Great Creative Imaginations

Amanda Lillywhite - about children's educational publishing and a charming agent

2012-01-23T15:32:00.000Z

A lovely blog article about illustrating for Children's Educational publishers and also some memories of Mike Graham-Cameron:

http://www.crazypanda.com/amandalillywhitl.html

Thank you Amanda.

Dissertation Question?

2011-11-14T17:21:00.000Z

Hello my name is Jon Lancaster I am an Illustration student at the University of Sunderland. I am currently working on my Dissertation question which is:

Does an Illustrator as writer have a more definitive view of their work in comparison too two separate contributors?
I was wondering if any of your available illustrators may be able to share some their experience with working with writers, or writing themselves and if working with a writer can create a more definitive view of their work, or if a writer might possibly hinder the illustrators vision.

If any of your illustrators could take the time to answer this question that would be much appreciated

Thank you Jon

If any GCI illustrator has the time and inclination to tackle Jon's question then drop Duncan a line and he'll give you Jon's email address.

I got the belly bug!

2011-08-15T16:09:00.000+01:00

Bellyboarding bug, that is! What is a bellyboard? Simply put...it's a surfboard that you ride on your belly in the breaking waves. No tedious standing up required! (Much appreciated by less athletic types like me!)

Bellyboards have been around since the beginning of the 1900s in this country. They're designed to be ridden in shallower water than 'stand up' surfboards and are ridden by all ages. There haven't been many about for a long time, most people in the shallows have those new-fangled foam bodyboards, while bellies are made of wood, mostly marine ply. But recently the bellyboards have just started gaining popularity again. They ride lower in the waves than a foam board and much faster, which makes for lots of fun!

Anyway, here's mine:

Before I gave it a little paint job.........

...and after!

And in September I am entering the World Bellyboard Championships! (Just for the fun of it you understand, my surfing ability won't win me any prizes!) Wetsuits are banned for this event, so pray for warm waters for me! I'll let you know how I get on.

The Outsider Folio Society Competition

2011-01-06T12:27:00.000Z

I am never sure if entering competitions is a good idea, the risk of damaging a fragile ego is so great! However as I get older I seem to be less upset by the results, so here goes. This is my entry for the Folio Society's competition to illustrate "The Outsider" by Albert Camus. I re read the book a while ago and have not been able to get it out of my head and this style (based on the art of Modigliani with a nod towards Schiele) was what illustrated my dreams, Entry number 1,347 I think! Fingers crossed!!

Yet another year!

2010-12-28T19:37:00.002Z

Best wishes for 2011!

John

2010-11-26T11:09:00.000Z

These are the lenticular images of Zac I have sent to some publishers with a card featuring the synopsis of the story. They are rather diminutive in size and might get mistaken for Christmas cards, but maybe this will work in my favour:)

Each publisher has a different policy when it comes to submissions, many asking not to be sent manuscripts. So I'm hoping these cards give a bit of a taster and beg to be followed up:)

Zac Spanner

2010-11-15T22:03:00.003Z

Zac Spanner is a personal project I am working on at the moment. It is almost in a state worthy of sending out to Art Director's. I will be producing little lenticular business cards featuring Zac in an attempt to grab their attention:)

This is the basic synopsis of the story:

Zac is a genius inventor. His parents are dull and boring bird-watching enthusiasts. They don't approve of technology and have banned all gadgets from the house. Zac’s only refuge is his secret laboratory hidden in the attic above his bedroom.

Whilst his parents are out on a hunt to find a rare bird, Zac hears disturbing noises coming from the basement. He discovers something which also attracts the attention of a couple of aliens with a particularly bad attitude. Speaking in a strange mix of Shakespearian English and cockney-rhyming-slang, they explain to Zac their intentions to use Planet-Earth for a spot of target practice.
Zac is in deep trouble and his parents are due back at any moment….

http://www.storyportal.co.uk/zac_spanner.html

Quite printeresting?

2010-08-20T08:26:00.000+01:00

Away from the 'day' job illustrating, I carve at small blocks of wood with delicate cutting tools and when there are enough cut lines, I roll lots of smelly black ink on and print the result in an elderly proofing press that I've adopted. I've just had two prints accepted into the Society of Wood Engravers annual travelling exhibition, for the third year running. It's the first time I've had BOTH entries accepted, which has really pleased me. Just a small fanfare, please....... ;-)

The first is called 'Winter Walkies' and shows an old mine engine house local to us, this whole area is riddled with these solid, almost castle-like ruins.

The second is called 'Late Shopping' and shows a coastal village with a large and rather inappropriate supermarket.

