Think, Tim Burton meets the Goonies.
Random House
There are countless reasons to fall in love with Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller's children's book series, Nightmares! The New York Times best-selling books are funny, smart, wise — and beautifully illustrated. The artist, Karl Kwasny, is a 31-year-old who lives in Australia.
BuzzFeed had the chance to catch up with the artist over email and talk about his creative process behind the most recent illustrations for Nightmares! The Sleepwalker Tonic, the second book in the trilogy. Here's what he had to say:
When did you start illustrating?
Karl Kwasny: I've been drawing on and off since I was a kid. I drew a lot when I was really young and throughout primary school, but I was more into Photoshop and graphic design when I was a teenager. When I got to university, I studied graphic design because I thought it was a safe career choice, but deep down it wasn't what I ultimately wanted to be doing with my life. So, towards the end of my time in college I put a lot more effort into the illustration side of things and gradually started trying to get work as a freelance illustrator.
Karl Kwasny for Random House
What made you want to get involved with illustrating the Nightmares! series? What do you like most about it?
KK: An art director from Random House got in touch with me and showed me a brief they had put together for Nightmares! It had a short summary of the story along with a bunch of example images to give an idea of the aesthetic they were after. They described it as "Tim Burton meets Goonies."
When I saw that it was Jason Segel's first book, I was both excited and a bit nervous. I mean, it would be foolish to turn it down, but a project like this can be pretty daunting. I think the thing I like most about Nightmares! is the idea behind it, that it's okay to be afraid, and that if you overcome your fears you can defeat your nightmares. Hopefully that's an idea that resonates with kids. I also like that it has a lot of Jason's personality in it. It's very kind-hearted.
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