Q&A with Illustrator Codi Hickish

• What types of children’s books did you read as a child? Were any your favorites? My childhood was highly influenced by Winnie the Pooh! As well as classic Disney books, movies, and shows in general! I used to read to my Pooh character stuffed animals, and also line all of them up on my living room floor to watch movies with me. I still love Pooh to this day, and it is a big inspiration to my work.

• Take us a bit into your creative process; what illustration art medium and tools do you use? Most of my art is digital! Drawn and painted in Adobe Photoshop. I use textured Photoshop brushes such as watercolor, crayon, chalk, and pastel to emulate a traditional look to my work.

• Have you always used this style of art or do you plan to explore other mediums of art? In my professional career, I have always worked digitally, however in recent time I have also started practicing more with traditional gouache and watercolor paints!

• How long have you been an illustrator? I have been drawing my entire life. When I was a child I actually wanted to be a landscape architect, but as I grew up, and my style started developing more after I graduated high school, I realized that I wanted to more-so pursue a career in the children's book industry. I started doing art commissions 7 years ago in 2012, and got my first big long-term illustration job with Adobe Inc. in 2015.

• What do you enjoy most about illustrating, and, what is your dream for illustrating? My favorite thing about illustrating is being able to convey atmosphere and a sense of nostalgia. Nothing makes me happier when I get a message or comment from one of my followers telling me that my artwork makes them feel warm and cozy inside. Color is also a huge part of my art. I've always been a big fan of earth tones! My dreams for illustrating would be to break into the children's book industry or possibly design greeting cards, stationary, surface design, etc!

• Have you authored or collaborated on any books, if so, what are they? I have not had the opportunity to work on any books yet, but I hope to in the future!

• In our digital age, how important are children’s books to you? I've always thought there's something quite special about a physical children's book. Whenever I go to a book store, I always head straight to the children's section. Big or small, children's books can have huge impacts on a person's childhood. They will remember and reminisce about them their entire lives! I think it's important for children to still be able to hold a physical paper book, and be able to flip through the pages, instead of scrolling through it on a tablet. In my opinion, a paper book is much more memorable.

• If you could be ANY character in a book, what would it be and why? This is a really hard question, but if I had to choose, I'd say I would love to be a student at Hogwarts from the Harry Potter series! According to the Pottermore website, I'm in the Hufflepuff house. I've always loved the creatures, the atmosphere, and the whimsy that the world of Harry Potter has!

• Do you struggle to come up with your next project?  I typically go through phases of high inspiration and low inspiration, as I think a lot of artists experience. I also personally struggle with a chronic auto-immune condition called Ulcerative Colitis, which can mentally and physically exhaust me. Sometimes I'm making all kinds of art, and everything is inspiring to me, but other times, I have to give my projects much more thought.

• How do you deal with artist’s block if so? To get myself through these low inspiration times, I tend to plan a lot. Whenever I get an idea in my head, no matter how simple, I jot it down in a sketchbook for future reference so I don't forget it! I also keep post-it note lists of things to draw in my daily planner. As well as a saved mood board of work from my favorite artists on Instagram that I can reference for future inspiration! But on the days that my auto-immune condition is a bit too much for me, I'll just simply give myself a break, and come back with a fresh mind and fresh eyes, and that usually does the trick!

My name is Codi Hickish! I'm a 26-year-old Christian illustrator currently living in Alabama, (moving to the Pacific Northwest next year) with my husband and 3-year-old Mini Dachshund named Vienna. I love to draw neighborly woodland animals. I am mostly inspired by nature, the mountains, Autumn, the 1800s, and the 1930s-40s! I have a national certification in floral design from the Floral Design Institute, and I have also previously worked for Adobe Inc. as a live streaming illustrator. In my free time outside of painting, I love gardening, hiking, photography, and playing video games.