Bologna Children's Book Fair 2011 - Illustrators Exhibition: submissions are now being accepted!

2010-08-03T16:39:00.000+01:00

"Introduce your pictures to the world! Enter the most prestigious competition for creativity in children's illustration, the Illustrators Exhibition.

Submissions are open: the application form and the Rules of Entry are now available online at the BCBF web-site.

Participation is open to all illustrators - both established artists and new talents alike - who can submit five illustrations (unpublished or published from the last two years).

Furthermore, Schools and Academies of Fine Arts are invited to enter the most interesting and innovative projects produced by their students over the last two years.

Publishers are also invited to send artwork from illustrators with whom they regularly collaborate.

The deadline for the receipt of artwork is October 1, 2010.

Selected by an international representative jury of distinguished publishers, art directors, artists and academy head teachers, the winning entries will be exhibited during the 2011 Bologna Children's Book Fair and will be published in the Illustrators Annual, ensuring important exposure to the creators of this outstanding work.

Moreover, all young selected illustrators (under 35 years of age) will take part in the Bologna Children's Book Fair - SM Foundation International Award for Illustration. This annual award, founded in 2009, aims to promote and support new talents in the world of illustration; It is worth $ 30,000 (US)."

2010-05-10T13:41:00.000+01:00

My thoughts are with Duncan and Helen at this very sad time.
He was a fantastic Agent, I will miss him very much. Especially his daft phone voices.
My kids called him "Agent Mike" which made him sound a bit like a James Bond character, I think he would have liked that!
Good bye Mike.
with love from Sarah W xx

Trumpet Blowing

2010-02-26T15:20:00.000Z

When not working all hours that there are in a day on illustration work I paint. Recently I have been very happy to have the above two paintings accepted for Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours Exhibition which is at the Mall Galleries 21st April to 1st May and

this one accepted by the Royal Watercolour Society for their open exhibition which is at the Bankside Gallery, London from 19th February - 11th March.

Luncheon of the Boating Party

2010-02-20T16:29:00.002Z

I did this a few years ago because I like Renoir's painting so much. What I like best about it is that nobody is paying any attention to the person speaking to them (a bit like this blog-Ed) and I think all of them would rather be with someone else in the picture. Since I originally did it I've juiced up the colour a little on my computer and it now looks much better than it did, so thanks computer for covering up my deficiencies.

New Gargoylz Website and Blog

2010-02-02T16:53:00.004Z

To coincide with the release of Gargoylz there is a new blog written by Max and Ben who are the only children who know Gargoylz come to life. Their new blog can be found here and is updated every Friday detailing what tricks they've been up to over the week. They're very naughty boys.

There is also an official Gargoylz website which can be found here.

Vworp! Vworp!

2010-01-13T23:58:00.004Z

A little while ago I posted my pic of new Dr Who Matt Smith which was part of an artist mash up of all the Doctors. Here's the cover of Vworp! Vworp! with my drawing placed with the others.

This is a non-profit making fanzine and charts the history and development of the comic strips in Doctor Who Magazine.

For the Doctor Who fans amongst us, you can order the fanzine here.

Author Hotline

2010-01-02T10:35:00.004Z

Happy New Year monkeys! I haven't a relevant pic for this post which is why I'm calling you 'monkeys' today.

Over Christmas I was contacted by a new website called the Author Hotline which is looking for authors, poets, storytellers and illustrators to add their profiles before it goes live on World Book Day, 4th March. This is intended for school children and teachers to use and once ready it should look pretty good. The company behind the website is Creative Writing for Kids (CW4K) which, as the name suggests, encourages children to write their own stories.

So I'm doing my duty and letting you know in case you'd like to take part. Again, have a very Happy New Year x

Let It Snow

2009-12-21T23:43:00.003Z

Merry Christmas everyone, x.

A new departure

2009-10-30T11:32:00.001Z

Dabbling in a spot of writing-gawd help me.

Come in Number 10...

2009-10-15T18:37:00.004+01:00

...and make way for number 11, Matt Smith.

I was asked just recently to supply a drawing of the new Dr Who reading the very first issue of Dr Who Weekly from way back in 1979. The drawing I've done is going to be used on the cover of a non-profit making fanzine along with all ten previous Doctors who have each been drawn by ten different contributing illustrators of Dr Who Weekly/Magazine through the years. And I'm privileged to share the cover with some downright talented and famous names.
The fanzine will concentrate on the history of the Dr Who comic strip with interviews with some of the major movers and shakers who've brought the Doctor's comic strip adventures to life.

