A Supa Graphic Novel Q&A

Chanté Timothy, creator of the new graphic novel series, Supa Nova, talked to Armadillo Editor Louise Ellis-Barrett, about the inspiration behind the story as well as the experiences which led to her creating her own graphic novel. Read about her journey and about how she has bought science to the graphic novel scene for children!

When did you start your career as an illustrator? Was it a childhood dream come true or something that you realised you were good at when deciding on career directions? I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember. I studied Illustration and Graphics at Coventry University, I tried my hardest to be an editorial artist but stumbled my way into Children’s book publishing. I worked on my first Children’s book in 2018, and then I was hooked. After a few years working as a children’s book illustrator (with 11 books), it was time to start creating my own stories.

How different is the technique of illustration compared to the creation of a graphic novel – can you give our readers a little insight? There wasn’t a huge difference from illustrating a picture book or a chapter book, the main difference is the amount of images needed. It felt like illustrating the storyboard to an animation, I had to understand camera angles and where to place comic panels to guide the reader. But at the end of the day I’m telling a story visually instead of using describing words.

Supa Nova, or Nova, is a young scientist. I imagine your background might be based more in the arts, what made you want to create Nova’s character? I’ve always been fascinated with scientific discovery, there’s so much we don’t know! But the things we do know honestly feel like magic, and I really wanted to bring that wonder to others and the only way I know how is to draw it.

What made you want to tell her story as a graphic novel? Graphic novels are honestly the best way to tell a story. You get all the action in one place, the snappy text, sound effects and the images make you feel immersed in the story.

There are some underlying messages and themes in the story: Nova is a young scientist; a super genius; saving the environment… What do you hope readers will take away from her story? I would love readers to know they have everything they need within them to take on any challenge that they come across. It might mean asking for a little help along the way but your mind and spirit are powerful things , Supa if you will :)

How do you balance the use of words and pictures when telling a story in graphic novel format? I may be unique in this approach, I’m not sure, but I honestly work as if the book is a silent book and add the text in later to give the image more context.

How important was the colour palette to you for each part of the story and how did you choose it? I love to use a wide range of colours but even still I had to limit my palette, I have almost the same palette for most of my illustration work so it wasn’t tough to decide. I just want to make sure the book was vibrant throughout so I always make sure the colours are contrasting in the best way so everything pops.

This book is the first in a series. Will Nova always be the principal character in each book? Yes, it’s all about Supa Nova and her scientific discoveries! Since science is such a broad subject there’s much to investigate and invent. Watch out for the rest of the series! It’s going to be SUPA!

As the series progresses will there still be a range of themes alongside the science and do you have any ideas what they might be? As it’s all about Nova, who is only 8 and still discovering things for herself. We the reader will be on this journey with her. There is also real-life science that inspires each of the stories. There will always be some real-world element that is injected into the stories.

What would you say to any of your readers who would like to try and be a young scientist, just like Nova? I already think you’re the coolest! Having the knowledge of a scientist is like being a wizard/witch, you can make or find things that can change our entire world. All using your brain, how cool is that.