This month’s Author/Illustrator is Merrill Rainey, a self-described “cowboy-boot wearing, picture book creator and paper toy maker.”
With a bio line like that, what else do you need? Well, he offers more, saying that he lives in the village of Whitehouse, Ohio, with his editor (his wife), subject matter experts (his kids), and very opinionated coworkers (a very hungry toad, and some crabby hermit crabs).
What he doesn’t say in his bio is how those subject matter experts—his kids—are PR geniuses. Witness for yourself!
With that kind of lead-in, we have to jump straight to the interview to learn more right now!
Merrill’s Website
Merrill’s Etsy
Merrill’s Facebook
Merrill’s Instagram
Merrill’s Pinterest
Merrill’s Twitter
RVC: I realize this can be a chicken-egg question, but I’m going to ask it anyway. What came first—the writing or the art-making?
MR: Good question. I’ve always been a storyteller, or at least I think so, but it was definitely the art-making that came first. It’s just something I’ve always done, from drawing whenever I could, to crafting with my mom. This past year, I’ve talked a lot with students about the word “boredom” and how boredom is truly the catalyst of creativity.
These quiet calm moments are so, SO important!
RVC: I totally agree–boredom done well = creative wonders. Now, how did growing up in a large family inform your creative efforts?
MR: There was never a dull moment in my childhood–it was full of moments of creation and imaginary play. When we got bored (see there’s that word again!) we always found something to do. Looking back at it now, the time I spent with my family, these childhood moments, are what laid the foundation for the things I am creating today!
RVC: What was your intended career plan when you attended Kent State University?
MR: When I decided to attend Kent State, I didn’t really know what the intended career plan was going to be other than getting better at making art. During my Freshman registration with a counselor, she asked me what type of art I wanted to focus on, fine arts or illustration. Since I didn’t know the difference between the two at the time, the counselor sent me down to the art building where the VCD senior art show was being displayed. I walked through the gallery and what caught my eye was a piece of work where one of the graduating students had re-illustrated the Super Fudge series as a Senior art project. I remember thinking in that moment that illustrating books is what I wanted to do.
I did almost minor in technical theater, too. I took a few set design classes but ended up not being able to continue in this path as the workload for the VCD program was pretty intense on top of working a full-time job.
RVC: During your final summer at Kent, you had an internship that changed
everything.
MR: I interned at the Akron Beacon Journal in an art department of five other very talented illustrators/designers. It was an amazing experience learning from each and every one of them. That art department prided themselves on the art they created for the newspaper and was known for doing so. During my time there, I worked not only on daily graphics for the paper, but I also had the opportunity to illustrate a few featured sections. Working for a paper doing editorial illustrations is where I thought I’d end up, but shortly after graduation, the newspaper industry took a turn for the worse and left me looking for work in other directions.
RVC: Talk about how you managed your early career, having a full-time job as an in-house graphic designer while also trying to build your own art career.
MR: For a while after graduation, I focused on the day job. Being the new person at work, I really wanted to make my mark. As I was moving up the ladder at my day job, I was losing track of what I really wanted to do, and that was to illustrate.
Around this time another illustrator by the name of Penelope Dullaghan started a blog called Illustration Friday where every week she would post a new illustration prompt. You would then illustrate your take on it, and post your creation to your own blog before the following Friday. Participating in Illustration Friday is what got me back into illustrating and rebuilding my portfolio. I would spend my evenings after work honing my craft and, long story short, in 2007 I signed with the Tugeau 2 agency working mainly on educational illustration assignments. Then in 2010, when my son Chase was born, I finally got my first big kids magazine assignment from Jack and Jill Magazine and this was the start of it all.
RVC: What went into the decision to quit the day job and launch Little Rainey
Illustration & Design LLC?
MR: A lot did go into planning this decision, but it also kind of happened organically. Shortly after Chase was born, I was working 8–10 hours at the day job then after work I would go home, we’d have dinner and put him to bed. Once he was asleep, I would go back to working on contract work until about 4 or 5 in the morning. Then, I would sleep a few hours and go back to my day job. This went on for a few years. I am not quite sure what the heck was I thinking, or how I managed this for so long, but what it came down to was that I truly wanted to succeed more than anything else! In 2012, I was eventually making enough income to quit my full-time job and start working for myself.
