Art with a dash of humour: Priya Kuriyan

Mount Litera School International brought Bookaroo-Children's Literature Festival to Mumbai, where writers and artists from across the world conducted several kind of sessions for the young participants. We chatted up with one such participant- Priya Kuriyan, who is a book illustrator and an animation filmmaker. Her art weaves everyday happenings in a quirky manner with great detailing.

Not many can illustrate humorous scenarios from everyday happenings. How do you create relatable content?

I try and observe everyday happenings closely as I feel that the devil is always in the details. It helps me grasp nuances that one might miss if one does not look close enough. I carry a sketchbook all the time and sometimes take down quick notes in the form of drawings if I feel it is something that I might want to use in my work at some point. I think  India as a country that is so quirky and diverse, it offers ample inspiration for humour.

The detail that goes into each of your pieces is astounding. How do you incorporate every particular item into your work?

I love adding details to my work. I want kids to find new things in my illustrations each time they read the book I'm not sure exactly how it happens, but if I were to give you an example of a character in a book, I always like to think of what the character’s back story would be even if he might not be the hero of the book. What kind of clothes would he like to buy, what would he like to eat or what might his favourite bollywood movie be? Answering some of these questions, helps me add details even if they are not immediately pertinent to the story.

Did you always know you wanted to be an illustrator when you grew up?

I always wanted to be someone who did something related to the arts. I loved to draw as a kid. I didn’t know then that being an illustrator was actually a job. I trained as an animator and was always interested in visual narratives and storytelling. It was after I quit my job as an animator at Sesame Street that I started engaging seriously with children’s books.

In today's age of political correctness are there any taboos that affect your work?

I try not to think about that too much. The important thing is that it has to be a good story and that is really what should drive what one decides to put in the story or not.

You have exemplified works for Nat Geo and even children’s books. What comes more naturally to you?

Children's books. I think the magical/curious worlds one can create through children's books draw me easily to them. There is something hopeful about creating for children. Their worlds are not jaded like that of adults. So much is new to them. There's also nothing more joyful than seeing a child react positively to your book because one can be sure the reaction comes from an honest place.

Who is your role model?

I won't exactly call them role models, but there are many artists whose work I admire. For example Matio Miranda, Emily Gravett, Shaun Tan, Jon Klassen, David Wiesner, Atanu Roy and Manjula Padmanabhan, to name a few.

Do you also enjoy other literary pieces or are picture books still close to home?

I think picture books are what I enjoy making the most. Though comics come a close second. I've always loved reading graphic novels and dabbling with writing and illustrating short comics.

What drew you towards illustrating for children's books?

In the beginning, I never consciously thought of illustrating for children per se. I studied animation filmmaking at a design school where one is exposed to so many different kinds of exciting visual media. As a student of animation, one was expected to draw a lot, and also experiment with all kinds of storytelling methods, character development, visual techniques and treatments at the conceptual stage of filmmaking. I enjoyed this stage of the filmmaking process immensely and I think my interest in illustrating for books was an outcome of that. However, it wasn’t until I approached Tulika books, a publisher based in Chennai, that I got my first real illustration project. They were kind enough to look at my work and give me a chance to work on an endearing children’s story called ‘I’m so sleepy’ written by Radhika Chadha. Later, I also did some sequels to the book and wonderfully, they did get noticed by other publishers of children’s books and one thing led to another. So I became a children's book illustrator ..and loved it.

What is the inspiration behind your stories?

I think it's mostly real life and childhood memories. I think most of my daily inspiration comes from observing day to day life keenly. I love watching the way people interact with each other. It might be something as simple as watching someone buy vegetables from the local grocer, or just taking an autorickshaw to some place, but if one looks closely enough, I feel there are always subtle details one can catch, that make seemingly mundane things very interesting. These gestures people make, their clothes, a house I might have noticed somewhere, ultimately do make their presence felt, by creeping into the work I do. I try travelling to new places every time I get a chance to do so. Once again, it doesn't really matter to me if the place I'm traveling to is a tourist hotspot or just another town. I make it a point to carry my sketch book and camera around so that I can record things I see and not forget. I've always liked reading.I was lucky to have had the chance to study in a design school like National Institute of Design (Ahmedabad). I owe a lot to it as it's helped shape me as a person. It exposed me to so many things I didn't even imagine I would be interested in. For someone who had been fed on mainly a diet of American books and comics throughout childhood, it was a revelatory experience to find oneself in a place that constantly made you think of things within the Indian context. For the first time I saw what a rich tradition of folk art and crafts India had. That's something that continues to influence my work even now.