Meet the illustrator
KEITH ROBINSON

Keith gave us further insight into his illustration influences and working with Royal Mail. 

What first sparked your interest in illustration, and how did you start your career?

I became interested in illustration as a teenager in the 80s, through the fantasy and sci-fi work of artists like Alan Lee and Roger Dean and the comic art of 2000AD. It didn’t really occur to me that it was a career option, I just enjoyed trying to make pictures like that. Then, when I was 15 my art teacher arranged work experience for me at a graphic design studio, and it dawned on me that maybe I could make a living doing the thing I loved. So, I went to art college, initially to study graphic design, but I gradually realised that illustration was what really interested me, so I switched to an illustration degree. After graduating I tried to break into illustration professionally but I ended up getting side-tracked. This was in the early nineties when digital media and the internet were just getting going. I somehow fell into doing computer animation and worked at the BBC for a while. Then I set up a design agency with some friends and eventually went freelance, with the aim of returning to illustration. I developed my portfolio, found an agent, and gradually started getting commissions, but it took me a long time to find my style and establish myself as a full-time illustrator. In the end it was a piece of personal work, a scene from Philip Pullman’s Northern Lights, that was a breakthrough for me artistically, and which began getting noticed by art directors.

How would you describe your illustration style, and what influences have shaped it?

I try to make work that feels contemporary but also has a timeless quality. My illustrations sometimes remind me of the old Ladybird books of the 50s and 60s - not that I’d put myself in the same league as those incredible artists.

I’m also influenced by traditional animation, such as Studio Ghibli and early Disney. I especially love the concept art that Eyvind Earle and Mary Blair did for Disney in the 40s and 50s. I try and bring something of that cinematic quality to my work, using light and colour to create atmosphere and evoke emotion.

I often find myself returning to the ‘Golden Age’ illustrators of the late 19th and early 20th centuries - the likes of Arthur Rackham, Edmund Dulac and N.C. Wyeth, and classic children’s illustrators such as E.H. Shepard (of Winnie-the-Pooh fame) and of course, the great Pauline Baynes who originally illustrated the Narnia books.

What drew you to the opportunity to illustrate stamps for Royal Mail?

When I was a kid, I had an uncle who always bought me First Day Covers when a new set of stamps was issued. I would spend ages poring over my collection - I loved all the different art styles and the incredible detail. So, it was a huge honour to be asked to illustrate a set of stamps for such a prestigious organisation. Then the fact that it was for Narnia was a dream come true. As a child, I was crazy about the Narnia books, and if I could have told my younger self that one day my drawings would be on stamps and they’d be of Narnia, I’d have flipped!

How did you approach illustrating The Chronicles of Narnia stamps? Did you have a clear vision from the beginning, or did you revisit the books for inspiration?

I grew up loving the books, in fact I think it’s fair to say I was obsessed with them. I remember having them read to me when I was about six and then reading them myself as soon as I was able. I was convinced Narnia must be a real place and I tried everything to get there - I had a habit of walking into other people’s wardrobes, just in case, which must have been awkward for my parents.

So, I have a pretty clear image of that world in my mind, but I did revisit all the books before starting the project in earnest, just to refresh my memory and pick out certain details.

For me, the original illustrations by Pauline Baynes are perfect – utterly charming, beautifully executed and inseparable from the text. So I felt it was important to do something completely different.

I’ve tried to take a cinematic approach, almost as though each scene could be a still-frame from an animation. Apart from that, I approached them as I would my more usual book cover work - using colour, lighting and composition to create atmosphere and drama.

Illustrating for stamps is very different from books or larger formats. How did you adapt your artwork to fit into a small space? Did it present any unique challenges?

I’ve been lucky enough to illustrate several stamp editions for Guernsey Post’s philatelic bureau, so I’m quite familiar with the unique challenge of illustrating stamps. It can be tricky, designing compositions which accommodate the monarch’s head, monetary value, and any caption text. And of course, stamps are tiny! So, I constantly zoom right out when working, to make sure everything remains clear when reduced to a small size. You can still include a surprising amount of detail – the print quality of stamps is so incredibly high that the detail is preserved even at such a small scale. That’s part of their beauty as collectable objects, I think.
 