RVC: That’s a bold choice. Many don’t risk it. Any tips?
MR: During this time, I was also talking with a few friends of mine who had recently started their own creative businesses. They guided me on the proper steps to creating things like an LLC, starting a business bank account, filing as a small business with the state of Ohio, and the biggest steps, finding a good tax accountant. Having a good accountant is pretty key and so worth it.
RVC: What was a regular day like in that new role?
MR: This is a good question. In all of the years I have been doing this, I have yet to figure out how to get on a normal schedule. Every time I think I can, a new project shows up and then I have to figure out how to manage multiple projects at one time. I think the key here is being as flexible as possible. Being a small business owner, you are always thinking about the current work, future projects, contracting, invoicing, and marketing of your next project.
What this change in my career path did allow me to do was to spend more time with my kids. From volunteering in their schools, being a Cub Scout Den Leader, to a Soccer Coach, I’ve loved being able to be a part of their childhood as much as possible.
RVC: How did SCBWI play into your creative journey?
MR: SCBWI has been a big part of my success. So many key moments and
opportunities in my career, like meeting mentors, art directors, and publishers, have happened because organizations like SCBWI exist and I will forever be thankful!
RVC: Please share the story of your first published book.
MR: My first illustrated published book was Asteroid Goldberg–a huge learning experience in so many ways. From learning about depicting cultural traditions, to designing dynamic page compositions, as well as ways to improve the process on how I now render my final art. It also taught me a lot about contracting, advances, and royalties. It was definitely a good project to get my publishing feet wet with.
RVC: What was the most useful lesson that book taught you?
MR: The most useful lesson going forward that I learned from this project, was to make sure I was involved with things like reviewing proofs, as well as making any edits to the art, and making suggestions towards the design of the book when needed. My goal in doing all of this is to ensure, to the best of my capabilities, that when my books hit the shelf, they are the best they can be!
RVC: You’re worked with a lot of children’s magazines. What are some of the
differences between that and illustrating kidlit books?
MR: They actually are very much the same, but the biggest difference is that a lot of my magazine work is geared toward interacting with the readers through activities. For a while I created a section called Color, Cut, Play! where you would have a themed set of paper toy characters and a play set to build. This featured section is what eventually turned into the concept behind the Color, Cut, Create books series.
RVC: How did you get into paper engineering?
MR: Paper engineering started as a hobby, something to do on the side between illustration gigs. It all started with me following a blog of a fellow creative, Matthew Hawkins. Matthew used to create a downloadable paper toy each week. I thought this was such a cool idea! He inspired me to start making my own creations and this is what got me hooked on cutting, gluing, and folding paper.
RVC: What’s the most common misconception about paper engineering/toy making?
MR: This isn’t a misconception per se, but a good number of people have never heard the phrase “paper engineering” before, but once you mention pop-up books and the process of how those types of books get created, it all clicks.
RVC: In all your experience with paper creativity, what has surprised you the most?
MR: What surprised me the most about paper creativity was not about how to do it, but how to get kids today seeing that they can do it too. One of my passions is educating students so that they can create anything with an idea and their hands. I am also an advocate for making sure that adults realize the importance of giving kids the opportunity to create and the benefits in doing so.
RVC: Talk a bit about your HarperCollins board book series, and how they’re both readable and playable.
MR: The Peek-and-Play series is definitely a book that you can play with. It does have words, but those words are meant to get kids up moving, making sounds, imagining and playing! They may not be the best books to quiet down a child at bedtime, but they are great books for read-out-loud times! If you haven’t heard it yet, check out the ROAR! I’m a Dinosaur song. It’s a pretty catchy tune! You can check it out here (be sure to scroll to the bottom of the web page).
RVC: What’s next for that series?
MR: There are no official plans yet, but there are always new ideas in the works.
RVC: What do you enjoy most about your Jack & Jill comic series that’s found
bimonthly in the pages of Jack and Jill magazine?
