Today on the blog, we’re introducing LKP Children’s illustrator, Rob Hodgson, who's the artist behind some of our favourite monstrous, scary illustrations with books like An A-Z of Monsters, Scary Bingo and most recently our latest Trumps, Monsters!

Hi Rob! Let’s get going. Can you describe your book in no more than five words?

Monsters, monsters and more monsters.

Brilliant! So there are some monsters to meet…

Can you tell us about the particular inspiration behind your book?

The main inspirations for the Monster book were all the different cultures we represented. I wanted to show how diverse the different people, places and monsters were. Monsters live on every part of the planet.. and beyond!

Read on to find out more about Rob in 5 questions…

1 What's your favourite thing about being an illustrator/ writer?

I don’t have to wear a suit or a tie and I can buy lots of pencils.

2 Where is your favourite place to find inspiration and/ or write/ illustrate?

On a skateboard rolling around by the beach trying really hard to not think about work.

3 What one piece of advice would you give to someone who wants to start writing their own stories, or creating their own art?

Don’t let not knowing how to do something stop you from doing anything. Some of the best projects I have ever worked on were done without knowing what I was doing!

4 What's the nicest (or worst!) thing anyone's ever said about your books?

The nicest thing was hearing about a kid who was scared of monsters before reading this book, but now LOVES monsters after reading it.

5 Which piece of art do you wish you could have created?

John Cage’s 4’33, which is a piece of music where you don’t play the piano for 4 minutes and 33 seconds!

Rob Hodgson was born in a seaside town in the south of England in 1988. He currently lives in Bristol where he spends his days making a mess and turning it into illustration projects and books. He cites Picasso, John Cage and The Beach Boys among his influences. Working with traditional processes and lo-fi techniques such as block printing, paper cutting and woodcut, Rob combines old and new ideas to create his work. Some interests include animals, skateboards, the psychology of perception and collecting strange toys. Discover more of Rob's amazing work here.