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NH: Money and commerce is what drives my job as a book illustrator, and deadlines are vital. However, it's still better to go the extra mile to try and deliver quality rather than quantity. If pleading for an extra couple of days will make all the difference in the quality of an image then plead and show them the difference. It benefits the product as well as yourself in the end. Once a piece of your work is out there in print it's there for all to see and it’s an advertisement of your ability. That's true whether the image is one of your best or one you'd rather hide away. Deliver the best you can. Quality work tends to survive the test of time better.

I'm never happy with a piece when I hand it over. There's always something I could have done better or different. Give it a while before you look at the thing again, after you've let it go. Its funny how a bit of time can give you better perspective on seeing how you actually did.

IA: You've done many illustrations for children books. In what ways do you think it's a different challenge? Do you try to imagine what children can feel when seeing your work?

NH: My natural style has dropped me firmly in the children’s book playpen. It just happens to be that the way I think, draw and paint suits that particular genre. For me, making a piece of art is more than about producing something that's visually appealing to look at. Most of what I turn out isn't what your average-Joe public would want to hang on their walls, unless they have an interest in collecting illustration or a psychiatric problem. It has to have content that makes you want to know more. The pieces I like most are about storytelling.

Stories for children up to about 14 years old can tend to have more obvious visual clues you can use, they can be more fun and can offer more scope for distorting reality. The closest adult equivalent these days are the graphic novels, I suppose; which usually contain sexual and violent references that are a bit ahead of where the unsullied child mind would ideally be. That is an enormous generalization and there are all shades in between of course.

That's where having an agent, or someone in the business at least, to consult is so helpful as well. Mine took my work to the people he knew would be interested, which happens to be children’s book publishers. It's also one of the bigger marketplaces requiring the greater proportion of artwork produced.

NH: I'm a self confessed dunce about using color. I still make the drawing and then color it in like I did when I was five. It's just that I've gotten a bit more skilled with it over time, I hope. That doesn't mean I don’t love color and the good use of it. There's almost nothing I admire more than good coloring in a well drawn artwork. Of course, your idea of what's good and mine may be poles apart because it's so subjective and personal. I love watching films and I suppose it influences the way I think about the use of color a lot. The combination of color and lighting to set a scene or relay an emotion is a fundamental tool in the hands of a skilled film-maker and I imagine the scenic work I do as a kind of frozen frame.

For example, it's easier to convey a somber or sad moment with a subdued palette than it is with a sunny golden one. It's not obvious to convey fiery heat using blues and purples, unless the story details demand it. We're not talking rocket science here; I'm too thick for that. I use a pretty basic range of palette choices to set a mood and then slot spot colors in to pick out focal points. When you add a lighting pattern to the mix you have plenty of scope for subtle variations to make the captured moment individual enough to relate to a particular story.