Do you have a favourite Narnia book or scene? Were you able to illustrate it for this collection?

It’s hard to beat the iconic moment where Lucy first meets Mr Tumnus by the lamppost in the woods, so I loved the opportunity to interpret that scene. If I had to choose a favourite book I think The Voyage of the Dawn Treader would just about edge it. There are scenes from all the books that didn’t make it onto the stamps, but which I’d love to illustrate. One of my favourites is from Prince Caspian. The Pevensie children are magically transported, but they’re not sure where they are. They discover some old ruins, and it gradually dawns on them that it’s their castle, Cair Paravel, where they reigned as kings and queens for years. But because of the way time works differently between Narnia and our world, hundreds of years have since passed, so all that’s left are these forgotten ruins. The children are excited by the discovery, but I’ve always found something deeply melancholy and evocative about that scene.
 

What emotions or reactions do you hope people experience when they see and collect these stamps?

It’s quite a daunting thing, illustrating such a beloved classic, because everyone who has read and loved the books will have their own image of Narnia. I hope that my interpretation will resonate with some people or at least evoke some of the magic of Narnia and remind them of their own imagining of it. And perhaps for anyone who is not familiar with the books, the stamps might entice them to visit Narnia for themselves.

While working on this project, did you uncover any new insights about The Chronicles of Narnia that surprised or inspired you?

The books are very much of their time and some aspects of them do feel out of step with modern attitudes. But for all that, they still hold a very special magic for me. I was struck by the sheer scope of Lewis’s imagination and how vividly he evokes the realms of Narnia and its fantastical inhabitants.

It’s interesting that each book has a very distinctive feel - the winter-world of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, the desert landscapes of The Horse and his Boy, the subterranean world of The Silver Chair, the island-hopping of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and so on. This in turn seems to somehow underpin the tone and themes of each book.

What was the most rewarding part of bringing Narnia to life through these stamps?

I loved getting lost in that world again. It often felt like returning to a favourite holiday spot and meeting old friends there. It’s an odd thing, but when I’m making an illustration, it can seem almost like I’m living in it – this strange kind of displacement happens. I guess that’s as close as I’ll ever get to visiting Narnia!

The collaboration with the Design Agency and the Design Manager at Royal Mail was also hugely rewarding. In developing the stamp designs from rough drawings to final artwork we had several virtual meetings to review work-in-progress. I was able to screen-share and draw live in response to our discussions, which was always a fun process. It’s so useful to get objective opinions from people you trust, as it’s easy to get too close to the work you’re making. They are all hugely experienced creatives, with a great eye, and their input made the final results that much better.

If you could step into one of the Narnia scenes you illustrated, which one would it be and why?

In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader the children are looking at a picture of a ship, which reminds them of a Narnian ship, when they are magically pulled into the picture. So begins their adventure aboard the Dawn Treader. As I’ve said, I was desperate to get to Narnia when I was a kid, and one of the things I tried was drawing a picture of the Dawn Treader. I’d stare at it for ages, hoping I’d be transported through it - so I suppose it has to be the Dawn Treader stamp!

How does it feel to know your artwork will travel the world through these stamps?

While I was in the thick of the project, I was immersed in the challenge of making the artwork, but now they’re done, it’s a bit surreal to think of how many people all over the world might see them. I’m pretty sure this will be the biggest audience I’ve reached with my illustration. It’s always a thrill, putting work out into the world, but a little bit scary too! I also love the fact that stamps can be special collectible things, which people keep and treasure, but they can also be completely common-place and disposable - something you stick on an envelope and shove in a letterbox. There’s something wonderfully democratic about that - a little bit of everyday art.

It’s such a privilege to have illustrated stamps for the Royal Mail – it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. It’s an honour to join the ranks of artists who’ve designed stamps over the years, many of whom are my art-heroes.

Illustrations by Keith Robinson © copyright 2025 C.S. Lewis Pte Ltd.

Illustrations by Pauline Baynes © copyright 1950, 1998 C.S. Lewis Pte Ltd.

Narnia® and The Chronicles of Narnia® are trademarks of C.S. Lewis Pte Ltd.