Mind In Motion - A creative spotlight
If you ask our seven-year-old Rufus what he wants to be when he grows up, he'd tell you straight up—he dreams of being a writer and illustrator just like Rob Biddulph.
Peek into Rufus's room, and you'll see it's a mini shrine to Rob, with shelves warping under the weight of his books and notebooks crammed with stories and drawings all inspired by Robs books.
Rob Biddulph has become a household name in the children's book world—a bestselling author and illustrator whose books are adored by kids like Rufus worldwide.
Before he took the plunge into full-time writing and illustrating, he was the art director at the Observer Magazine and spreading his creative magic across various publications. He first shot to fame with his debut picture book, Blown Away, which snagged the Waterstones Children's Book Prize in 2015.
He’s also the man behind the "Draw With Rob" series. Born out of a desire to keep kids and parents from climbing the walls during the COVID-19 lockdowns, his online drawing tutorials quickly became a lifeline for frazzled families everywhere. These sessions were so beloved they’ve been turned into activity books, igniting the imaginations of young artists around the globe.
He’s one of those guys you just can’t help but like. And knowing how busy he is, I'm chuffed to bits that he’s taken the time to be a part of this Minds In Motion blog series.
This series invites artists, designers, entrepreneurs, and digital creators to share their processes and explore how they define and distinguish themselves in this ever evolving space.
It’s a real treat sharing his story and insights here, especially seeing the massive impact he’s had on our little budding author, Rufus.
__
1. What inspired you to pursue this creative path, and how has it evolved over time?
Ever since I can remember I’ve loved drawing. When the careers advisor at school asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up I would always say “an artist”, but somewhere along the way I found myself going down the graphic design route.
I managed to forge a pretty successful career working in newspapers and magazines - I was the art director of Just Seventeen, Sky Magazine, NME and The Observer Magazine - but I was still happiest with a pencil in my hand.
When my daughter Kitty was about two we started buying lots of picture books to read to her at bedtime.
New ones, old ones, favourites from our own childhoods, we bought the lot.
And I had an epiphany.
Maybe I should have a go at writing and illustrating one. Whether I could do it or not I wasn’t sure, but it suddenly seemed so obvious that I should at least try.
So off I went and started to work on a couple of stories. When I’d finished I sent them out to a literary agent who immediately (and enthusiastically) agreed to take me on.
“This is it,” I thought, “my book will be on the shelves in a matter of months!”.
I was wrong.
Despite getting quite a lot of interest from most of the publishers we approached, we couldn't quite get a deal in place.
It was a case of so near yet so far. I think I had totally underestimated how competitive the market was.
After a couple of years (yes, years!) of to-ing, fro-ing, tweaking and titivating I decided that I needed to step back and take stock.
I told my agent to stand down and that I wanted some time to think through my next move.
I spent the next six months completely re-drawing a couple of stories and I approached a new agent, Jodie Hodges at United. She liked my work and agreed to take me on, suggesting that I put together a portfolio of children's staples to take to publishers alongside the book.
So I drew a pirate scene, a dinosaur scene, a space scene, a selection of animal characters, boy characters, girl characters and lots more. We then took the work out.
This time things were different. Two of the people I met said they really liked a drawing I’d done of a little penguin family and asked if I could come up with a narrative for them. I said I’d try.
I had been working on a story about some children who, while flying a kite, get blown away across the sea by a strong gust of wind.
It struck me that in fact this story might actually work better with penguins as the protagonists instead of children.
It would certainly be fun to get the famously flightless birds airborne.
So I tweaked it and finished it very quickly, sketching out some of the key moments. Within a day or two of sending it to publishers we had several offers on the table. I couldn't believe it.
We decided to sign with HarperCollins (home of Oliver Jeffers and Dr Seuss) and haven't looked back since.
It’s been amazing and I've now written and illustrated 15 picture books, 10 bestselling activity books, and three novels.
Along the way I've won loads of awards and set up a world record-breaking YouTube
2. Can you share a moment when you faced a significant creative block, and how you overcame it?
3. How do you balance staying true to your vision while adapting to trends or external pressures?
4. What does success look like to you as a creator?
5. What advice would you give to someone just starting out in a creative or entrepreneurial field?
And, most importantly, don't give up.
