Meet brilliant children’s book art director, Zoë Tucker!
Zoë Tucker is an independent children’s book art director based in Brighton, UK (where the Global Art Gathering happened!). Specialising in children’s books, Zoë has over 17 years in the publishing industry working in-house for Random House, Penguin and Scholastic.
Now freelance, Zoë remains Art Director of Alison Green Books (an imprint of Scholastic UK), where she commissions some of the world’s greatest picture book artists. She also consults with animation and production companies Magic Light Pictures and Dog Ears, Ireland.
Learn more about Zoë on her website here.
Zoë is a new addition to our Global Talent Search judging panel and we’re very excited to introduce her here.
This is what a day at the office looks like for a children’s book art director!
My Desk
I live and work in Brighton on the south coast of England, where I share a studio with nine other artists, including illustrators, jewellers and costume designers. It’s a very lively and creative space to spend the day. We even have a full screen printing set up!
London
I frequently travel up to London to work in-house for publishing companies. It’s an hour train ride – just enough time to grab a coffee and relax!
- Fabulous local coffee from Small Batch
- On the train
- Groovy patterns on the underground
- Scholastic UK office in central London
- Me signing in for the day
Design meeting
Each week there is an opportunity for designers to present their work-in-progress for current projects. Today we are looking at cover design, branding and finishes for three new titles on the Alison Green List. (This is Alison and I, looking rather goofy.) It is a relaxed and creative meeting with our production and sales teams.
Print and proofreading
While I am in the London office I will get final files ready to print and send artwork out to scan. I also check book proofs that have come in from the printer in the far east.
The mystery item in the picture above is my linen tester. This magnifies the print so I can see how the colour is all fitting together and check for registration issues. It’s magical and I couldn’t live without it!
My favourite thing
My favourite thing at the moment has to be my Pentel brush pen. It was a gift from my boyfriend, who is a whizz at illustration. I don’t draw as often as I used to, but this little pen has transformed how I like to illustrate! It’s great for hand drawn lettering too.
Zoë is part of the judging panel for the Global Talent Search 2015. As you can see from the pictures, she has a keen eye for all things aesthetic – your art might well catch her fancy!
Enter the Global Talent Search 2015 today and who knows who will spot your talent?
Registrations close on August 12, 3:59pm PDT / 6:59pm EDT / 11:59pm BST (UK).
Oh, I understand her love for that pen. I have one too! It’s wonderful.