Leo Timmers, Using Words and Images to Make Meaningful Picture Books

Leo Timmers is a dedicated picture book creator, known for his bold illustrations, rich textures, and playful visual storytelling. To achieve the unique underwater look for his latest book, The Monster in the Lake, he went as far as building his own spray cannon - just one example of his commitment to his craft.

One of Belgium’s most celebrated picture book artists, Timmers has seen his work translated into 32 languages, earning him a global following. For him, the creative process begins not with style but with inspiration — what he wants to draw, rather than how he draws it. The images always come first.

Between books, he takes time to explore new ideas, often sketching freely until something captures his imagination. This process of discovery can take months, but it's central to the originality and charm that define his work.

Leo Timmers experiments with acrylics to create his different textures.

Q. Do you feel your artistic style has been influenced by a particular illustrator? If so, can you tell us how this person inspired or influenced your work.

A. I’m not influenced by one specific illustrator. Only in the beginning of my career, Quentin Blake was a big influence. But it was more of a starting point, and I quickly grew out of this spontaneous, sketchy way of drawing.

After him, an array of artists influenced me. I use the word ‘artist’ because I’m not only influenced by illustrators but also filmmakers, musicians, painters, comic artists, and cartoonists.

It took me years to digest all these influences and find my own voice. It also became clear to me that it was even more important to find out what I wanted to draw, as opposed to the way I was drawing. I only found my ‘style’ when I understood that style was tied to substance. I was looking at Tomi Ungerer, Maurice Sendak, Leo Lionni, Eric Carle, Dick Bruna, Max Velthuijs, Raymond Briggs… they were not illustrators, they all wrote, often with very few words. And they were telling idiosyncratic, visual stories. I understood that style was substance. That realization marked a turning point. So I started writing my own stories and things suddenly fell into place.

The irony is that from that point on, I didn’t feel like an illustrator anymore. I became a picture book maker.

Q. How would you describe your own style of illustration?

A. It’s hard to describe, but I would use these words: colourful, stylized, funny, simple, and complex. I love simplicity, but it has to come with a level of complexity too, otherwise it would be plain boring. Same for humour, it has to be rigid and stylized for the humour to work.

Colour is also very important, although it has to be used in a meaningful way. Although these words may describe my style, every new book is very different from the previous one. I will try new ways of drawing, painting and writing. I don’t like to repeat myself. But… you also can’t escape from yourself. No matter how hard I try to do things differently, it will always feel and look like something only I could make. I think this means that who I am as a person coincides with what I make.

Q. Do you have a preferred medium?

A. Acrylics are probably the medium I prefer. I tried many different media before, but for two decades now, this is the medium I have used most. Acrylics are very versatile, so you can experiment a lot and try different techniques. My work has evolved a lot over the years. I went from a more classical way of painting to a more experimental way, where creating textures became more important. Where I previously would use very small brushes to paint the smallest details, I now use sponges, big brushes and razor blades to create my art. The last two years I switched paint for ink, and brushes for dip pens. I just finished a book with mostly pen and ink illustrations in black and white. It felt like a breath of fresh air to do something completely different. It is important not to repeat the same old trick over and over again.

Q. Do the illustrations or the words come first? Tell us about the process of illustrating your picture books?

A. Pictures always come first. I will take time out between books to just work on new ideas. I start drawing randomly until something sticks, something that sparks my imagination. This process can take a few months. I tend to work on different ideas at the same time. The key is to achieve a state of mind where I’m open to anything and not censor myself. There’s a different kind of creativity required here. Later stages of the process are more about execution and refining. This early stage is pretty magical and exciting. It’s probably the most creative part of the whole process. It is about creating something from nothing. So text comes later, but that isn’t to say text is less important. On the contrary, there has to be an interesting dynamic between text and image. For me, this is what picture books are all about: using words and images to create meaning.

This is what I found so interesting when I stumbled on the The Monster in the Lake idea. The text is different, even contrary to what we see in the pictures. The book combines a silent (underwater) story with a dialogue-based (above water) story. To test if a story works, I will create dummies throughout the sketching process, ensuring every word and image finds its right place. After that, I’ll start painting all the pictures. I love every part of the process. When I come out on the other side, after a year of working, adjusting, changing, doubting, and complete the book, this whole process has somehow changed me too.