Judith Auer Children's book illustrator, editor for illustration (The University of Arts Linz) and visual arts educator from Kuchl, Austria

When I was a child I loved drawing the worlds that lived inside my thoughts and imagination. And I guess I never stopped. I had a small sketch book with me on every holiday and was always drawing. I especially enjoyed sketching people I encountered on my travels. Through the Erasmus program I spent some time in Porto, Portugal where I took a class in illustration, which reignited my love of drawing. I was about finish up my degree in art education and even though I like to teach, I realized how much I enjoy drawing myself a putting my own imagination down on paper. The dream of becoming an illustrator was born during this time. I met another Austrian illustrator while I was in Porto, who told me about a master program in children’s books illustration in Italy. In the end I decided to go for it, and after I finished my teacher training, I went to Italy (Macerata) for a year. There I could freely explore new artistic techniques and improve my skills. This really helped me take a big step forward with my illustrations. After this I had some lucky encounters with a few great editors, and then one thing led to the next.

I’m just reaching the end of my yearlong baby break, so it’s a little difficult for me to say what a normal workday with my baby will look like ... but before I had my Flora, it looked something like this for me:

I love bright daylight when I'm working and I focused the best during the day so I usually got up around 8:00 AM, enjoyed my breakfast porridge, and got dressed as if I was going to regular work outside my home. I made myself a pot of tea and some snacks and then went into my studio around 9:00 AM. I put my phone on silent while I worked. My studio is a small room inside my house from which I have a lovely view at some fairly tall mountains. There I used to work for about 3 hours at a time, with a few short breaks in between, until around midday when I took a 2-hour break (I’d usually have a warm lunch, a small walk and once in a while even a short nap). After that my workday continued on for another 3 to 4 hours. Then at some point I would finish for the day. I decided when, not based on how much I had accomplished but based on my energy levels or how much time I had already invested that day. After all there are those days when you sit for a long time without accomplishing anything that you're completely happy with. But on those days, it's also important to wrap up at some point ... When you are self-employed there is always that danger that your work will take over your free time. I was always quite strict about separating my leisure time from my work time and also tried not to work on weekends.

And now that I have a baby I'm only slowly starting to get back into working life and will probably begin by working part time for now. But since I've had the baby a short amount of work time gets me much further than it used to, and I've been using my time very productively. That's an exciting experience.

Oh yes, there are several. For example Simone Rea, Joanna Concejo and Jesus Cisneros, who I met personally in Italy and who have also taught me. I’m also a big fan of Beatrice Alemagna and Felicita Sala, whose books I have at home ... but the list is long.

On the one hand I like to get inspired by nature. On a long walk for example or while collecting natural materials. On the other hand, I also get inspired by the people I meet, or by new impressions I gather while I travel.

Yes, Janosch is definitely one of my favorite illustrators, and so is Wolf Erlbruch. I loved looking at books by both of these artists when I was a child.

It depends on the technique and the illustration I'm working on at the time. Earlier in my career I had a time when I always listened to audiobooks or music. But now I usually prefer it quiet, because I'm more focused that way. Only when I'm working on an illustration with colored pencil and have to color in large areas do I like to listen to audiobooks, music or podcasts (depending on my mood).

Hm, there are a quite a few I would love to work on. The first ones that spring to mind are Goethe’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Preußler’s Krabat, as well as Alice in Wonderland, The Neverending Story or The Wizard of Oz.

Hm ... difficult to say. You put so much of yourself into every illustration somehow. The illustrations I like the most right now are the ones I did with colored pencil. So, for example some of the pictures from my first book A Chunk of Cheese, or from my most recent book Mr Momo’s Morning Stroll I also made two illustrations for an Austrian bakery that are very close to my heart because they show the town of Hallein (my birthplace) as well as the city of Salzburg. These illustrations include a fantastical creature as well, and I do like them a lot. Perhaps I also like them so much because they remind of the place where I drew them (during a summer school in Sarmede – Italy). The technique that I learned there is very exciting. I just haven’t made an entire book with it yet.

I'm someone who likes to be physically active and in my free time I try to find a balance with all the sitting down I do for work. I like to spend time in nature. In the summer I like to go hiking or swimming in a lake or the sea. In winter I like to go cross country skiing or sledding. I also like to dance Lindy Hop and practice yoga. I even completed a training to become a qualified yoga teacher recently. I also like to work in my garden tending to my vegetables, meeting friends and of course I also like to spend time with my baby and hanging out with her and my friends.

That's a difficult question. Because I think what I like is very subjective and defined by my own experiences and my own personal taste. But I think a good illustration would speak to me on an emotional level as well as appeal with its technical execution. The characters (if there are any) would rouse some kind of emotions in me and draw my interest. When I look at the characters, I might ask myself questions such as ‘what has been this character's life experience?’ or ‘where does she live?’. They draw me in, and I think they're likeable. The characters’ surroundings as well as the color palette of the picture should suit the characters and further intensify the same emotional response.

I'm sure this exists but luckily I only have it very rarely. And it’s never a proper block in that sense, but sometimes I'm just not in the mood for drawing. Even that doesn't happen to me very often. When it does, it’s usually towards the very end of a book when I've been working on the same story for a long time. Right before the end basically when I just don't want to look at the technique and the pictures anymore, when your back starts to hurt but the deadline is close.

But for me the end has always been in sight by then. On those occasions I usually tried to sit down in a nice place to draw, got myself some good tea and a few snacks and tried to take enough breaks (or even to listen to a good audiobook). And when I really can’t get over the hump, I might even need to take a couple of days off. And usually after I finish a book I'll take a short break or even a short vacation. Or I start a new book with a different technique because such a change will often keep up my enthusiasm.

And since I've tried to stop working on the weekends this happens to me even less. Sometimes you just need a break, even from drawing ... at least I do