MR: Everything! How could you not enjoy having the opportunity to illustrate a comic for kids. It’s awesome to think that I have the opportunity to inspire future artist just like I was inspired by comics like Peanuts, Spider-man, and Calvin and Hobbes!
RVC: You like to experiment with art tools. What are some of most awesome failures—and successes!—you’ve created?
MR: I guess I can say that my work is full of awesome failures and successes! I say this because I use moments of failure as learning experiences to help better my projects. When I talk with kids, I mention that when I start to create anything, I always start with a written or sketched-out plan. Sometimes though, that initial plan doesn’t always work out and I have to do some problem solving to think through how I’m going to fix the issues that arise. I refer to this process as a trial-and-error phase. This phase is so important to the creation of anything.
For instance, I recently created a build-your-own 3D Haunted House craft for Highlights Press. I built 12 different prototypes of the same house before I had everything where I wanted it to be. I wanted to make sure that before this project went to press, the activity of building the house would give the end user a sense of accomplishment while having fun creating it.
RVC: Beyond creating the awesome promo copy we see in the photo at the top of this interview, what else have your kids contributed to your career?
MR: My kids are a HUGE part of my career! I consider my kids my subject matter experts. They are always inspiration for new projects, but they have also doubled as hand models, voice over actors, and product testers. My kids built every paper toy in the Color, Cut, Create series and watching them allowed me to witness where they had trouble in the building process. This allowed me to see firsthand what needed to be improved upon. My daughter even got the honor of modeling for the back cover of OINK! I’m a Pig.
RVC: One last question for this part of the interview. What new Merrill Rainey projects should we be on the lookout for?
MR: I am currently marketing my next illustrated picture book which is a reimagined Florence Parry Heide classic picture book titled Giants Are Very Brave People set to release on August 1st, published by Holiday House Books.
I am also working on two new projects. One is another paper craft book with Odd Dot titled Building Block Books: My First Town. This book is a take on the classic children’s building blocks where young builders will punch out, build, and stack a 3D city of their own. I am also working on a hybrid picture book/graphic novel with Hippo Park currently titled On The Air With Dr. Doodle Bug.
RVC: Alright, Merrill. It’s time for the SPEED ROUND. Zippy questions and zappy answers, please. Are you ready?
MR: YES!
RVC: If you were a superhero, what would the superpower you’d tell everyone you’d want?
MR: To be able to fly! But let’s be real, as I get older, I don’t know if I could handle the extreme heights. 😉
RVC: What would be the ACTUAL superpower you’d wish to have?
MR: I always wanted to be a Ninja Turtle when I was growing up!
RVC: Five things you can’t do your job without?
MR: A pen, good music, color, my creativity, and of course my hands!
RVC: Most opinionated pet—a very hungry toad, or a crabby hermit crabs?
MR: Hermit Crab… my son has a bad habit of not giving his crab water frequently enough, and just the other night, the crab literally took his drinking sponge and threw it across the cage to get his attention!
RVC: A kidlit illustrator who doesn’t get as much attention as they deserve?
MR: Gosh… this is a good question as there is so much good art being created out there today that it’s hard to see all of it! But if I take a step back in time, I collect classic Little Golden Books…and there is a time where a lot of these books didn’t credit the illustrator but the art is fantastic!
RVC: Your paper engineering philosophy in five words or less?
MR: Anything can become a reality!
RVC: The best thing a child ever said about something you created?
MR: If I could only remember every comment made! But if I had to pick one, or maybe two, I think it’s my kids quotes shown in the picture above. The two of them are a big part of why I do what I do and the explanation for that I’ll save for another interview!
RVC: Thanks so much, Merrill!
MR: Thanks so much for having me, Ryan!
Edna Cabcabin Moran is an author/illustrator, multi-disciplined artist, educator, and advocate for youth voices and diversity in publishing. A Filipina-American born to immigrants and raised in a military family, Edna grew up in the USA’s east and west coasts, Iceland, and Hawai’i. She is also a dancer with acclaimed hālau hula and dance company, Nā Lei Hulu I Ka Wēkiu, and a teaching artist specializing in STEAM and integrative arts. Her latest picture book, Honu and Moa (BeachHouse Publishing), received a 2019 Aesop Accolade from the American Folklore Society.