Wings. Jordan. I got to meet him when color and lighting and so forth. For Just the Two of Us, I I was 16 or so. Those are really great tools for decided that I didn’t need to Then recently, I got to work children’s books. photocopy that stuff anymore. I with his mother and his sister, For me, each book is kind of could just draw. I was confident and now we have a really good like a silent film. If you were enough in the technique that I relationship. It’s nice to meet to remove the words and just could just paint over my pencil your heroes, and it’s even nice look at the pictures, you should drawings. From then on, I didn’t to meet your hero’s mother and be able to tell what the story is make any more photocopies; sister. I was really glad to get about without having to read a I just went straight to painting that job. word of text. That’s what I think over the pencil drawings. One of the more playful I brought from doing artwork Then I got kind of tired of books you’ve illustrated, for film to doing artwork for doing it that way, and I decided Please, Baby, Please is just books. I wouldn’t need to have the pen- delightful. Is there some- Was Brothers of the Knight cil drawings for the line in the thing about trying to just your first children’s book? book, I would just do paintings. have fun with your art? KN: That was the first one that And that’s what I’ve done for the KN: The Spike Lee books was published. The first one last maybe two, three books. (Please, Baby, Please and Please, that I began working on was Big More confidence makes all Puppy, Please) were during a Jabe, but Brothers of the Knight the difference in the world. point in my life where my kids had an accelerated schedule, KN: Well, I think it’s important were little—and I was living so I ended up doing that one to have confidence, but then it’s that—so it was easy to put before Big Jabe. also important to try something that into the work. I was really Do you want to talk about new, to leave your comfort zone trying to win my kids over, those early books? to try to grow. That’s why I’m because they didn’t really like KN: In the early books, I had to trying to grow as an artist and any of the books that I had figure out my method of work- trying to figure out what kind of done before. I figured if I put ing. In Brothers of the Knight, artist I want to be. them in the books, then maybe since it was such an accelerated I want my work to be rel- they would like them. They schedule, I didn’t know how I evant, and I have to figure out liked them for two seconds was going to do it so quickly. what that means for me. There’s and then moved on to the next When I was in college, my not really much new with art thing. mother and I were working on media. What’s important about You’ve worked on chil- this board game, and there were the artists we learn about in dren’s books with many so many portraits of people that art history and see in all the families of celebrities, if I ended up making photocopies art books is that they have not the celebrities them- of their photographs and then somehow pushed the boundar- selves, from Spike Lee December 2010 Web Resources • LibrarySparks • Meet the Author
and Will Smith, to the euphoria over a little more than truth, and that’s kind of what Robinson family and the half of the country, and I really I’m searching for. Jordan family. wanted to try to distill a bit of So when I do a book on KN: It certainly wasn’t my plan that and show how important the Negro baseball leagues or to illustrate celebrity books spe- and magical this election was. Harriet Tubman or what have cifically. I want to find sound What was it about story you, it’s really a matter of trying stories—whether they are writ- in The Village That Vanished to learn that truth for myself. ten by celebrities or not—and that resonated with you? When I learn something and tell the story in an honest way. KN: I like the spiritual quality am inspired by it, it motivates Hopefully, if you do it right of The Village That Vanished and me to share it with other peo- and do the artwork well, then how it opens with her standing ple. Children’s books are a really you can get the book past the at the river reciting this prayer. great platform that allows me to stigma that celebrity books tend I really like the connection to do that. to have, because your work nature as well. There’s some- Please talk about We gives legitimacy to the story. thing similar about Mama Miti Are The Ship: The Story Fortunately, when you do and Moses and those types of of Negro League Baseball books with celebrities, you get books that resonates with me. from both a writer’s stand- more press than you would for Perhaps it’s the spiritual quality. point and an illustrator’s other books, and it helps bring Moses seemed to change standpoint. more attention to the work that things for you in a really KN: That was a really good you do as well. incredible way. time, because I was able to meet Change Has Come is your KN: I wasn’t looking at that a lot of current and retired play- book about the election of story as something that could ers, and I went to a lot of base- President Barack Obama. change my career in any way. ball games. I