BRINGING the crazy and colourful Discworld and its many denizens to life is no mean feat – but it’s something that Sir Terry Pratchett’s artist of choice, Paul Kidby, has relished for 30 years.

Paul, a self-taught illustrator and artist, left school at the age of 17 to work as a commercial artist. After many years of freelancing, where he produced countless artworks for packaging and magazine covers, he started working with Terry in 1993.

From the sticky sunrise over Ankh-Morpork, to the tiny snout protruding underneath the hood of the Grim Squeaker, Paul has had his hands full realising the creative vision Terry had laid out in his many novels.

And bring them to life he does, as before the TV adaptations of The Colour of Magic, Going Postal, The Hogfather and more recently, The Watch, Paul’s visions of some of the most beloved Discworld characters were the only official versions we had seen.

Paul and Terry collaborated on The Art of Discworld in 2004 which presented in-depth sketches and paintings of some of the most popular characters, complete with an explanation by the author on how they came to be and notes from Paul detailing how he came to bring them to life.

Paul has kindly described to the New Stour and Avon how living near the chalk downs and New Forest provides inspiration for his art, how he came to be Terry’s artist of choice, his relationship with him, as well as revealing the hardest characters to bring to life.

Paul has lived in the Fordingbridge area, known as the northern gateway to the New Forest, for the past 20 years and said the area’s natural beauty provides the perfect backdrop for his artistic vision.

“The location is well placed for inspiring walks in the New Forest, the chalk downs and along the coast, all of which give me creative stimulus,” he said.

Terry Pratchett – complete with some fan favourites including the Nac Mac Feegles and The Grim Squeaker Picture: Paul Kidby

“The natural world has always been important to me and getting close to the countryside and animals around us gives me no end of ideas.

“Terry lived in the chalk valley and based his Tiffany Aching series on a Discworld parallel landscape, so as an artist it was a great help that I knew that locality and its flora and fauna so well.”

The first Discworld book jacket designed by Paul was Night Watch in 2002, this was a parody of Rembrandt’s The Night Watch.

Paul said: “Josh Kirby had illustrated the covers for many years and had sadly died. Terry asked me to step in; it was somewhat daunting but a huge honour.”

“The publisher’s feedback was that it was too brown – but both Terry and I felt it captured the spirit of Ankh-Morpork. I painted Josh into the group as a tribute to my forerunner.”

Terry previously said that Paul’s depictions are ‘the closest anyone’s got to how I see the characters’.

“To receive such an endorsement from the creator himself was hugely encouraging,” Paul said.

“I had worked as a jobbing artist in creative industries and publishing for decades. My ultimate aim had always been to design and create characters from scratch, and Terry gave me that opportunity and freedom.

“The best times were when we were working closely together on ideas and the visual look for Discworld.”

When asked if Terry had given exact instructions on how the characters should look, Paul said he had almost complete freedom.

“Terry’s writing has fairly loose character descriptions without many specific details but there is always a strong sense of personality that comes through in the storytelling.

“I would always show him my sketches and occasionally he would give me a prompt to try a new direction.

“Most of the main characters had been drawn and endorsed by Terry before he died; however, I have illustrated many more of the denizens of Discworld since. I like to think that Terry would approve of my renditions.”

Paul’s latest work, Designing Terry Pratchett’s Discworld, is out on November 11 Picture: Paul Kidby

One of the most famous and beloved depictions from the series is Death, an endearing figure that despite being quite literally the harbinger of end times, conveys a sense of warmth and understanding when it comes to humanity.

Getting those characteristics across visually, Paul said, was a challenge.

“I am working against centuries of preconceived ideas.

“Traditionally Death, the grim reaper, is a character to be feared. Conversely, Terry’s Death in Discworld is kindly and bemused by the shenanigans of humankind.

“My job is to reflect this in my drawings which is not easy without eyes or facial features to portray expression and emotions.”

Despite Terry taking Death’s arm and following him into the endless night in 2015, Paul’s work has not stopped.

His latest offering is, Designing Terry Pratchett’s Discworld, (arriving November 7) which shares stories and inspiration behind the art from his very first sketches to his latest projects.

Paul currently has a pop-up exhibition at The Russell-Cotes Museum and Art Gallery in Bournemouth running until September 22, showcasing many of his character designs for Discworld.

You can pre-order Designing Terry Pratchett’s Discworld and stay up-to-date with Paul’s work by visiting his website and Facebook page.