Finding the real Knut

I wanted Josh to be ‘real’ to readers. I can draw cartoony people pretty easily:

…but I wanted to have a character that was a bit more realistic than my usual style- still a simple drawing, but with more accurate body language, proportions, and the little quirks that real people have.

I needed to practice drawing kids, so I figured- why don’t I ask a boy about Josh’s age to help me out? I knew there was a blond-haired boy living opposite my parents, who seemed about the right age. His name was Nick (and it still is, I don’t think he’s changed it).

One afternoon, my Dad and I walked across the road and floated the idea with Nick and his parents. “The story is about a boy who wants to be a viking,” I explained. “The boy makes a costume, builds a ship out of a fridge box, and goes on adventures.” I showed my research sketches, including the very first watercolour sketch of Knut I had painted on Rottnest.

Nick was excited. His dad asked him to fetch the things he’d been making. Turned out Nick was as inventive as the boy in the book. He brought out a homemade wooden guitar (shown in the background of the photo below). He’d also made some cardboard armour and a wooden shield.

The Viking costume was almost complete already- Nick had beat me to it. All that was missing was the Viking headgear- so we added some cardboard horns to an old bike helmet. The costume was complete- this is how it turned out:

Then a funny thought occurred to me. In the story, Knut builds a viking ship out of a fridge box. I had just bought myself a fridge, and the empty box was sitting on my verandah. What if Nick and I built a viking ship using the fridge box, just like Knut does in the book?

So we did.

It took us a whole day to do, and I’ll show you the process over the next 3 weeks 🙂

Author: James Foley

James makes books for courageous kids. He’s the author/illustrator of the S.Tinker Inc graphic novel series for middle primary: Brobot (2016), Dungzilla (2017) and Gastronauts (2018) star Sally Tinker, the world’s foremost inventor under the age of twelve, and Joe Tinker, her stinky baby brother. The fourth in the series, Chickensaurus, is out in late 2020. He is also the illustrator of the Toffle Towers series written by Tim Harris. James’ earlier books My Dead Bunny (2015), In The Lion (2012), The Last Viking (2011) and The Last Viking Returns (2014) have all scored several honours, including children’s choice awards, shortlistings in the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year awards, and selection to the International Youth Library’s White Raven list. The sequel to My dead Bunny - There's Something Weird About Lena - is out in late 2020. James comes from a long line of queuing enthusiasts. Follow him on FB/twitter/insta/youtube @jamesfoleybooks, or at www.jamesfoley.com.au . View all posts by James Foley