When the final cover image is available I'll post it up here. It's all very exciting for a Dr Who fan like me and I'm going to go and have a sit down now, it's making me quite giddy.

Submit a claim for Irish PLR and do it soon!

2009-09-25T12:11:00.003+01:00

The first payout from the newly created Irish PLR system to cover the year 2009 will be made later this year.
If you claim UK PLR, then you should be eligible to claim for PLR from the Irish system for all books featuring your work that are loaned out by the Irish Library service.
However, to get your claim included in the payout for 2009 you need to submit your claim by Friday 9th October 2009.
Claims submitted after this date will be included in the payout for 2010 and subsequent years.
See the Irish PLR site for more details: www.plr.ie

A small triumph

2009-08-20T08:11:00.005+01:00

When I'm not beavering away at the GCI day job, I love to make wood engraved prints. I engrave on box, lemon or pear endgrain wood and print them on my vintage Farley galley press.

Last year I submitted a print to the Society of Wood Engravers Annual Exhibition, and I'm pleased to say the print was accepted. It travelled around the UK for a year with the other 117 prints , showing at Bankside Gallery in London, Bristol City Museum, Northern Print in Newcastle and Art Jericho, in Oxford.

This year, I submitted another print, above, for this year's exhibition and to my delight, it was also selected. I don't know the itinerary of venues for this year, except it will be shown again at Bankside Gallery, details below:

72nd Annual Exhibition

The 72nd Annual Exhibition will take place from 22nd September 2009 until 4th October 2009 at:

The Bankside Gallery
48 Hopton Street
London SE1 9JH

Telephone 020 7928 7521

Email info@banksidegallery.com
Website www.banksidegallery.com

The exhibition will include an additional display of the 25 engravings from the BOX 25 that were commissioned to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the refounding of the Society.
Open daily 11am – 6pm.

I will post the other venues and dates when I have them.

An illustrator's godsend?

2009-07-22T09:18:00.003+01:00

I've been fortunate enough to get a new computer (Mac)....the downside was that some of my key proggies no longer worked as the versions were too old, the biggest loss being photoshop and at the price even an older copy is, I couldn't afford it. About the only thing I use PS for is RGB-CMYK conversions and greyscale-bitmap conversion and batch processing of same. So.....the hunt was on for a viable alternative.

Enter Graphic Converter. It's a PS-alike shareware programme for Mac. It's come a long way in usability since I last looked at it years ago and the manual is heaps better. It does all the photo-editing stuff but best of all it does the CMYK, it does the bitmaps and if you actually buy it (€29) you get the batch processing too. I've been trialling it out and it seems perfect for my needs. I used to keep it on the old Mac as a trial version because it also opens just about any file you care to mention. (It does still struggle with painter riffs tho') and has saved more than one tricky situation.

Anyway I have shelled out the necessary and bought it. For anyone here Mac-based, who needs a PS alternative, I'd recommend a look at GC and no, I'm not being paid to say this! LOL!

http://www.lemkesoft.com/xd/public/content/index._cGlkPTE5Mw_.html

Thought it might be useful info as I know some of us are often asked to provide bitmap linework as well as cmyk and many can't afford to go the PS route.

I hope everyone's busy!

The Ferguut

2009-05-14T09:50:00.002+01:00

Just to keep myself busy in a period with few or no commissions, I started - somewhere in the year 1999 - working on a project called Ferguut and I'm working on it ever since. But only in quiet times of course!

(The) Ferguut is the title of the oldest mediaeval Dutch Arthurian manuscript of which only one copy survived through the ages. This unique manuscript is kept in the library of the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. It is written in mediaeval Dutch and based on a french original called Fergus. The first half is a true translation of this Oldfrench manuscript, but halfway the anonymous Dutch author took the liberty of altering, deleting or adding elements in the story, but the plot remained unchanged: the troublesome, but ultimately succesful quest of the young knight Ferguut after his beloved Galiene.

In this project I was able to combine two longfelt passions, namely my admiration for mediaeval illuminated manuscripts and the Arthurian literature.
So I made a first illustration to a passage in which Ferguut has an encounter with a giantess called Pantasale, who guarded the white shield which provided invulnerability and what Ferguut was desperately searching for.
These are two details of the spread I made of this scene ten years ago.

And this is the illustration I made the other day of Ferguut slaying a bunch of pirates who offered to take across Ferguut and his horse overseas, but in fact planned to rob and kill him instead; but that's not what happened, of course.

