"The essence of being able to draw from memory is to be a mini-actor"

Raymond Briggs is one of the foremost creators of illustrated books for adults and children. "Usually stories just happen, I don't plan them except The Snowman - after Fungus the Bogeyman - after all that slime I really felt the need for something clean and pleasant".

Magic Word: Reality
"Most of my ideas seem to be based on a simple premise; let's assume that something imaginary- a snowman, a Bogeyman, a father Christmas- is wholly real and proceed logically from there". More

Magic tricks of his trade
"I always used to draw in pencil, then go over it in ink. But the drawings lost a lot of their freshness. To keep the spontaneity I now make photocopies of my pencil drawings, then work on those with colour. I make several copies so, if I muck it up I just start again and I've still got the original drawing. Using crayons, I find the colour grows into the picture and you get a certain softness".

Inspiration
His parents
Comics

Films
The Snowman
Father Christmas
The Bear
When The Wind Blows

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