After completing his MFA at Chicago’s School of the Art Institute, Jeffrey Brown dedicated himself to creating comics and graphic novels. His inventive, sincere auto-biographical works earned him legions of fans with critically acclaimed titles such as Clumsy, Unlikely, and An Easy Intimacy; humorous works such as Incredible Change-Bots and Sulk; as well as observational books like Cat Getting Out of a Bag and Cats Are Weird.
When Jeffrey combined his personal style and deep fan knowledge of Star Wars into the New York Times bestsellers Darth Vader and Son and Vader’s Little Princess, his popularity exploded. Always a prolific artist, Jeffrey released A Matter of Life and Star Wars: Jedi Academy soon after. In Spring, 2014, He returned to the subject of humor in parenting with Kids Are Weird from Chronicle Books. Jeffrey’s Darth Vader series was originally geared towards adults as it was about the experience of being a parent; however, parents shared it with their kids and now both adults & kids love the series. Goodnight Darth Vader was created with both audiences in mind.
My life as a parent and trying to get my own kids to bed. I realized there wasn’t a true Star Wars bedtime book, so I figured I should make one.
Art medium used …
I use Faber Castell Pitt artist pens to draw and color on Strathmore illustration board.
Artistic process …
I spend a lot of time planning things out—I try to have considerably more ideas that are sketched out than will actually make it into the book. I work with my editors to get the book as focused as possible, and then start drawing up a rough draft or pencils, which need to be approved by Lucasfilm, after which I star creating the finished art.
I do work from home a good portion of the time, but I like to get out and draw at my local coffee shop for most of the day. It’s quiet enough to not be too distracting, but with enough background noise to not feel like I’m working in a vacuum.
Most used art supply or tool …
The Faber Castell Pitt Superfine pen is my tool of choice these days—I use it for most of my line-work as well as sketching.
Illustrator idols …
Edward Gorey, Renee French, Brian Froud, Mark Alan Stamaty, E.H. Shepard
All-time favorite children’s book you didn’t illustrate…
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