(C) Susan Batori (STRICTLY NO CROCS, Maverick Children's Books, January 2016)
Welcome, Susan!
How did you find your way into illustrating for children?
It was a loooong way. I’ve always wanted to be an artist. I studied graphic design at the Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts, Budapest. I started my career as a graphic designer. Soon I became an art director at a big advertising company, DDB. Working in this area was fine, but I missed something. Eventually, I realized that my job as a graphic designer wasn't bringing fun into my life any more, so I started looking for something else. I saw that drawing gave me the best feeling I’ve ever felt, so the rest came quite quickly. One of my friends was developing a children’s magazine application and he asked me to illustrate some of the stories. The three bears were born then. I started to share my work on the Internet and finally an agency found me. Good Illustration Agency is a London based agency and I have a really good relationship with them. If I could start my career again, I would begin as a children's illustrator.
Why do you love creating illustrations for young readers?
Because I can be funny and make many, many children laugh through my illustrations.
It was a loooong way. I’ve always wanted to be an artist. I studied graphic design at the Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts, Budapest. I started my career as a graphic designer. Soon I became an art director at a big advertising company, DDB. Working in this area was fine, but I missed something. Eventually, I realized that my job as a graphic designer wasn't bringing fun into my life any more, so I started looking for something else. I saw that drawing gave me the best feeling I’ve ever felt, so the rest came quite quickly. One of my friends was developing a children’s magazine application and he asked me to illustrate some of the stories. The three bears were born then. I started to share my work on the Internet and finally an agency found me. Good Illustration Agency is a London based agency and I have a really good relationship with them. If I could start my career again, I would begin as a children's illustrator.
Why do you love creating illustrations for young readers?
Because I can be funny and make many, many children laugh through my illustrations.
(C) Susan Batori
How do you tap into your inner kid when you are illustrating for children?
That’s an interesting question. I don't need to tap into my inner kid because I become kid when I draw! I feel happy and I am very open and creative. I see things as a child. It is very liberating.
What type of books for children do you enjoy illustrating?
My favorites are funny, humorous stories with a hilarious and surprising end. I prefer animal characters, but I like drawing human characters as well. I found that animals are very funny with cute facial expressions, and I use a lot of that in my illustrations. So I love funny stories with animals. My favorites are from Heather Pindar. She is the author of STRICTLY NO CROCS and BEWARE THE MIGHTY BITEY. I love both books very much. It was so much fun to work on illustrating them.
That’s an interesting question. I don't need to tap into my inner kid because I become kid when I draw! I feel happy and I am very open and creative. I see things as a child. It is very liberating.
What type of books for children do you enjoy illustrating?
My favorites are funny, humorous stories with a hilarious and surprising end. I prefer animal characters, but I like drawing human characters as well. I found that animals are very funny with cute facial expressions, and I use a lot of that in my illustrations. So I love funny stories with animals. My favorites are from Heather Pindar. She is the author of STRICTLY NO CROCS and BEWARE THE MIGHTY BITEY. I love both books very much. It was so much fun to work on illustrating them.
(C) Susan Batori (BEWARE THE MIGHTY BITEY, Maverick Children's Books, October 2017)
How does your cultural heritage and/or family upbringing influence your illustrative style/voice?
My mother and my father had really good manual skills. My father loved to draw just for fun. I learned a lot from him. My mother decorated the walls of my room with Minnie and Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. I was so happy as a child and this inspires me very much.
Life in the 70’s and 80's in Hungary was so much fun for me. Growing up, I was exposed to many kinds of illustrative styles. We had fantastic children's books (I still own a few!) and I loved the cartoons. Hungary imported cartoons from everywhere around the world. From the United States, for example, I loved the Flintstones. Plus we had our own cartoons. My favorite was a Hungarian one, Gombóc Artúr (Arthur Chubby--I can’t translate it exactly). Every Hungarian child knew him. He was a funny, plump blue bird who loved every kind of chocolate very much. I've just recently realized that my style is very similar.
What children's project(s) are you working on now?
I am working on a Brazilian folktale--The Boy and the Violin. The other project is a Spanish book about Mama Duck and her little son who travel for a while. And I have just begun a book about cats--a lot of cats! I love those cats!
My mother and my father had really good manual skills. My father loved to draw just for fun. I learned a lot from him. My mother decorated the walls of my room with Minnie and Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. I was so happy as a child and this inspires me very much.
Life in the 70’s and 80's in Hungary was so much fun for me. Growing up, I was exposed to many kinds of illustrative styles. We had fantastic children's books (I still own a few!) and I loved the cartoons. Hungary imported cartoons from everywhere around the world. From the United States, for example, I loved the Flintstones. Plus we had our own cartoons. My favorite was a Hungarian one, Gombóc Artúr (Arthur Chubby--I can’t translate it exactly). Every Hungarian child knew him. He was a funny, plump blue bird who loved every kind of chocolate very much. I've just recently realized that my style is very similar.
What children's project(s) are you working on now?
I am working on a Brazilian folktale--The Boy and the Violin. The other project is a Spanish book about Mama Duck and her little son who travel for a while. And I have just begun a book about cats--a lot of cats! I love those cats!
(C) I See Me! Susan Batori is a Hungarian illustrator, graphic designer and a character design addict. She studied graphic design at the Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts, Budapest, Hungary. As an art director at DDB Advertising Agency, Susan designed many print ads, websites, posters, packages, etc. for years. Than she noticed that drawing hilarious characters was much more fun. She likes to laugh with her boyfriend Robert and her cat Kamilla. They inspire her funny characters. She also loves creating new digital textures, reading, watching great movies, drinking coffee, walking in a forest or pampering herself with a good salted caramel ice cream. Since 2012, Susan has been working as a freelance children’s book illustrator. Humor is the one thing in her studio that she could not live without. She is represented by Good Illustration Ltd., London. Her clients have come to include Maverick Arts Publishing, Highlights for Children's Magazine, Oxford University Press, I See Me! Personalized Children's Books, and Spider Magazine, an imprint of Cricket Media. Find Susan and her fun-filled portfolio on Facebook, Behance, Instagram, Pintrest, at batori.hu, and susanbatori.myportfolio.com.
