Let's Talk Illustrators #402: Maya McKibbin

I am so excited to share my interview with Maya McKibbin, illustrator of Makade Asin / Black Stone, written by Darcy Whitecrow and Cail Judy and translated by Pamela Johnson. Enjoy a peek at Maya's process with me!

About the book:

After waking from a nightmare, a boy asks his grandfather for help, who tells him that in order to face his fears he must find the black stone.

With his Mishoomis's voice to guide him, the boy embarks on a vision quest to search for the black stone among the tall trees of the jungle, in the depths of the ocean and through the barren desert. He encounters many dangers including a sudden storm and menacing animals. Through it all, the boy finds himself guided by the very creatures he'd once feared. Will he be able to find the black stone? Will he be able to find himself?

Let's talk Maya McKibbin!

LTPB: How did you become the illustrator of Makade Asin / Black Stone? What were the first images that popped into your mind when you saw Darcy Whitecrow and Cail Judy’s text? 

Cail met me at VanCaf (Vancouver Comic Arts Festival) a few years ago and I guess he remembered me! I got an email from groundwood that he had put my name forward to illustrate the book.

When I first read the manuscript I thought “woah this is really different, it's relying so much on visuals”. And because of this, it was also the most dictated book I had worked on, they had a very strong idea of what illustration and what action would need to be depicted on each spread and page. It was definitely a new way of working for me. I was really excited by the possibilities of visuals this story seemed to allow, it was fantastical and the world was vast with many shifting forms. Things that seemed to be real were not and vice versa. I knew it would be fun, AND it would also be in Anishinaabemowin, that really drew me in. Language is so important, I was happy to be a part of it as a learner.

LTPB: What is the first thing you do when you receive a new project? How do you make a conscious effort to tailor your illustration style to each new manuscript? Did you have a clear vision for the illustrations when you saw the text?

I read it through lots, I keep posting notes on my desk, I’ll do little doodles if any visuals, layouts or shapes come to mind while I’m reading the manuscripts through. I sometimes make folders of inspiration art, paintings, photography, comic art. I’ll pick things out if I like the composition, colour use, texture ect and I’ll try to incorporate some elements into my own work.

I usually make lots of little sketches of each page layout, if I like how they feel I’ll mock them up bigger digitally on the correct scale canvas and work it into final art from there if the publisher and writers like the idea. 

LTPB: What did you find most difficult in creating this book? What did you find most rewarding?

I think something that was essential to the book flowing but wasn’t too much of a challenge was finding elements that guided us through the book. I used the child's shadow self, personifying his anxieties as a guide and as a being who would hold him in moments of chaos and fear. I think it helped as a visual thread to hold the reader also. I repeated comic patterns also, while meeting Jaguar and Snake when the boy takes a moment of reflection and calms himself. I hope these things are understood by all ages of reader.

LTPB: What did you use to create the illustrations in this book? Is this your preferred medium? How does your process change from book to book?

Digital art is my go to. It's fast, I have flexibility in colour and can work with many textures through brush scale manipulation and creation of my own. For Makade Asin I knew I would be on the road a lot while I was working on it so I started the book in ProCreate. I am used to working with a wacom Intuos tablet, so I also wanted to work with this book in a new way and see how it came out. Luckily my last employer Spotted Fawn Productions gifted me one so I was able to work with it.

I honestly am so proud of it, I am looking into pursuing gear that allows me to draw directly on a screen for immersion into my own art. It feels more direct, I draw more loosely and freely this way.

Digital art is where I started, it was accessible, I had a very small space and no studio opportunities when I started really getting into art more seriously. So digital made sense, it all fit at my desk, every colour, working in 3D, animating, it was all possible in my computer, and at that time I wasn’t paying for my software. It was cheaper than paints and pencils and paper.

I have intentions of branching into a mixed media approach of working with graphite and colour pencils, then adding to the illustrations digitally. I just need time to experiment, but to do that I need stability, which I am still figuring out as a freelance illustrator. I take on contracts and accept work and I end up in a turbine of deadlines and deliveries which aren’t very conducive to workflow experimentation like that. I’ll figure it out! I’ve been trying lots of new things this year like 3D animation, working with dog sledding and working for a moving company. Kinda chaotic, but I like having lots of random skills :)))

Every time I take on a new book I feel the experience of working on all the others behind me. I do think with every story I illustrate I’m improving and learning what to do better next time. It's an exciting feeling.

LTPB: What are you working on now? Anything you can show us? 

I’m working on my own graphic novel for young adults to be distributed and published by Alison O'Toole's Balustrade Press. It's been a long script in the writing and it's coming to a close in October. I really wanna have fun with it. I LOVE chaotic, topical and hand-drawn graphic novels like Alienation by Inés Estrada and the Meg, Mogg and Owl comics. I’ve really enjoyed doing comic work with Scholastic Canada on their Haunted Canada Graphic Novel volumes two and three and I’m SO excited to try my hand in my own narrative world.

The story follows three queer thirty somethings in a future world swallowed by surveillance and mega corporations, fighting, transforming and dreaming to protect the dreamscape from an artificial intelligence invader. It's my excuse to draw cool trans people turning into cool monsters, loving and tearing apart robots.

Between this and lots of little things, I’m keeping myself busy. I’m animating a friend's film! I’m doing some illustrations for local businesses. And hopefully I’m signing a story of my own with a publisher this winter! 

LTPB: If you got the chance to write your own picture book autobiography, who (dead or alive!) Would you want to illustrate it, and why?

Ohhh…. Hard one. Honestly probably my great great grandma. Susan Olivia Poole, I want to create an homage to her and her creation of what we know today as the Jolly Jumper. It's a really recognizable item that so many people have enjoyed, though they might not remember doing so! I don’t think many people know it's an Ojibwe invention!

She lived a long life in many different places. Our family has so many stories about her and her mother, her children too. I would love to realise her movement across the continent as an indigenous woman, her knowledge of the language (Anishinaabemowin), how the jolly jumper was created, and how she was coerced to sell its patent for pennies.

Working together with family to honour someone's memory feels like a rewarding and illuminating experience. We could all create something together with pieces of stories we all have of our family. I’m curious if the Jolly Jumper company would come after me for that…. Now wouldn’t that be an interesting case haha.

Thank you very much to Maya for talking to me about this book and their process! Makade Asin / Black Stone published from Groundwood Books this summer.

Special thanks to Maya and Groundwood for use of these images!

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