There's the most wonderful sense of controlled chaos to the work of Quentin Blake. While his lively illustrations may give the impression that they've been dashed out in seconds, he spends a lot of time preparing and planning his drawings to ensure that they fit the atmosphere of the book he's working on, and that his characters look the same on each page.

昆汀 · 布莱克的作品有一种最奇妙的可控制的混沌感。 虽然他生动的插图给人的印象可能是几秒钟就完成了，但他花了很多时间准备和规划他的绘画，以确保它们符合他正在写的书的氛围，并确保他的角色在每一页上看起来都是一样的。

The spontaneous feel of his work has made him a perfect fit for children's books; he's illustrated over 300 of them since his first book in 1961, working most famously with Roald Dahl, and also with big names such as David Walliams and even Dr Seuss, for whom he illustrated the first book that Seuss didn't illustrate himself. He's also written and illustrated a number of books by himself.

自1961年出版第一本书以来，他为300多本儿童图书绘制插图，其中最著名的是与罗尔德 · 达尔合作，还有大名鼎鼎的大卫 · 沃利姆斯，甚至是苏斯博士，他为苏斯的第一本书绘制插图，而苏斯没有为自己绘制插图。 他还自己写了一些书，并为其配了插图。

Every illustrator needs to start somewhere, and Blake got his first big break thanks to painter and cartoonist Alfred Jackson, who was married to Blake's Latin teacher at school. Jackson encouraged Blake to submit his work to Punch magazine, and the young illustrator saw his first work published at the age of just 16.

每个插图画家都需要从某个地方开始，布莱克得到了他的第一次重大突破，这要感谢画家和漫画家阿尔弗雷德 · 杰克逊，他在学校嫁给了布莱克的拉丁语老师。 杰克逊鼓励布莱克向《笨拙》杂志投稿，这位年轻的插画家在16岁时就看到了他的第一部作品。

Lesson learned: Never underestimate the advantages of having a mentor who can help you set your career in the right direction. Getting the right advice from someone who's already been around the block can save you from some serious pitfalls and show you what aspects of your work you need to focus on.

经验教训: 永远不要低估拥有一位良师益友的好处，他可以帮助你将你的职业生涯引向正确的方向。 从周围的人那里得到正确的建议可以帮助你避免一些严重的陷阱，并且告诉你你需要关注工作的哪些方面。