Salvatore Rubbino - The Illustrator

A word from the illustrator on where to begin, 1930s Berlin and giving Emil a new cover…

Reading ‘Emil and the Detectives’ was a great pleasure.

If time allows I like to let the story settle in my imagination for a few days afterwards. Sometimes whilst on a walk I might find visual equivalents that help to make my visual response to the story more tangible, for example, a face, a gesture or a colour palette. I will also source particular reference, in this case, 1930s Berlin, trams, architecture and the style of clothes people would have worn. I then begin to draw quite freely, thinking about interesting moments from the book.

The challenge is finding an essence or graphic identity that will introduce the main themes and characters. I thought Grundeis had lots of visual potential but then villains are always good to draw. I was also taken by 1930s Berlin (much of it now tragically gone) and how beautiful it looked.
But then in the end it had to be Emil and his detective friends spying on the villain Grundeis. Sometimes suggestion can have more impact so I have them hidden behind a wall. And the wall in turn was a good place for the title. A lucky break!

- Salvatore