A TALENTED graduate from Cirencester College has just completed the most exciting venture of his life so far, illustrating a children’s book in collaboration with celebrated comedian/musician Tim Minchin.

Artist and storyteller Steve Antony studied at Cirencester College in the late 1990s, having returned to the Cotswolds after a few years living with his parents in New Mexico.

A daydreamer as a child, he said he was always making up little stories and drawing pictures to go with them.

He went on to art college after Cirencester but found it really hard to get any sort of a job as an artist.

After spells as a shelf stacker, a toilet cleaner and a wrapper of Christmas presents in a department store he settled for a career at Thames Water’s Swindon call centre for nine years.

In his spare time, however, he continued to illustrate his own stories and to pester agents and publishers until in 2010 he decided to leave Thames Water and study for a masters degree in children’s book illustration at Cambridge.

He graduated two and a half years later and at his graduation show, attended by a number of publishers, had three picture books on display.

To his amazement he was signed up for a book deal shortly afterwards and has since had 11 of his own children’s books – including The Queen’s Hat and Please Mr Panda – published.

“That changed by life,” he said, “and I have been working full time as an artist illustrator ever since.”

Just as he was thinking he would like to collaborate with a writer and illustrate someone else’s words his agent asked if Steve, now 41 and living in Swindon, would be interested in illustrating the words of Minchin’s song When I Grow Up from his stage hit Matilda the Musical.

Minchin had seen his work and thought he would be the perfect partner for an illustrated children’s book based on the song.

“I was delighted, of course, and just knew it was the right thing to do,” Steve said.

The agent said that before meeting Minchin, Steve should come up with some initial drawings based purely around the words of the song and that he should steer clear of immersing himself in footage of the musical.

“He wanted me to look at the song with fresh eyes,” said Steve, “and when he saw what I came up with he said: ‘This is fantastic.’”

Steve explained that the song contains a rollercoaster of emotions and while it is fundamentally a book for kids, adults will also get a lot from it.

“Adults will be able to reflect and remember what it was like to be imaginative and carefree and how they have lost those qualities over the years.”

Eventually the two met up, after which most of the collaboration took place on Skype and via phone calls as Minchin now lives in Los Angeles.

The launch of the book When I Grow Up was in London at the Leicester Square Theatre where Steve drew live on stage, with Minchin playing the piano beside him.

Tickets for the launch sold out within 24 hours of the event being publicised on the Waterstones website.

“It was entirely improvised. I did not know half of what I was going to draw beforehand and made most of it up as I went along,” said Steve.

“But it went really well and the response from the audience was incredible. At one point, while Tim was playing When I Grow Up from the musical, I was drawing Tim as a child sitting at his piano and looking down at an empty stool and fantasising.

“When he looked up at the drawing I could tell he was moved and everyone in the audience was welling up too. It was a unique experience, unforgettable.”

Steve is now looking to collaborate with other writers as he believes When I Grow Up was a one-off, for both author and illustrator.

You can find examples of Steve’s work on his website Steveantony.com or follow him on Twitter @MrSteveAntony It is important to note that there is no H in his surname.

u When I Grow Up, published by Scholastic, is available online and from bookshops now, price £12.99.