Includes free pullout 

The illustrations for the Leafcutter were a challenge. They were produced using the same techniques as in The Magic Makers, namely with Brusho and coloured pencils because that was the original artwork that inspired the commission.

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The challenge was to introduce enough colour to a subject which was predominately green and brown due the setting and the colouring of the ants. The other problem I faced was that of scale, whether to keep to realistic proportions of the ants or whether to exaggerate the size of things to fit the story-line. I decided on the latter.

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In order to break up the narrative on some pages I decided to include small, simple pencil drawings which had a splash of colour to compliment the larger stand-alone pictures which are far more complex. 

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I hope that children will realise that fun artwork can be achieved by using the simplest of materials.