From Raindrops to Stories
Interview with illustrator Martina Liebig and author Ixtzel Arreola of Little Cloud’s Big Dream
Pitter-patter, splash! Raindrops dance from the clouds above, sparking one of childhood’s most fascinating questions: how does rain actually form? In Little Cloud’s Big Dream, author Ixtzel Arreola and illustrator Martina Liebig transform this scientific wonder into a magical journey through the water cycle. In this exclusive interview, both creators share their inspirations—from Liebig’s enchanting landscapes to Arreola’s vision for making weather patterns magical for young minds. The interview is translated from German by David Henry Wilson.
Which do you prefer: a nice rainy day or a cloudless blue sky?
Martina: I like both, but generally I’d go for the cloudless blue sky.
Ixtzel: I like both too and can’t really choose between them. There’s something magical and cozy about sitting in front of a crackling fire on a rainy day, just as much as there is dozing on the grass beneath a blue sky, with a hat down over your eyes to keep the sun off your face. I think I’d opt for a morning of blue sky and an afternoon of rain.
Ixtzel, what made you think of the story of Little Cloud Re?
Ixtzel: My son wanted me to tell him a bedtime story. Just as I opened my mouth, and before I could say a word, Re arrived at our house.
Martina, how did you and Ixtzel first meet?
Martina: Because of a book! Flo, der Flummi und das Schnack is a collection of stories which I illustrated in 2020. Tino Hanekamp, Ixtzel’s husband, had written one of the stories, and after the book had been published, I asked him if he was happy with my interpretation of his story. We got talking, and shortly afterwards he introduced me to his wife.
Did you and Ixtzel keep in contact while you were creating the illustrations?
Martina: Yes, we did. We talked to each other regularly, especially at the beginning, when I was designing the storyboard. But there wasn’t much contact when I was putting the finishing touches to the illustrations.
Ixtzel: Martina’s an amazingly clever and gifted partner to work with. And she has great respect for my own creative process. We talked and wrote a lot to each other, but she always let me do things my way.
The landscapes of South America play a key role in this story. Ixtzel, as someone who lives there, what inspired these settings? And Martina, how did you approach researching and capturing these landscapes in your illustrations?
Martina: I had to do a lot of research for that part of the book. It ranged from individual pictures that I found on the internet to all kinds of documents and descriptions that I read on the subject. I had to learn all about the animals, where and how they lived, and also about the different kinds of clouds and the ways in which water recycled itself.
Ixtzel: I live in the highlands of a rainforest, in a place where the scene is constantly changing. It starts off warm and sunny, but then for half the year it changes and becomes all misty until the rain arrives and the vegetation springs to lush life. The rivers flow and the landscape is covered in colorful blooms. Seeing all this is my greatest joy, and that’s what runs through the whole book.
Martina, from first sketches to final illustrations, what stages do you go through?
Martina: There’s a lot of switching between analog drawing and use of the computer. I start drawing sketches when I first read the text, but then comes the research phase, which is very time-consuming. Next, I do a lot of analog sketches, which I take to the computer in order to make up the storyboard. When I’ve finished that, I print everything out and put it on my light table so that I can draw the final outlines. The haptics are very important to me during this phase. After that I go back to the computer to finalize the colors using Photoshop. It’s a creative chaos of studies and experiments out of which there eventually comes a result that I can be really happy with.
What was the biggest personal challenge you faced in working on this book?
Martina: It was difficult to make the right choice of colors. The story begins with the sunrise in a flower meadow, and then moves deeper and deeper into the tropical green jungle, and ends at night. It was important to me that I should use a palette that would reflect all the different features of each landscape while at the same time capturing the different times of day. I needed to do quite a lot of experimenting, but I’m very happy with the results.
Have you learned anything from the little cloud?
Martina: Little Cloud passes through so many different changes and phases, and always has the feeling that it hasn’t yet reached its final form. In the end, it realizes that it is and always has been itself, which is all that matters. I think that’s really lovely, and perhaps it’s a good way for us to look at our own lives.
Ixtzel: Like a cloud you can be soft but at the same time competitive. Life is more fun if you can agree with yourself to embody contradictions.
To live in the moment is a fine art.
What’s your advice for children who dream of growing up?
Martina: Enjoy each phase of your life as it is. There are always advantages and disadvantages, but to live in the moment is a fine art.
Ixtzel: You’ll get there soon enough. And so enjoy being small, then enjoy being medium-size, and then enjoy being full-size! Nature has a great sense of humor: sometimes we seem to be grown-up whereas in fact we’re like children, and sometimes it’s the other way round. But more often than not, we’re both. Be kind and loving to yourself, even if growing up becomes painful, and be gentle with yourself when it tries to tear you apart and you start to feel small again. There is something very beautiful about the fact that we change and the ways in which we do it.
Watch Martina illustrate some of the animals from Little Cloud’s Big Dream on her Instagram @martina_liebig! You can also check out Martina and Ixtzel’s shared Instagram for more book updates @martina.ixtzel.
