Back to articles & videos

Illustrator Spotlight – Chloe Jasmine Harris

Sound Waves Literacy 28/7/22

In a small studio in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, Chloe Jasmine Harris creates playful illustrations that are bursting with exciting details for children to discover.

Her love of vintage children’s books, particularly from the ’50s and ’60s, inspires her bright artwork and the retro influence can be seen in each illustration.

Chloe’s bold style has made her a great match for the new Sound Waves Decodable Readers.

‘I’d describe my work as playful, colourful and contemporary with a retro influence,’ she said.

‘I’m also a very detail-oriented person and like to create illustrations that have lots happening in each scene.’

‘I love the idea of kids having fun getting to discover something new every time they look at an illustration.’

Chloe has been illustrating for eight years, since she finished a Bachelor of Fine Arts, and joined Australian agency The Illustration Room about six years ago.

Through her work on the Decodable Readers, Chloe has helped transport students to stunning locations throughout Australia and celebrate the beauty of our nation’s unique landscapes.

One of her favourite books to work on was The Falls, which follows a family on a hiking adventure.

‘This story is set in Far North Queensland and the landscape and foliage was based on that found at Josephine Falls,’ she said.

‘Getting to build up layered scenes of lush green rainforests, vibrant tropical plants and waterfalls was an illustrator’s dream and such an exciting and creative brief.’

‘Bushwalking in Sydney’s Blue Mountains near Leura Falls is one of my favourite things to do, so that might be another reason why I enjoyed this Reader the most too!’

Chloe was meticulous with her planning and research to ensure the beautiful scenery in each book shone just as brightly as the human characters.

‘For A Loud Bird, which is set in the Northern Territory, making sure I captured the intensity of the Australian desert landscape was just as important as the characters themselves,’ she said.

‘So I spent a lot of time researching this landscape while doing the initial sketches and colour planning.’

‘This was the same for the reader The Reef. The Great Barrier Reef in a way is the main character of the story, so I spent time researching types of coral, tropical fish species, the way sunlight looks from under the sea before getting started.’

Creating engaging characters was also a perk of the project for Chloe.

‘Getting to design the characters for Joan, Toad and Goat, a reader which features a fancy lady and two animal characters, was creatively so much fun for me,’ she said.

‘I love getting to develop a character and give them their own distinct personality through the clothing I choose for them or by exaggerating certain features that are unique to that person/animal.’

Chloe is now in the throes of illustrating books for the Year 1 suite of Sound Waves Decodable Readers and tackling a whole new range of books with new and varied characters and settings.

‘I’ve absolutely loved getting to work on bringing some of these fantastic stories to life,’ she said.

‘I think it’s extremely important that learning to read is a positive and enjoyable experience for kids, so I’m just really grateful to be a part of it.’

See more of Chloe’s work on her website or Instagram.

More Sound Waves Literacy articles & videos