Forces Children Scotland 7 hours ago
You may have seen the Ruby Boots poster by now, but do you know the story behind it? Here are some behind-the-scenes sketches and a brief interview with the young artist behind this project, Kemu Kedrayate.
One of the most memorable features of Kemu’s drawings are his unique dinosaur characters. They are probably one of the first things you notice when you read this poster and follow children and young people’s journeys to civvy street.
As it turns out, these characters have a backstory going back almost a century. Here it is, in Kemu’s words:
The ‘Armed Force – a – saurus’ division is a non-government charity organisation that works in unison with the UK’s Armed Forces, that is specialised in helping families in the Armed Forces together with Ruby Boots, and are positioned in the founder’s hometown, Edinburgh.
The Division was created almost 100 years ago by a WW1 veteran, an Yutyrannus named “Edwin”, who dedicated his life to helping soldiers after the war.
Sound familiar?
We caught up with Kemu about the world he built around these characters and how they can make children from veteran families feel more heard.
Heather and Kemu at our final meeting, before the follow-up interview
During a session on self-care, Kemu first made a drawing of Romeo, an Elvis-impersonating bear who plays the guitar, to show his love of music. When Heather saw this drawing, she invited Kemu to harness his creative talents in a collaborative project illustrating how young people feel when their parent leaves the Forces.
Going into this project, did you know you would be drawing dinosaurs?
Originally, I wanted to do bears, like brown bears. I was going to do that, but I then wanted the animals native to the country, to Scotland. I looked into it, and bears don’t live in Scotland anymore [because they were hunted to extinction]. Then, I went to the National Museum of Scotland, and I saw their dinosaur exhibition, and that’s where I got the idea to create the characters.
Tell us more about the characters you created.
I came up with the basis for the characters before I designed them, and then I decided what they would represent in the Ruby Boots Project. Romeo is inspired by an Elvis impersonator. He is the only one with a specific inspiration. Teddi is the main character.
Just to check, is he the main character, or do you mean he gives off ‘main character energy’?
I mean, he’s the main character, but he also gives off some main character energy! There’s also a band, named the Prehistoric Crusaders, they’re a musical marching band that travels all around the world performing.
So first I came up with the characters, then the ‘Armed Force – a – Saurus’ division. I set them in Scotland and came up with backstories that made sense for the project. Then, I put together the stories.
What have you enjoyed about volunteering with us?
I started drawing in P6. I’m going to college to study animation, and I’ve enjoyed doing a lot of creative projects working with Forces Children Scotland when I’m studying art. I was really happy to help!
Kemu and his sister, Bella, with their drawings at the Ruby Boots session that inspired the development of Romeo
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