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Studio Tour with Jillian Tamaki

Studio Tour with Jillian Tamaki

Sep 22, 2026
Jillian Tamaki sitting in front of an easel while holding a copy of Young Cat, Old Cat up to the camera.

 

Young Cat, Old Cat is a touching book about how furry friends can have a huge impact on our lives, even after they are gone. Award-winning creator Jillian Tamaki illustrates the journey of a rescue cat in a unique blend of embroidery and appliqué. To celebrate the release of this gorgeous new picture book, we visited Jillian’s studio to learn more about her work and get a closer look at her marvelous illustrations. 

"I work six days a week, and the studio is truly my happy place."


Jillian leaning over a table in her studio.

What’s your schedule like? What are your ideal working conditions?

I have a pretty boring working routine. I keep pretty standard office hours; I get in at nine and leave at six or seven, and I like that repetition.

I work six days a week, and the studio is truly my happy place. I like shutting the door and being in a little cocoon. I put on my little noise-canceling earphones and just mainline those podcasts: the murder podcasts, the history podcasts … Anything that's ideally two hours long — we love it. 

A corner of Jillian Tamaki’s studio. A wooden desk with two desktop monitors sits against one wall. Another wooden desk covered in art supplies and scraps of paper sits against the other wall.

Provided by Jillian Tamaki

 

A metal shelf filled with books.
A quilted square hanging on a white wall. Jillian crouching down on the floor, rifling through a cardboard box of old illustrations.
Boxes of crewel thread, needles, felt and scissors arranged on Jillian’s worktable. A metal desk lamp hangs over the art supplies.

How did you illustrate Young Cat, Old Cat?

The process of illustrating this book was very complex. I knew I wanted embroidery to be sort of the foundation of the book, but how to approach that involved a lot of tests and trial and error. And I ended up with this painting-embroidery hybrid where I would stretch colored fabric onto a frame and then paint with acrylic ink, then go in once that was dried with various embroidery techniques using crewel thread.

Boxes of crewel thread, a pair of scissors, fabric scraps and a copy of Young Cat, Old Cat arranged on the blue-green grid sitting on Jillian’s worktable. "The process of illustrating this book was very complex."
Left: An illustration of a child wrapping their arms around the head of a giant gray cat, rendered on a piece of yellow fabric using paint and embroidery. Right: The back of the canvas the illustration was done on. Loose threads from the embroidery are visible.

Provided by Jillian Tamaki

A photo of a spread of cats in different fantastical scenarios: a cat doing ballet, a cat dressed like a lion, a cat transforming into a fish.
Two illustrations from the book created with paint and embroidery. Left: A girl holding a kitten up to a tree. Right: A child holding a cat toy, playing with several tiny gray cats. Provided by Jillian TamakiJillian pulling a piece of thread from an illustration of a child sitting cross-legged, a kitten in their lap.
A wooden shelf filled with trinkets hanging on a white wall.

What are your three favorite objects in your studio?

All my little special treats and trinkets are on this shelf. The first one is a picture of my sister, Lauren Tamaki (A Pond, a Poet, and Three Pests). Incredible illustrator — probably honestly a better illustrator than me in so many ways, but she has always been my go-to consultant if I ever have a question about a book, if something's working: “Do you like this? Is this corny? Is the color good?” She actually came to the studio to help me with some of the painting stuff on Young Cat, Old Cat, because I am not a painter and she is. So, she came and sort of gave me some tips.

A tiny school photo of Lauren Tamaki sitting on Jillian’s trinket shelf.

My second treasure/favorite thing is this little plasticine figure that somebody gave me at the Toronto Comics Arts Festival many years ago. It’s of Marsha, who is the main character of my graphic novel SuperMutant Magic Academy. I'm always really touched when people give me little gifts and artwork inspired by my work, so I'm keeping her forever!

A clay figurine of a character from Jillian’s graphic novel SuperMutant Magic Academy sitting in Jillian’s hand. The character is in a sitting position. They have a bowl cut and wears glasses, a black sweater with a collared shirt and tie underneath, a gray plaid skirt, and knee-high socks.
"I'm always really touched when people give me little gifts and artwork inspired by my work..."

And my last little favorite thing is [this set of] Simpsons toothbrushes that my friend Jeanette Lipscombe gave me. She owns an incredible store/gallery here in Toronto called Toutoune Gallery. She is just an incredible collector of ephemera and interesting things. So you never know when you're going to get a gift of, you know, Simpsons toothbrushes or a little sticker or random little things made out of pompoms. Please visit her!

A pink box with images of Bart and Marge Simpson on it. Through a little plastic window on one side of the box, you can see the tops of two toothbrushes sitting inside.

This interview was adapted from two videos we shared on Instagram, which you can watch here and here.

 

Tags  Groundwood Books, illustrator, jillian tamaki, Lauren tamaki, mariko tamaki, picture book, studio tour, young cat old cat
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