New Illustrator: I harried Jared.

Jared Muralt, 1982, I live and work in Bern. After my training as a decoration designer, I started working as a freelance illustrator. In 2009, I founded the graphic design and illustration collective BlackYard together with Christian Calame, Philipp Thöni and Silvio Brügger. In 2016, I wrote the first episodes of my comic series The Fall, which is now successfully published in the USA, France and Holland, among other countries. The Fall (La Chute in French) was awarded one of the prestigious Belgian «Atomium Awards» in 2020. In 2021, I received the Bernese literature prize «Weiterschreiben» for my graphic literature.

I have also illustrated for the New York Times and Pottermore, among others. Since 2018, I have been working full-time on my comic series The Fall.

And tell me about the images coming in this month's newsletter?

I have a constant companion, my sketchbooks. These serve as my diary and are also a laboratory for drawing experiments. What you see in newsletter are excerpts from the books of the past years.

Do you have a favourite picture from them and if so, why?

No, each sketch and drawing captures a special moment in my life. Each of these moments is unique to me and I try not to favour them.

What did you want to be when you were a child?

What I am today, a comic writer and illustrator.

When and why did you start drawing?

Drawing was and still is an experience for me. While I am drawing something, I become part of what I am drawing. Be it a situation, an object or a space. It is my way of getting in touch with something. Like all people, I started drawing as a child. And I haven't stopped.

How would you describe your style?

A kind of «ligne clair», even if it is not always so «clair».

Do you have a favourite colour?

No, I don't. Colours are a very emotional thing for me. I use them, for example, as a form of narration in my stories. Properly composed, any colour could be my favourite. In my sketchbooks, however, I draw mainly and for the sake of simplicity only with black pigment ink.