Adele Jackson - Illustrator

ABOUT

In Brief

Adele Jackson grew up in Wellington and she is a self taught illustrator and designer. Adele and began illustrating for the Correspondence School in 1979 long before her family were born and has been freelancing ever since (with some years working inhouse in a Graphics team and as a Strategy co-ordinator thrown in) ‘there really isn’t anything else I can do’ she says, half truthfully. Today Adele illustrates and designs for a variety of publishers and clients, many of whom have a distinctly educational focus. Although Jackson’s illustrations do not grace bookshops, her work often features in The School Journal and is enjoyed by students as far away as Canada, Malaysia the USA and Australia as New Zealand is a major exporter of children’s learning materials.

In Detail

Recently Adele’s role has included coordinating the large Wellington regional Storylines Children’s Literary Festival (2008 and 2009) and she is currently a member of the committee of the Wellington Children’s Book Association. Adele has a strong interest in the professional practice of being an illustrator and presents regularly to publishing students at Whitireia Publishing School in Wellington. She talks about best practice when working with illustrators, commissioning illustrations, the importance of developing strong relationships between publishers and illustrators and ethical publishing.Adele’s illustration style is very adaptable. She is often called on to illustrate 
non fiction stories where research and authenticity is important; often her illustrations are directed towards senior primary or young adults.She works digitally using a stylus and tablet, drawing directly into the computer. This makes her work interesting to teachers and students alike, as she is able to Skype and talk as she draws.Adele is happy to talk about character development in illustration, researching and scene setting for illustration, computer illustration (she uses Corel Painter and Adobe Illustrator as well as Adobe Photoshop), communicating through visuals and illustrations (including making infographics, diagrams and using visual thinking techniques), professional practice and Illustration as a career choice.Adele’s illustration and design work can be seen on her blog ‘Picture It So’ at: www.adelejackson.co.nz