Imagine...the Wonder of Picture Books: Illustration for Macca the Alpaca

Icon

Illustration for Macca the Alpaca

by Matt Cosgrove

coloured pencil, watercolour and gouache on paper

Courtesy Matt Cosgrove and Scholastic

[{"nid":"487","path":"\/imagine-wonder-picture-books\/illustration-fire","field_location_number":"1","field_location_image":"https:\/\/s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com\/slnsw.audio-guides\/production\/s3fs-public\/styles\/large\/public\/2022-06\/Imagine_01_Fire_sq.jpg?itok=R9hpPAz3","title":"Illustration for Fire","field_ag_locations_color":"","field_audio_media":"82, 81, 83","status":"On"},{"nid":"488","path":"\/imagine-wonder-picture-books\/illustration-grandpa-and-thomas","field_location_number":"2","field_location_image":"https:\/\/s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com\/slnsw.audio-guides\/production\/s3fs-public\/styles\/large\/public\/2022-06\/Imagine_2_Grandpa_and_Thomas_sq.jpg?itok=fkgBAMNC","title":"Illustration for Grandpa and Thomas","field_ag_locations_color":"","field_audio_media":"84","status":"On"},{"nid":"489","path":"\/imagine-wonder-picture-books\/waiting-later","field_location_number":"3","field_location_image":"https:\/\/s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com\/slnsw.audio-guides\/production\/s3fs-public\/styles\/large\/public\/2022-06\/Imagine_3_Waiting_for_Later_sq.jpg?itok=ru79hAA8","title":"Waiting for Later","field_ag_locations_color":"","field_audio_media":"85","status":"On"},{"nid":"490","path":"\/imagine-wonder-picture-books\/illustrations-when-we-say-black-lives-matter","field_location_number":"4","field_location_image":"https:\/\/s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com\/slnsw.audio-guides\/production\/s3fs-public\/styles\/large\/public\/2022-06\/Imagine_4_When_We_Say_BLM_sq.jpg?itok=XgtD1YvV","title":"Illustrations for When We Say Black Lives Matter","field_ag_locations_color":"","field_audio_media":"86, 87, 88","status":"On"},{"nid":"492","path":"\/imagine-wonder-picture-books\/illustration-grandmas-treasured-shoes","field_location_number":"5","field_location_image":"https:\/\/s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com\/slnsw.audio-guides\/production\/s3fs-public\/styles\/large\/public\/2022-06\/Imagine_5_Grandma%27s_Treasured_Shoes_sq.jpg?itok=iojM80rj","title":"Illustration for Grandma\u2019s Treasured Shoes ","field_ag_locations_color":"","field_audio_media":"89","status":"On"},{"nid":"491","path":"\/imaginethe-wonder-picture-books\/illustration-boy-and-ball","field_location_number":"6","field_location_image":"https:\/\/s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com\/slnsw.audio-guides\/production\/s3fs-public\/styles\/large\/public\/2022-06\/Imagine_6_A_Boy_And_A_Ball_sq.jpg?itok=vox-ETiQ","title":"Illustration for A Boy and a Ball","field_ag_locations_color":"","field_audio_media":"90, 91, 92","status":"On"},{"nid":"494","path":"\/imagine-wonder-picture-books\/illustration-paperboy","field_location_number":"7","field_location_image":"https:\/\/s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com\/slnsw.audio-guides\/production\/s3fs-public\/styles\/large\/public\/2022-06\/Imagine_7_Paperboy_sq.jpg?itok=VeIcoSw_","title":"Illustration for Paperboy","field_ag_locations_color":"","field_audio_media":"93, 94, 95","status":"On"},{"nid":"493","path":"\/imagine-wonder-picture-books\/illustration-gumnut-babies","field_location_number":"8","field_location_image":"https:\/\/s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com\/slnsw.audio-guides\/production\/s3fs-public\/styles\/large\/public\/2022-06\/Imagine_8_Gumnut_Babies_sq.jpg?itok=3cgx1Q89","title":"Illustration for Gumnut Babies","field_ag_locations_color":"","field_audio_media":"96","status":"On"},{"nid":"496","path":"\/imagine-wonder-picture-books\/illustration-macca-alpaca","field_location_number":"9","field_location_image":"https:\/\/s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com\/slnsw.audio-guides\/production\/s3fs-public\/styles\/large\/public\/2022-06\/Imagine_9_Macca_The_Alpaca_sq.jpg?itok=8fo39Ikq","title":"Illustration for Macca the Alpaca","field_ag_locations_color":"","field_audio_media":"97","status":"On"},{"nid":"495","path":"\/imagine-wonder-picture-books\/illustration-march-ants","field_location_number":"10","field_location_image":"https:\/\/s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com\/slnsw.audio-guides\/production\/s3fs-public\/styles\/large\/public\/2022-06\/Imagine_10_March_of_the_ants_sq.jpg?itok=W4RhBh0F","title":"Illustration for The March of the Ants","field_ag_locations_color":"","field_audio_media":"98, 99","status":"On"}]

Imagine_09_Macca_the_Alpaca_Macintosh.mp3

Transcript

The original concept for Macca the Alpaca was the same story but very different to the one that ended up in the finished book of Macca the Alpaca. So initially there were a lot more words and it was a much sort of darker story, and it was even written in a different rhyming format. So I think initially it began, “On a mountain in Peru there lived a young Alpaca. His parents named him Macintosh, but you can call him Macca.” So I pitched this to the publisher and they said, “Yes, we love this book, we want to publish it.” And then it’s at that point that they start giving you editorial feedback and you get notes from the editor about what they would like to change so that it becomes a better book, a stronger book, and it works better in the market, because they know all about the publishing landscape. So they give feedback on that.

And the feedback I got from my editors was the story needed to be more light-hearted, more humorous, and I had to cut words. So I had to cut pages and I had to cut the amount of words on every page. So it ended up being, “This guy is called Macca, he’s an Alpaca.” So you can see how many words were cut from that sort of original manuscript. And that happened all throughout the story. So yes, the concept that you pitch to a publisher, or the initial manuscript, is never what ends up as the final finished product. So publishing’s a very slow process and there’s lots of backwards and forwards between the author and the editor to get to the final product – the finished book – that’s as close to perfect as you can get it, and using everybody’s expertise to create a book that is the best possible read that everybody can make.

Curators/Speakers

Matt Cosgrove

Topic Title

How Macintosh became Macca