Gemma Correll is the high priestess of wry, cute and amusing cartoons that are compassionate to women’s bodily woes and emotional complexities. Her cartoons are sweet, sassy and charming and I’m totally in love with them. Also she’s an aquarius, an INFJ and pretty much loves all the same things I do, so I have a feeling we would get along in real life.
Who is Gemma Correll?
[Poached from her website]
Where did you study?
I went to art school in Norwich (England) – I have a BA (hons) degree in Graphic Design specialising in Illustration.
Why do your illustrations look like a five year old drew them?
I hire a five year old to do all my work for me. I pay him in fudge. His name is Alan.
Are you available for an interview on my blog?
Possibly. I am very busy and get a lot of interview requests, but I will answer if I can.
You can e-mail me at gemmacorrell @ gmail dot com
What’s your favourite colour?
Turquoise.
What’s your starsign?
Aquarius.
What’s your favourite word?
Albuquerque.
What are your favourite Movies/Tv shows/ Books?
Movies – The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Dogtooth, La Vie en Rose, Wayne’s World, Monty Python’s Life of Brian, The Royal Tenenbaums, Anything by Michel Gondry or featuring Gael Garcia Bernal.
Books – I’ll just tell you some authors that I like, or we’ll be here forever – Bill Bryson, Jeffrey Eugenides, Torey Hayden, Margaret Atwood. I like books, I do. I have a Goodreads page, here.
How do you scan your images / contrast them / clean them up?
I scan my images into photoshop and then use the “Levels” tool to adjust the black/white until I’m happy with the result. Same if the image is in colour, although that makes it a bit trickier to get the balance right. I just use the good ol’ fashioned eraser tool for any mistakes (although often, I’ll just leave the mistakes in the drawing)
Which pens do you use?
I use PITT artist pens, Uniball Eye and UniPin fineliners, as well and Kuretake ZIG Art & graphics Twin. For colouring, I use watercolour, ink, Kuretake brush markers and Kuretake Clean Colour brush pens. For murals, I like Posca paint pens, or Kuretake “Paintys”
Are you related/married to Damien Correll?
No. It is funny that we have the same surname though, as it is quite an unusual one…. but we live in different countries and have never actually met (yet).
Is being an illustrator a real job?
No, it’s a fake job. I actually run a very successful drug smuggling ring. I just pretend to draw things and distract people with my cute pug.
Who are your favourite artists?
Camilla Engman, Lab partners, Sandra Juto, Beatrice Alemagna, Elisabeth Dunker, Quentin Blake, Tom Gauld, Simone Lia, Sara Fanelli, Ray Fenwick, Aya Kakeda, Carson Ellis, Brian Rea, Oliver Jeffers, Mary Blair, David Hughes, Harriet Russell, Anouk Ricard, Lizzy Stewart, Mia Christopher, Julia Pott, Marc Johns, Anke Weckmann, Jen Collins, Maira Kalman, Liza Donnelly, Tuesday Bassen … the list goes on, but my fingers are tired.
where do babies come from?
You don’t want to know.
Find out about unique gifts made with Gemma’s illustrations on them like mugs and bags and follow Gemma on Instagram
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