'Never say 'no' to illustrating Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!' A chat with Thomas Gilbert

David chats with the illustrator of the new edition of Ian Fleming's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, released to celebrate the book's 60th anniversary. Although this is the first book Thomas has illustrated, you will likely be familiar with his work in other fields. He is not only a highly accomplished artist who started making stunning Bond posters at the start of the Covid lockdowns (Instagram @gilbert_posters) but he also designs cars for a living!
Fleming originally commissioned his automotive engineer friend Amherst Villiers (namechecked in the early Bond books) to draw Chitty, but his rendering was never used. So this edition marks the first time an actual car designer has illustrated the book!
Thomas's dynamic artwork perfectly complements Fleming's vivacious prose and brings us a Chitty quite unlike anything we've had before. Here, he takes us behind the scenes, explaining his process from start to finish, showing us how he decided what to illustrate and how he did it. We get to see the early work Thomas did for the book, months before it became the finished article. Along the way, Thomas and David discuss the various influences on the book's art, which include film noir, a classic 80s movie and a Fleming Bond novel - Thomas's favourite Bond novel in fact.
Thomas and David also talk about where their creative sparks come from and why it's a good idea to say 'yes!' to adventures which take you out of your comfort zone!
Following Thomas on Instagram here:
/ gilbert_posters

[@EngineeredNonsense]

Delightful! I grew up on the original Burningham art sketched over photos of his little cardboard model, but these new Gilbert illustrations are brilliant. I certainly wouldn’t mind a couple of prints for my office wall of the fabulous Art Deco / angular take on the book I learned to read with in the 1980s.

[@yestoadventure007]

Absolutely brilliant work! I used to be a professional illustrator as well but I gave it up. I can see it was a wise choice considering how skilled the competition is. 😉 I am now following Thomas on IG and his work is amazing.