Lidia Branković's MA thesis became an instant bestseller. Her debut book “The Grand Hotel Of Feelings” is an exciting and surprising rollercoaster ride through a hotel full of very different feelings and has been translated into more than 30 languages. Branković's book is the first that came from the Potsdam Picture Book Lab before it even existed. We spoke with Lidia about her experiences of making picture books and her own feelings about them.
July 2024
Please tell us a little bit about “The Grand Hotel of Feelings”?
My book is about a hotel that welcomes very differrent and very special guests. As the title suggests, these special guest are all kinds of feelings. And the hotel has a manager who welcomes them and makes sure that every feeling gets the space they need. You could say that the message is that all feelings are welcome, but also: that we ourselves are not our feelings, we just give them a temporary home, they are just passing through us.
So we are all actually small grand hotels?
Yes, exactly. In the beginning, I also thought for a long time about a house, a home for feelings. But a hotel feels much more fitting because the guests come but also leave again. Some feelings you want to say goodbye to soon, others you want to have as guests for longer.
How did the idea for your book come about?
The idea itself has been around for a long time, even at the beginning of my time at university. I've always written poems, especially when I wasn't feeling so well. And at some point, in the middle of a meditation, I came up with this idea for a poem. It was about my feelings moving into my house and first being welcomed as guests, but then at some point locking me out. So I went from being the host to being the victim of my own feelings. Years later when I thought about making a picturebook about emotions this idea came up again, but I realized that because I had learned how to deal with my feelings, it had to be slightly different. I was not the victim of my feelings, but I had learned to welcome them all.
How suitable is the picture book medium for portraying feelings? After all, they are actually invisible and should suddenly be given a face?
Yes, that was one of the things I had the most difficulty with. Coming up with different characters for the different feelings also came about under the time pressure of the last few weeks in the making. I really would have liked to have taken more time. But perhaps it was also good not to have so much time. I had to get to the point and couldn't get lost in my own thoughts for too long. In the end, they are different creatures, rather non-human figures, some are more like insects, some are more shapes with faces.
How did you illustrate the book, what techniques do you use in your work?
I always start with a pencil on paper. First I sketch out the image I have in mind and then I actually create a kind of coloring picture of the whole scene that I want. As a next step, I paint this scene with acrylic paints. Then I scan the sheet and continue working digitally. I add smaller and larger details in Procreate. Sometimes it's more digital, sometimes it's more analog. It's always a little different.
Are some pages and motives easier than others?
In fact, with the Grand Hotel I had two or three double pages where it was more difficult and I did several versions before I was satisfied. But it was actually surprisingly easy to come up with picture ideas for this book.
What does your working day look like? Do you have certain routines and habits?
My working day always starts quite late. Rarely before eleven o'clock. I like to sleep in, then I meditate. I have a longer morning routine so that I arrive in this world first thing in the morning. Then I sit down at my desk and, depending on what's on the agenda, I get started. I work for about three to four hours, then I take a break and after that I work for another three hours. There's no point in working for eight hours or even more, it simply doesn't work. Also I consider “doing nothing” a vital part of my creative process.
How do you come up with new ideas?
I usually go for a nice walk during my long, two-hour lunch break. I always walk the same route and it helps me to ground myself. It helps to just walk the same route and get away from work. And it's actually precisely this “getting out” that opens up the channel again and makes new ideas come through.
What fascinates you about picture books?
The combination of images and text gives me a lot of control over actually putting the worlds I have inside me on paper exactly as I imagine them. I've always been interested in photography, but that often felt limiting and somehow too exhausting for me. But picture books have such a beautiful format in which you can really get to the heart of the world from your own imagination. I really like that. I don't make my books for children, I don't really make children's books.
... but the children love them anyway?
Yes, I have been told so. But to be honest: I make my books because I'm interested in certain topics and I really like the medium of picture books to deal with these topics. I don't think it would be authentic for me if I tried to make a book for children. Maybe because I'm not a child. I don't really know what children want or how they think. I can only do what I think and what concerns me. And I think children also sense this honesty. I believe that because I don't write my books for children, but from an adult perspective, they are automatically interesting for the younger ones and adults too. At least I hope so.
What plans do you have for the future? What other books would you like to write?
I tend to deal with topics that are a bit more difficult. These are topics where I first have to see for myself what is actually positive about them and how can I make something good out of them? But I would like to write a book about love, just to do something light and beautiful. Even though there are also abysses in love, I guess.
What advice would you give a young picture book artist?
Find a professor, a teacher, someone who really understands you and with whom you can work well. Someone who can guide and instruct you. At least, that helped me a lot. And then, in any case, just do what you want to do and what you enjoy. Don't force yourself through any topics because you think, oh yes, children like that. Simply do what really interests you and have a lot of fun doing it.
Thank you, Lidia!
The Grand Hotel of Feelings
Lidia Brankovic
978-1-80066-041-0
Lidia Brankovic
978-1-80066-041-0
August 2023