Phillippa Rice

Spring 2018 Issue
Interview by Lizzy Itzkowitz

Phillppa Rice is a well-known U.K-based cartoonist. illustrator, and animator. She is the author of several autobiographic comics like Soppy and Sister BFFs.

Hey Philippa!  How are you? How is your baby Robin doing? How is Luke? 

Hello! We are doing well. It's snowy here. Luke’s looking after Robin today and I can hear them laughing downstairs. I'm upstairs in my office studio room. 

Where did you grow up?

Palmers Green, London, UK. 

Was making art a big part of growing up for you? 

Absolutely. I'm sure it is for most children, but I never stopped. Me and my sisters used to do a lot of crafts. Paint by numbers. knitting nancy, foil art, hama beads. I used to make models out of plasticine and cardboard boxes and fimo clay. 

Did you study art in school? 

Yes. I got a degree in Animation at Staffordshire University. 

You have several ongoing projects including Soppy, My Cardboard Life, Sister BFFs and Soft Spot. Are any of them "concluded"? 

I think My Cardboard Life is probably concluded now, since I haven't made a new one for a few years now. I wouldn't rule it out though. Soft Spot is kind of on hold because it's a bit awkward to do animation at the moment now there's a baby in the house, but I'm keen to get back into that as soon as I can. 

Since autobiography is so important to you, is there secret autobiographical content in My Cardboard Life? 

A lot of the My Cardboard Life comics would be inspired by something that happened or a conversation from real life. When I was making live new comics every week I had to come up with ideas constantly and real life was the best source because there's always more and more of it and it never stops! But also a lot of those comics were just straight forward puns or silly ideas that had nothing to do with anything. 

Is there a moment when Luke shows up in Sister BFFS, or your sister makes a guest appearance in Soppy? 

I probably should have done something like that but no. I did put a boy in one of the Sister BFF comics and he does look like Luke. but it’s not really Luke. Me and Luke from Soppy do appear in Luke's comic Hilda and the Black Hound. 

You and Luke have a baby, congratulations! Being an artist and a parent can be a tricky balancing act. What is it like when both parents are artists? 

Thank you. I think we are very lucky that we've been able to make it work so far. We both work from home and are taking it in turns to look after the baby while the other one works. The timing of my Sister BFFs book was fortunate because I already had most of the comics written so it made it easier for me to jump into that while adjusting to motherhood. 

Is it challenging to have multiple projects ongoing simultaneously? 

It's nice to have a few different projects on the go because I can switch between them and it keeps me from getting sick of any of them. 

Do you take inspiration from any particular artists? 

Lots! I get inspired all the time by seeing all sorts of work. Ginette Lapalme is amazing and I love her book Confetti and when I look at that it makes me want to make something right away. I really love Brecht Evan’s graphic novels, the way the artwork really conveys feeling.

How is your life as a new mom? Has it changed or affected your art in any way? 

I'm enjoying it. It's hard work too. I have to be more organized and efficient with my time and resources (many hours of playing Harvest Moon in the past have helped me with these skills). The first thing I worked on since becoming a mum has been my Sister BFFs book and that is set when me and my sister were in our twenties and really is written from the perspective of people who would never be concerned about baby related things so it was kind of a nice break for me to try and think like that to make that book! But now that’s done I am going to do some work that is more baby related. and I have done my hourly comics and Google Doodle comic about being a mum so I'm already using these new experiences to inform my work. 

Do you think it's important for an artist to be experimental with their work? Has having a wide range of skills been an advantage for you and your career? 

Trying out new mediums, learning new crofts and being experimental with styles and formats and everything is how I get ideas and keep going. Sometimes it's been a bit awkward trying to decide which bits are actually "my work" and what's just something I’m trying out and where does it all fit in with each other. I’m sure everything would be more streamlined and straightforward if I used the some medium and style for everything but I can’t do it!

Any tips on how to manage yourself after graduating? 

It's an overwhelming time. The whole structure of your life is taken away and it feels like you've got to choose a path and if you get it wrong that's it! But you don't need to put all that pressure on yourself. There's no hurry honestly. It takes a while to figure out what's going to work for you. After I graduated I had a few different day jobs over a number of years and I made comics and things in my spare time. It was about five years after I graduated that I was doing comics and illustration full time. On the other hand, Luke was taking on paid illustration work while he was still at uni and he went straight into it after he graduated. But that's super rare! Personally I think it’s a good idea to have any kind of job while you find your feet. 

Do you have any thoughts on how young artists can get themselves into the world of comics? 

Everyone I know who's working in comics got there by completely different ways. I think attending and exhibiting at comics shows is really helpful. It really helps to have some particular thing that you're making a comic for like getting a mini comic finished in time for a zine fair. Make sure you've got a website for your work, with contact details that are easy to find, and link to that website on all your social media bios. It can be a tumblr or anything just as long as it's easy to see your work on there and not a load of other stuff. For me, sharing my work online has led to every opportunity I ever had so I'd recommend doing that regularly!

INK would like to thank Phillippa Rice for taking the time to be interviewed!

psst! check out the Spring 2018 Issue to see this interview in print…