Windows into Illustration: Emma Farrarons

Emma Farrarons is the winner of the 2025 Klaus Flugge Prize with her illustrations for My Hair is as Long as a River, written by Charlie Castle. Kate Winter, 2024 Klaus Flugge Prize winner and a judge praised her illustration style for its consistent and accomplished artistry, beautiful compositions, line work, colour palettes and feeling and for the level of observation of children’s behaviour. Emma describes creating the book.

I like to start with speedy loose pencils on large A2 sheets, exploring different angles and perspectives inspired by the text. At this stage I don’t get attached; it’s about finding the most dynamic and narrative scene. With my editor, Grace Gleave, and designer, Lorna Scobie, we reviewed the roughs until we chose the one that felt right. Our guiding question was always: how do we bring emotion to Charlie Castle’s words, and how can the art tell its own story? Take this image for example, illustrating the line, ‘My hair is as strong as a drawbridge’.

I had just returned from Cornwall, where I visited Tintagel Castle with my family. Crossing a bridge over swirling waters and dramatic cliffs sparked the idea: how could the boy’s hair become a bridge?

Back at my desk, I grabbed some wool yarn and a paint tube to play the part of the boy, then strung a makeshift ‘hair bridge’ across my wall organiser. I snapped a photo of my DIY props and emailed the team sketches inspired by them. That solved theimage, and the team loved it!

The team wanted more drama and danger, so they urged me to push the art further. Thewater was not threatening enough. I redrew it again and again, making the waves sharper, angrier, until they resembled jagged shark teeth. For the foam, I flicked white paint with a toothbrush. Messy, but effective.

Texture was another key element. I revisited sketches from Cornwall, studying weeds and plants clinging to the cliffs, and brought those details into the spread. I like my black and white roughs to be highly detailed, almost like the final colour work. Because I paint everything, I aim to have the roughs fully approved so I don’t need to make changes at colour stage.

The colour palette grew from the boy’s hair, a mix of burnt sienna and phthalo green. (Charlie himself has long brown hair, which felt like a lovely connection.) For other colours I turned to my greengrocer: silvery kale, pomegranate, earthy beetroot, French beans, and bright pops of clementines, raspberries and lemons.

In this book, the hair itself feels almost like a character. I spent a long time studying hair textures and movement, sometimes even standing in front of the mirror with a blow dryer, watching my own hair fly. Layering transparent washes of liquid acrylic created highlights, while quick dip-pen strokes added energy and flow.

I love how ideas bounce between author, editor, designer and illustrator. Charlie suggested flipping the Rapunzel story so the long-haired boy rescues a prince and adding a dragon, even though it is not in the text.

My son, in Year 2 at the time, told me Leonardo da Vinci studied bats and lizards to imagine dragons. That inspired me to watch videos of Filipino sailfin lizards and bats in flight. I prefer drawing from life, so when I can’t, I sketch from moving videos without pausing. This helps me capture the essential details and makes the drawing feel more alive.

For the finished art I used a mix of watercolour, acrylic paint, dip pen and ink, graphite watercolour, and a toothbrush for splashy water. Watercolour gave transparency to the waves, acrylic added structure, and quick strokes with a dip pen and scratchy nib brought energy.

Working on this book felt like a masterclass, learning about character and world building, which papers and paints to use, and how to create emotion with colour and narrative. Most importantly, the team was there with me for the whole journey – pushing me in all the right ways and helping me discover my picture book voice. It was pure joy and a wonderful collaboration.

And the best bit? My own little boy grew his hair long afterwards.

My Hair is as Long as a River, written by Charlie Castle and illustrated by Emma Farrarons, is published by Macmillan Children’s Books, ‎ 978-1035018307, £7.99 pbk.