learned a lot, not What was it like to make I approached Moses the same only about the Negro leagues, that book? as books before it; I was find- but I learned that I could write KN: The publisher came to ing a sound story in order to well enough to be published. me when I was travelling, and illustrate something that I really That was really unexpected and asked me if I was interested in cared about. I liked the story: not something that I wanted to doing a book on Obama, and I I liked how it was told, and I do at first, but I got the green wasn’t. There had been so many liked the spiritual element of it. light from my editor, so I just Obama books done already. It And, of course, it was historic. had to step up and do my best. was right after the election, and It hit on a lot of the things that How would you describe I didn’t think I had anything I really liked, including Harriet the perspective from more to contribute to what had Tubman. which you wrote We Are already been published or was My grandmother had always The Ship? being published. But their idea, reminded me of Harriet Tubman KN: It’s written from the per- which I liked, was to do kind of quite a bit, so doing the art for spective of an elder player who a sketchbook documentary of Moses was really a tribute to not had seen it all, and he’s telling this historic election. I thought only Harriet but to my grand- the story as he knew it and as it was a really great idea. I had mother as well. all the players knew it. There’s 10 days to do that book, and I this collective voice saying, was travelling half of those days. Why are you drawn to his- torical subjects? “This is how we did it, this is That was a bit tricky. what it was like for us, and this KN: It’s just a search for truth. I is how we made history.” What about the topic of think all of us have to find our It is told in a voice that is very Change Has Come? What own truths, and for me, this is humble, very honest, and very did you want to cover? part of it. When we learn about upbeat. When you hear people KN: I was documenting the history in school or in books, talk about what it was like in election. There was this air of we don’t always get the whole
• LibrarySparks • December 2010 Web Resources Meet the Author
the old days, especially during American perspective. It is in It’s the same thing with that era in American history, a similar format to We Are The Abraham Lincoln. We learn a it’s not always upbeat because Ship—a picture book in chapter lot about him, but what I really there’s a lot of ugliness to that book format, with pictures on wanted to do with Abe was to period of time. But this character every page. try to take him off that pedestal was able to look beyond and Besides unearthing truth, for a minute and look at him transcend all of that negativity or trying to let kids under- as a human being that actually that they faced, because they stand who these great walked the earth. were able to play in the game people were, what else are What work are you now that they loved. you accomplishing with doing that’s not book art? And then you got rec- you picture book biogra- KN: I do a bit of advertising ognized for your writing phies? work every year. The last two with a Coretta Scott KN: I’m trying to tell the story in years, I did work for Coca Cola King Author Award and a way that it needs to be told, and for their Black History Month the Robert F. Sibert I am trying to put some people in and music festival promotions Informational Book Medal. front of young people who they that they do. KN: It’s kind of a strange thing, may not be familiar with—whom When I have time, I do my because I knew that I could tell they may not learn much about own paintings that go in the gal- stories with my art but not with in school—and make the learn- lery or on someone’s wall. my words. I’m an artist by trade ing enjoyable. The biggest job that I’ve ever and an author by necessity. To Everyone knows about Martin done, which I just finished, was even try to step into the shoes of Luther King, Jr., but not a lot of an album cover for Michael an author was really daunting. people know about Coretta Scott Jackson’s next release. It’s a big The awards still surprise me King or her silent but important mural that details his whole life to this day, because I still don’t role in the civil rights move- from when he was a young kid consider myself an author even ment. Or Nelson Mandela: we with the Jacksons growing up though I’ve written that book, don’t really learn much about with his brothers and sisters, and now I’m writing another him—there might be a para- through “Thriller,” all the way to couple of books. graph or so in a book. Or Henry This Is It, the movie. It was a big What else are you writing? Box Brown—no one really job. I worked on that painting KN: I’ve written a picture book knows much about him. for a year. But when you give this book biography of Nelson Mandela, You have also illustrated to a teacher, then he or she can and I’m putting the finishing postage stamps. take that book and teach kids touches on a book on American KN: I wanted to do those ever about parts of history that they history told from an African since I was in college