Q: Originally from Kent, UK what are some of your favorite things about living and working in nearby London?

A: I love London—there is always something going on and it has a great community of illustrators and creative freelancers. I live and have a studio in South East London so don't have to deal with the hustle and bustle of the centre of town everyday, but instead I cycle between my flat and my studio and it often feels just like a small village. 

Q: Do you keep a sketchbook? What is the balance between art you create on paper versus in the computer?

A: Yes, I do have a sketchbook but I don't tend to use it very often. When I start a new job I'll do some very rough, crude thumbnails in my sketchbook but I often get impatient and just want to jump straight into creating my work digitally, using my tablet. When I go on holiday I use my sketchbook a lot more as it's a good excuse to force myself to take longer than I usually do drawing and observing something.

Q: What is the most important item in your studio?

A: My Wacom tablet and Mac!

Q: How do you know when the art is finished?

A: That's probably one of the toughest bits of the job, but it's certainly gotten easier the longer I've been working. I suppose you just get to a point when you know if you keep going you're just going to ruin it—or the deadline arrives!

Q: What elements of daily life exert the most influence on your work practice?

A: I try and work pretty regular hours to fit in with my partner's job so I'm not tied to my desk in the evenings. I find it really hard to switch off from work so I think it's good for me to try and force myself to take weekends and evenings off—if deadlines allow it!

Q: What was your favorite book as a child? 

A: The most worn out book in my childhood bookcase was When We Were Very Young, a collection of poems by A.A. Milne, so I think it was probably that one!

Q. What is the best book you’ve recently read? 

A: Death of Grass by A: John Christopher, I'm a big fan of post-apocalyptic novels and this one is great!

Q: If you had to choose one medium to work in for an entire year, eliminating all others, what medium would you choose? 

A: If earning a living wasn't an issue I'd love to force myself to just use inks and watercolours for a year so I could get good at it!

Q: If you could spend an entire day away from work and deadlines, what would you do and where?

A: I'd go for a bike ride, preferably to a beach where I'd eat fish and chips!

Q: What was the [Thunderbolt] painting or drawing or film or otherwise that most affected your approach to art? 

A: I was thinking about this recently and I think it might have subconsciously been a lot of the simulation video games I played when I was younger—Sim City, Ceasar 3, Rollercoaster Tycoon etc. I remember always liking the way they looked and now I can see that they probably influenced the way I create my maps and more 3-D illustrations. I don't think I had any one thing that influenced me, I think I've just soaked up a lot of visual influences along the way. 

Q: What would be your last supper?

A: A curry from our local take away, I reckon. 

Kerry is a South London-based illustrator and map-maker. She has a Fine Art degree from Newcastle University and a master's degree in Illustration from Kingston University. In the studio, she works on a range of projects across editorial, advertising and publishing. Out of the studio, she enjoy snowboarding, climbing and cycling. She is also an associate lecturer in illustration at Goldsmiths University and has illustrated two books that have been published this year: Coming Home written by Michael Morpurgo and Survivors written by David Long
website: kerryhyndman.com
blog: kerryhyndman.tumblr.com/
twitter: twitter.com/kerryhyndman
instagram: instagram.com/kerryhyndman