At the Desk: Scott Chantler

Writer and illustrator Scott Chantler has been nominated multiple times for the Dragon Prize (presented by the prestigious Joe Shuster Awards) and been honoured with awards from the Canadian Children's Book Centre and the Young Adult Library Services Association. All these accomplishments, however, pale beside the enthusiasm young readers have for Scott's graphic novels. His latest offering, The Iron Hand (Kids Can Press), concludes his beloved Three Thieves series, with heroine Dessa determined to save her twin brother and put him on the throne he deserves. Imagine her surprise when she arrives in the capital to find him already ruling -- but all is not what it seems, and both Dessa and her brother find themselves imprisoned in very different ways. It's a compelling conclusion to a freewheeling fantasy graphic series. If you have young readers in your life, gifting the Three Thieves series is a great opportunity to be the cool parent, auntie, uncle, or otherwise. 

We're pleased to welcome Scott to Open Book today as part of our At the Desk series, where writers take us behind the scenes into their work spaces. It's especially interesting to hear about the illustration process, and today Scott tells us about his double-desked studio, life as a spiller, and why a mirror is one of his most important tools as an illustrator.

Scott Chantler: At the Desk

When I’m writing, my workspace could be virtually anywhere. I often write in coffee shops, or at the kitchen table, or on the deck. Not to mention planes, trains, and automobiles. If there’s a place to plug in a laptop, or even just room to open my notebook, I’ll write there.

Drawing is a different story. For that I need to be where my art supplies are, and have a place to sit that’s comfortable enough for work days that can go twelve hours or longer. I built a studio in my basement, with two desks. One is my drawing table, the other was for a desktop computer back when those were still a thing. Now it’s mostly where I pile reference books, sketches, and so on, to keep the drawing table relatively clutter-free.

The room is usually a disaster, because I’m too busy to tidy it up. But it’s a comfortable mess. A creative mess. Which is how I like it. The attached picture was taken because it was about the cleanest the room has ever been, and I’m sure the record still holds.

I tilt the desk when I’m pencilling, but keep it flat (as in the photo) when I’m inking. Because I’m a spiller. The cork board – and sometimes the wall surrounding it – gets filled with character designs and other reference material, plus art by other cartoonist who inspire me. In the photo I can make out pieces by Yves Chaland, J. Bone, Guy Davis, Pierre Alary, Will Eisner, Bruce Timm, and my late friend Darwyn Cooke. Most of them are still there.

The yellow plaque hanging just to the right of the drawing table is my Joe Shuster Award. A challenge to keep to a certain standard, I suppose. But also a needed reminder, during the drudge that every book eventually becomes, that I’m not the hack that I fear I am in those moments.

The round mirror in the corner was my grandfather’s shaving mirror. I used to use it to look at my own face making different facial expressions so that I could draw them, in the days before the reverse camera on the iPhone provided an even easier way to capture those expressions. Now I just keep it there out of a sense of tradition, I suppose. It’s just kind of where it goes.

My laptop generally sits at the top corner of the desk (as it is now while I type this) pumping a steady stream of music (custom Spotify playlists and stations ranging from classical, to pre-fusion jazz, to indie rock, to movie scores) into my ears by way of a pair of extra-bass headphones. Occasionally while I’m working I’ll also listen to podcasts, or DVD commentaries, or a documentary on Netflix. But music is the real coal in the creative furnace.

– Scott Chantler

Scott Chantler is the Joe Shuster Award-winning cartoonist of the graphic novels Two Generals and Northwest Passage and of the Three Thieves graphic novel series. He is also a popular commercial illustrator whose clients have included McDonald's, Reebok, Macy's, Rogers, the New York Daily News, the National Post, the Toronto Star, and Maclean's.