when my might not even know about, and teacher really talked them up. they can make it a lot more fun. Twelve years after I graduated, Because of Henry’s Freedom Box, I got a call from an art director I’ve heard of a number of teach- at the post office, and she had ers across the country actually a stamp for me. They had had building a box for kids to get in, a Negro League stamp in the step into to make that history works for a long time, but they even more tangible. couldn’t make it work. I was Ellington does that. It takes finishing We Are The Ship, and a lot of really interesting stories I had all this Negro League art- and brings historical icons down work. Once they saw my work, to the ground so kids can look they gave me a shot. up to them and see that they There’s not a lot of space to were real people. work with on a stamp, so they
December 2010 Web Resources • LibrarySparks • Meet the Author
have to maximize the space get to a part of history where I two-year-old son. Once my wife usage. It really took some doing; really don’t know much about takes him, then I have pretty the people at the post office are it, and I’ll have to go and read a much the day to work. very specific about placement lot and find out more about it. I’ll do my bit of administrative and making sure that it’s abso- Then, it’s easy. If you don’t know stuff, I’ll do some stalling, and lutely perfect. what you’re talking about, then then I’ll get into what I need to I’ve also done stamps of Anna you really don’t have anything do. Julia Cooper—who was an to say. For example, right now, I’m African American educator who What are you exploring doing a painting of the storm- held a doctoral degree when that in the American history ing of Fort Wagner by the Glory was rare, and the Richard Wright book? Regiment 54. I’m painting a cou- stamp for the author series. KN: When you are in school ple hundred people, and it’s a Do you find there’s a lot they can only give you a little daunting task. So I stall before I more freedom in creat- bit of history. That really wasn’t start painting each day, and then ing a stand-alone painting enough for me to understand, I get into it, and I realize, “Man, compared to a series of for example, why race is still I stalled too long, I should have paintings for a book? so important in 2010. Or what been painting two hours ago!” KN: Actually, I try to make each World War II was all about; But it’s just how it goes. painting independent, even in what World War I was all about, What do you like to tell books. We shouldn’t have to and how did it affect your aver- students? look at a painting and feel like age African American citizen at KN: Much of the message that there’s something missing. It that time? Those are questions I try to put across to students is should be able to stand on its that I didn’t have an answer to that they have to figure out what own. I think that’s part of what until I started reading for and they really like to do and find makes some of the work that writing this book. a way to do that as an adult for I do more successful than not; People ask me, “Are you writ- their jobs. A lot of people have I try to make each painting a ing about the real American his- jobs they don’t like, and it makes work of art on its own. tory, or are you . . .” and I say, for very unhappy people. So I What do you do when you “Wait a minute, I’m writing this tell them if you like to write, or get stuck? book for children. I can’t get into run around, or dig in the dirt, KN: Nikki Giovanni said that a lot of the more complex his- then find a job that will allow there’s no such thing as writer’s tory that a lot of us like to dig you to do that, and you’ll be block, there’s only a lack of our teeth into.” happy. information. So if I get stuck, It can’t be so honest that it that means that I don’t have puts people off. There’s a lot of ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ enough information, whether it’s ugliness to American history as www.TeachingBooks.net pro- for a painting or for something within any history, and it’s a mat- duces comprehensive author pro- that I’m writing. ter of trying to tell it in a very grams that enable every school I never got stuck on We Are the tasteful way. and library to virtually host Ship, because I knew that story Please describe a typical favorite authors and illustrators inside and out. I’d read tons and day for you. of books for children and teens. tons of books and interviews, I’d KN: I used to cook breakfast for Programs include original five- interviewed people myself, and my kids, but my daughter’s old minute movies filmed in their I’d looked at documentaries. I’m enough that she can cook break- studios, in-depth written inter- so familiar with that story that it fast for herself and her sister, views, and relevant links around really just kind of wrote itself. which is nice, so I get another the Web. For more information, The American history book half hour of sleep. Then I take contact Nick Glass, Founder, at I’ve worked on recently has been my daughters to school, and I [email protected]. more of a challenge, because I’ll come home and play with my
• LibrarySparks • December 2010 Web Resources