Keith Robinson

I'm an illustrator, mostly of books for children and young adults. I create book covers and interior illustrations and enjoy drawing fantasy, spooky, historical and animal themes.

When I was small I was desperate to get to Narnia. I had a habit of walking into other people’s wardrobes, which must have been awkward for my parents. Eventually I discovered the next best way of travelling to other worlds was to lose myself in drawing them.

I love illustrating children’s fiction. Getting lost in a good story and expressing the characters, setting and atmosphere through drawing is still the best kind of escapism I know. It also means I no longer feel the need to walk into wardrobes.

My work is informed by a love of nature, myth and history, all of which can be found in abundance where I live, on the Devon-Dorset border. The beautiful landscape of the West Country, the stunning scenery of the Jurassic Coast and the wilds of nearby Dartmoor provide a constant source of inspiration.

I've been a freelance illustrator since 2001, but I came to it the long way round. After graduating in graphics and illustration in 1992, I worked as an animator on some of the earliest digital media productions for clients around the world. In 1995 I joined the BBC and was part of the R&D team that developed the Corporation’s first website. I later founded Codename, an award winning media production company, before I finally returned to my first love and picked up my pencils in earnest again.

I live with my wife and two children, near the pretty seaside town of Lyme Regis, on the south coast of England. When I’m not working I enjoy hiking, camping, fossil-hunting, playing the guitar and rummaging through second-hand book shops.