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Stephen Biesty (pronounced bee-Yes-tee) was born in Coventry in 1961 and grew up in Leicestershire. From 1980 - 4 he studied illustration, specialising in historical and architectural drawings at Brighton Polytechnic and City of Birmingham Polytechnic. He became a full-time illustrator in 1985 and his first book was published in 1992. Each of his books takes a long time - often as long as 15 months.  

Stephen Biesty is king of the cross-section. Working with Richard Platt, who writes the text, he has illustrated a variety of information books for both adults and children. He works at home in a typical English village. His young son is very keen on steam engines. 

 
Stephen Biesty uses nothing but paper, pen and ink and water colour paints. He never uses a ruler, drawing everything freehand.

On his work

'I got into this because of an interest in history - visual history. As a child I spent a lot of time drawing cathedrals and castles. I suppose, deep down, it stems from a sort of curiosity really. I always liked looking at buildings, working out how they were made. When you start to draw a building, for example, as you get to grips with the perspective, you begin to understand how it works, how it's put together and with cutaways you can explore it even further. And you can look at a place and uncover the layers of history that have accumulated over the years.'

'There's really no end to the amount of detail you can include. I don't use a computer and I don't think I ever will. I draw with a pencil initially and then I work on top of that with ink, usually a Rotring needle-point pen, but sometimes I use a fine brush which gives the line a little variety, a little texture. Then of course I add colour and atmosphere with watercolour washes.'

'I always put figures in. As an illustrator you quickly catch on to the fact that nobody's going to look at it if there's no human interest. When you start including figures, you can begin to create a sense of atmosphere. You can show how people relate to a space and you can explore the realities and practicalities of the the place, how people lived, how they adapted to their surroundings, how they slept, how they ate.'

Inspiration

For cross sections: Lesley Ashwell Wood's cross sections in the Eagle comic.
For period detail: Dutch painters like Brueghel and Bosch, Films like El Cid.
For reconstructional drawings: David Macaulay, Alan Sorrell.

1991 Explore the World of Man-made Wonders (Simon Adams)
1992 Exploring the Past: Ancient Egypt (George Hare)
1992 Incredible Cross-Sections (Richard Platt)
1993 Man-of-War (Richard Platt)
1994 Castle (Richard Platt)
1996 Incredible Explosions (Richard Platt)
1998 Incredible Body (Richard Platt)
1999 Absolutely Best Cross-Sections Book Ever (Richard Platt)
1999 Millennium Dome Pop-up Book
2002 Gold: A Treasure Hunt through Time (Meredith Hooper)
2003 Rome(Andrew Solway, Stephen Biesty)

See details of books in print from enCompassCulture.com

External links

Author profile of Stephen Biesty