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FireFlyz | 53
Self-taught illustrator and children’s book author Emila Yusof’s beautiful picture books
are beginning to attract an international audience.
Fireflyz
met the Malaysian talent to
find outwhere and howshe produces her beautiful tomes.
E
mila
Yusof could be
just the woman to engage
children in reading. She
fights on the side of paper
in the war on technology,
producing beautifully
illustrated books that
explode with colour and whimsical char-
acters, introducing today’s youngsters to
the world of gardens and crafts.
Picture Perfect
Malaysian-born Emila has been an es-
tablished illustrator and author for the
past few years, attracting the admiration
of readers and industry insiders alike for
her ability to create stories and illustrate
themwith beauty and grace and a healthy
dose of vibrancy.
She has produced a set of alphabet
books for children and illustrated the
book
The Legendary Princesses of Ma-
Colour Me Happy
I love the richness and vibrancy of it
(Oh, I love autumn!). And I think that
is reflected in my work.” There is also a
distinctive Malaysian style to her books,
which Emila feels is important to “keep
people aware of the things we have in
our country.”
Hard Work
While globe-trotting serves to get the
ideas flowing, Emila creates her work
from her home in the Malaysian capital,
trying to maintain focus on drawing with
a husband, son and cat in tow. “The tight
deadlines are tough for me,” she admits.
“I have to balance my work with the
household chores.”
While many marvel at her whimsi-
cal creations and imaginative work,
Emila had no formal training and remains
adamant that skills such as hers can be
learnt “as long as you have the passion
to draw” she stresses.
Keep an eye on
Emilatopia
to keep
tabs on the humble Malaysian, admire
her images on Instagram (emilayusof),
or visit her agent to see how you can
get your hands on her books
(http://
www.yusofgajahlingard.com/emila-yusof.
html).
laysia
, but is perhaps
best known for the
charming character of
Dina
, which first ap-
peared in the beautiful
My Mother’s Garden
.
CREATIVE URGES
International success
as a book author and
illustrator was far from
the mind of the young
Emila, who lived in
various parts of Malay-
sia before finally set-
tling in Ampang. Her
earliest dreams were
of being a fashion de-
signer but instead had
a drawing pencil in
her hand from the age
of five. Her creative
instincts led to a career
as a graphic designer
before she moved into
illustrating in 2007 and
finally to her role as an
author in 2010.
An Online Story
Emila’s unexpected journey to fame has
been documented on her blog
Emilato-
pia
since 2005, an award-winning site
where she records her thoughts, her
achievements, her latest creations and
photographs from her travels around
the world.
“Blogging is an important platform
to get more people to discover my
artworks and books,” she explains.”
There seems to be little space for
improvement in the beautiful works
Emila has created so far. They
appear alongside texts in both
English and Malay and sparkle
with colour and fun.
Her inspiration is drawn
from travel: “The world is
made-up of all sorts of colours,