5 Questions for Momoko Abe
who fell in love with children's book illustration when she discovered that it's so much more than fairies and unicorns.
As a child, Momoko Abe (41), dreamt of being a professional ballet dancer. When those plans didn’t pan out, she turned to her second love: films.
Originally from Japan, Momoko moved to the UK at the age of 20 to study filmmaking and upon graduating with an MA, she immediately found a job in post-production. About a decade later, her love for her job as an edit assistant had waned somewhat and she began to consider alternative options. When thinking about what she would enjoy doing all day long, the answer was quickly found: drawing!
Due to her visa status, Momoko wasn’t able to return to university to gain an art degree. Instead, she enrolled in an evening course in illustration at Central Saint Martins. At this point, she didn’t yet see herself illustrating children’s books, but that would change when she picked up a copy of Jon Klassen’s I want my hat back. Suddenly she knew what she wanted to do.
Soon after, she took a second evening course at Central Saint Martins, this time with a focus on children’s book illustration. She also began immersing herself in the world of children’s books by reading about the subject and attending lots of workshops all of which would eventually pay off.
Today Momoko is an author/ illustrator with nine books under her belt and more to come. She regularly shares an insight into her illustration journey on her Substack.
1. What was it about the book by Jon Klassen that made you fall in love with children’s books?
The masterful balance of darkness and humour. As an adult, I was not interested in children’s books at all and a part of me was looking down on picture books. I thought they were just daisies and rainbows, unicorns and fairies. On this fateful day, however, the deadpan-looking bear on I Want My Hat Back caught my eye. I picked up the book and read it on the spot. I felt as if someone had slapped me in the face. I didn’t expect the ending at all! It was an eye-opening moment. The story and illustration were so simple yet so dark AND funny. My humour is on the rather dark and definitely on the dry side, and the book showed me that there was a place for someone like me in the picture book world. Also, the book proved picture book illustration doesn't have to be pastel / primary colours and cute.
2. What does creativity and being able to create mean to you?
Ah, this is a big question… Creativity means a lot to me. It’s joy, self-expression, communication, and therapy to name a few. I wrote about the therapeutic side of creating things in my blog. In it, I wrote:
First and foremost, I create things because I love doing it, not just because I need some pick-me-ups. I draw, paint and make things when I'm happy, sad and everything in between. What I want to say here is that I create because it's my way of venting myself. I strongly believe that people should 'voice' their feelings and thoughts no matter how hard or embarrassing it is, especially when going through hard times. It doesn't have to be literal or direct. For example, my creations are hardly depressing, if not melancholy, even if they were born during my dark times. You just need to let out whatever is sitting inside you in your own way.
To add to this, NOT being able to create means losing my voice. More often than not, my creations can speak my thoughts better than me. I have big ideas and interesting thoughts, but I often struggle to organise them in my head and express them on the spot. I’m also shy and hate public speeches. I know it’s not efficient (a picture book could take a few years to make) but it’s effective, especially for someone like me.
3. What are the unexpected joys that this career choice has brought into your life?
New friends. Usually the older you get, the smaller your social circle gets (or it just settles). But I have met many new people since I decided to be an illustrator and my social circle seems to keep expanding. Of course, some remain just as acquaintances, some are more like colleagues or mentors but more than I expected have become genuine friends with whom I go for coffee regularly or reunite in Bologna every year. There are many social opportunities in the children’s book industry. For example, I did a school visit in Brussels last month (October 2023) and I, at the age of 41, made a few new friends!
4. Whilst you have been quite busy illustrating and writing books, you actually haven’t left the world of films fully behind you yet. You still work part-time in your role as an edit assistant. What is your wish for the future? How do you hope to shape your illustration career in the next couple of years?
I would very much like to be a full-time author-illustrator but it's really hard to make a living solely by making children's books, especially picture books (they take longer to make and pay less). That's why I still work in TV and film. Living in one of the most expensive cities in the world doesn't help, but I love London.
Also, there’s a benefit of having another source of income. The last thing I want is to make books I’m not interested or proud of just for the sake of paying bills, or to do whatever publishers say just because I’m too scared to upset them and lose work. Fortunately, I can still pay my bills without my book income. Knowing that gives me the courage to be honest with my publishers.
I’d love to create a best-selling picture book/chapter book series and get it turned into a TV series or film, which allows me to be a full-time author-illustrator. So, my plan for the next couple of years would be to work on my chapter book ideas. Also, I’d love to teach how to make picture books or something like that one day as I like sharing my experience. So, I need to figure out how to make that happen. We will see!
5. Imagine you could get into a time machine and travel to the past or the future. You can, however, only meet yourself. Where would you go – to an older or younger version of you and what would you say to yourself?
My life motto is "let life surprise me" so I wouldn't go to see my future self. That’s for sure. Instead, I would probably go back to 2016 when I was building my portfolio website. I was checking out other illustrators’ websites for reference. But it was quite discouraging. Many of them had “graduated xx art school” and/or “won xx awards” in their bios and I had none of them. The most notable one was Cambridge School of Art MA Children's Book Illustration. At that time, I felt as if everyone had done the course and only those who had done the course (or something similar) could make it into the world of children’s books. So, I would go back to that time and tell my past self to just keep going and see what happens. I would tell her that she would be surprised.
Lastly, what is your spirit animal and why did you choose it?
I'm a big cat person so people would think I'd choose a cat. But it's actually a bird. Any bird that can fly. I like what they symbolise - freedom and independence. I personally and creatively need a big, metaphorical room to be myself and grow. I can't stand anyone or anything that tries to put me in a small box or pressures me to be someone that I'm not.
Connect with Momoko
Website - momokoabe.com
Instagram - instagram.com/momokodoodles
5 Questions for ... is an interview series created by me - Chantal Valerie - featuring creative self-starters, artistic late bloomers and those who have created a thriving career by following their passion.
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