Who or what made you want to become an illustrator?

My Dad was a really good artist and always encouraged me to paint and draw, so I always wanted to do somthing in that area. After I went to college I discovered illustration (not that I wasn't a huge fan of the art on book covers, greetings cards, movie and music posters, it is just that I didn't know how to get into this field). After graduating with a BA (hons) in illustration I knew that this was where I wanted to be and have worked in Illustration ever since.

What was your first commission as a professional illustrator?

I originally worked in sculped 3d models and (just out of college) I went for a job interview with Aardman animations. The interview process took months and during that time (because they were so nice) they contacted me and asked if they could refer me as a model maker / illustrator for and advert. Of course I was delighted and never looked back.

Do you keep a sketch book?

Absolutely! I think it is imperative that illustrators keep a sketch book to practice and perfect your technique. Mine is used all the time, it isn't always very attractive though, with half drawn ideas and badly sketched layouts so I can work out what I am going to do for the next project...but this is what a sketch book is for, working it out.

Do you offer more than one style, if so – talk us through the different approaches and the audience you are targeting for each.

I do have more than one style. I am a bit fickle when it comes to style. I started my career working in 3d, making the models, photgraphing them and re-touching them in photoshop. I also love working with paper, crafting it into shapes and caracters and creating images from these. Then there is the technical side of drawing, and I have a whole portfolio based on this, more realistic style, targeted at an older audience (adult, and YA books for example).

I love being able to change it up and just enjoy the process of making an image, don't they say a change is as good as a rest? Experience has taught me that I have to focus these different styles and target different audiences for each...so if you would like to see what I am talking about you can always check out my portfolios onetreestudio.co.uk and martinbeckettart.com