A perk of being an illustrator is that there isn’t really a standard working day. I could be in the studio or teaching at a University or running a workshop in a nature park or a hospital. I end up all over the place! Mostly, though, I try to be in my studio working on illustrations for books and magazines and things. 

Lizzy Stewart

Lizzy Stewart

My working day starts when I get to my studio, in Forest Hill, South-East London. I share a room with three other freelancers in a beautiful red-brick library building, it’s a lovely place to work. I arrive at an almost-reasonable hour and tend to spend the first twenty scrolling around the internet looking for distractions. Once I’ve done enough procrastinating I go for a swim. Which might seem like another distraction technique but really helps me focus on what I’m meant to be doing that day!

Once I’m back at my desk I can properly start work. Often this means working on rough sketches for an art director or editor to look over. I’m not very good at this part, I get over-excited and want to crack on with the finals, so my roughs are very, very rough indeed. Barely legible! Once a rough is approved I can start working on the finished image. I draw it out in pencil, colour it with watercolours and then scan it and edit it in Photoshop till I think its ready for print. My favourite part is definitely the drawing and painting, its why I do this job I guess! I always feel very lucky to draw for a living, it never gets old!

Everyone in the studio is usually counting down till lunchtime so at 1pm we tend to drop everything to pop out to a cafe to get a sandwich. I work alongside a radio producer, an animator and another illustrator which has proved to be a really nice mix. It’s a relief to not have to talk about illustration all day. 

I call it a day at about 5.30 and walk home to Crystal Palace. In the summer I wander through the park to catch up on sunshine or to meet my house-mate and her dog. I try to keep a ‘no work at home’ rule going because I am liable to draw into the wee small hours if I don’t. Occasionally the rule is broken though and I’ll do some editing in the evening. 

Lizzy Stewart has been nominated for the Oscar’s Book Prize shortlist for her work There's A Tiger In The Garden. The award is supported by the London Evening Standard, Amazon and the National Literacy Trust and was set up in memory of Oscar Ashton a boy who passed away at the age of 3 from an undetected heart condition, looks to honour the best in early-years literature. The winner will be announced in May, with the £5,000 price awarded by Princess Beatrice at a ceremony in London.