Who haven’t seen the popular TV show ‘Bob The Builder’ in their childhood days? But have you ever wondered whose brainchild was this? Meet Curtis JamesJobling, a British illustrator and animator who is renowned for his role as production designer of children’s TV hit ‘Bob The Builder’. He visited Bangladesh in 2019 with a view to participating in Dhaka Lit Fest. Our correspondent caught up with him.

Say something about your passion for illustration and animation. How did it all start?

“My love of illustration came from my love of reading picture books. When I was a child, we used to visit the library once a week and pick up books to bring home. My mom nurtured the love of words and pictures from a very young age. There were always paper and pencils in our house for me and my siblings to draw and write on. So, my mom was the creative member of our family. And as time went on, my love for drawing pictures grew all the way through school.”

So, how old were you when you started it seriously?

“I was probably around 18 or 19. I went to the university to study illustration as a diploma.”

Did you have it in your mind that you will do it professionally?

“Yeah, I knew that to be honest when I was 16 years old. I have been a hard-working studious child all the way through school. Once I hit 16, I was doing my A-levels. My grades fell rather dramatically. Art was still the thing I loved though, and art was the thing my parents still encouraged me to do. So, yeah, I went away to an art college. Illustration was what I was interested in. After having done my diploma on illustrations, I then wrote to Aardman animation in Bristol, the guy behind ‘Wallace and Gromit’. And they offered me a position to work in the animation industry as well as a model maker. So that was the first step in what became a very long and successful career.”

So, how did the concept of ‘Bob the Builder’ come into your mind?

“Bob was conceived by somebody else. Somebody else came up with the idea. And then he sold it to the animation studio A Cozy Chat With Curtis Joblingwho made the show. I was brought in by the animation studio to develop and design it into a show called ‘Bob the Builder’. Nobody could have foreseen or predicted how big the show will it become. Obviously, it became a global phenomenon. It became the biggest preschool show in the generation. I worked on the show for 10 years, designing everything, every single thing on the shop. But for me, as much fun as it was, I wanted to tell my own stories, wanted to create my own shows. I was always thinking ahead and that’s why I was collaborating with people and meeting with publishing houses, trying to get book deals and trying to get my own shows developed as well. The theme of the show is teamwork. Most preschool shows should, in my opinion, have a message that should be something at the heart of it, it can’t be just about making the show for selling toys and it shouldn’t be. Often is but it shouldn’t be. I have made another show more recently for BBC in Britain called ‘RaaRaaThe Noisy Lion’.”

You first started with illustration and then went on to become an author. How was this transition?

“I was thinking about what’s the next thing will be. I always wanted to do something different, to keep trying and changing gear and changing my career. One of the things I always wanted to do was writing for older audiences. So I would write whenever I could manage time. That’s how my first novel was written. It took 2.5 years.”

What is your feedback for children who are getting more interested in digital contents instead of books?

“In my opinion, it’s stifling their imagination. If they are playing computer games, using their smartphones all day long, watching films and other stuff, it’s just narrowing their imagination. They are not using their own imaginations anymore, they are letting another people’s imagination to direct them. Reading a book broadens a mind. If you spend all your time playing a game — switched off from the outside world with your head on your phone — it’s just looking in and looking out, switching off the outside world. That’s the negative effect. As a parent, you can take the phone off them and you can dictate how long they can play. That’s up to the parents, isn’t it? Unless you are bed-stricken and you are not able to leave bed, you have no excuse. Get out there, meet people, talk, be creative and socialize — that’s where great things can happen.”

What do you think about Bangladesh?

“I am already a bit of a fan. I have been here before, last year to visit ISD (International School Dhaka). I love the curries available here. It makes me very happy.”