The other illustrations I made in between the pictures above are to be seen on my website. Please check: http://tinyurl.com/plmxok
In these ten years I kept changing some of the illustrations, because in some cases I decided they weren't good enough. Thus, over the years the overall picture is constantly fine-tuned, as it were.

But I'm almost done - only four spreads to go - and the text is being written at the moment, so little by little I'm looking for ways to get this book published. So anybody with a serious offer or a brilliant suggestion is hereby invited to react.

At the moment...

2009-05-07T09:36:00.003+01:00

I am currently painting ideas on the theme of a falling figure. This is not 'conventional' looking work and the style is influenced by previous work inspired by the words of a particular song, some fascinating hallucinatory images I experienced when I was very ill and probably the vorticists! I am trying a variety of media, basically to see what happens...

BEAUTY AND THE BEASTS

2009-05-06T10:10:00.002+01:00

I've always had a fascination with monsters but although I love the idea of them, I wouldn't want to be stuck in the middle of the woods with them. And I really wouldn't want to be eaten by them, having my leftovers left dangling in the branches of the trees. I just wouldn't fancy that at all.

Not that there would be any leftovers, I'd be a juicy bit of monster fodder- and far too tasty to waste.

London Book Fair 2009

2009-04-21T11:28:00.002+01:00

Back from an Easter break and straight up to the London Book Fair where I finally met some of our very good friends from Folens. It is always nice to put a face to a name (and voice) when we spend so much time communicating digitally...

...and on the subject of digital, you may have heard of the Espresso Book machine which was on display at the LBF: "named for the speed with which it can print a book - is designed to print and bind between 15 and 20 paperback books per hour (depending on the length of the book). The machine is designed to allow the public on-demand access to a huge selection of literature in an array of languages. Users just walk up to the machine, select a book from the catalog, and wait a few minutes for their book to print."

It doesn't serve coffee while you wait though. Darn!

2009-04-02T12:10:00.002+01:00

Bologna Children's Book Fair 2009

Korea was the Guest of Honour at the Bologna Children's Book Fair this year hence the mildly indecipherable logo for the fair you can see in my photograph.

There were a few missing stands at the Fair this year but all the usual British publishers were represented and most of those claimed that business at the Fair had exceeded their expectations so hopefully we shall continue to work with them through the year ahead.

We are now busily following-up on the various conversations and presentations we had to see what can be turned into tangible commissions!

Sneak preview

2009-01-22T08:30:00.003Z

The designer of the Vikings pop-up book, of which I posted some pictures a short while ago, sent me a pdf with some of the pictures in place. I think he - his name is Kevin Knight - did a wonderful job.
The four other gods-pictures will be placed as flaps over the ones here shown.

bringing my frogs' illustrations to my editor

2009-01-21T13:43:00.001Z

bringing my frogs' illustrations to my editor

2009-01-21T13:41:00.002Z

In Church and Mistress Pate

2009-01-20T12:40:00.002Z

Thought I might share some of the work, that I have been busy with for whst seems a very long time. These are just a few illustrations for a book that I have very nearly finished for a charity in Hackney.

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T09:02:00.006Z

No greetings card from my part this year, but a sample from a commission I only just finished; a pop-up book called Vikings. So, I didn't have the time to make a proper card. But nevertheless I wish everybody a very happy 2009.

Carol singers

2008-12-23T09:23:00.002Z

Hi everyone
I have not taken part in this years blog but really enjoy seeing everyones wonderful,varied work!
Have a great Christmas and a fab 2009
Brett

Another Card for Christmas

2008-12-20T13:01:00.001Z

Merry Christmas Everyone, try not to work too hard!

extract from my blog "divagations"

2008-12-17T13:21:00.002Z

Advent Pirates

2008-12-15T13:40:00.003Z

I do an advent picture on one of my blogs, here is day 15. Every day more goes on the picture. All of this is planned well in advance of it being needed. Wish I had done that with the rest of Christmas, cant do anything yet as I have too much work on and am not allowed away from my desk...bah humbug.

My Xmas Card For 2008

2008-12-04T09:06:00.003Z

I decided to use watercolour this year for my card for family and friends. My wife complained that her dress was a bit skimpy for the conditions. But I insisted that fairies don't feel the cold like us humans. I may end up having to paint in a turtle neck jumper on her as the wife is normally right;¬)

It's that time again...

2008-11-25T12:06:00.002Z

...and here is my personal card. As you can see, the theme is as usual a Cornish village in an unlikely covering of snow. In the foreground is a rather Barbara Hepworth-ish sculpture garden, inspired by my visit to St Ives this year. This is my ideal garden and given the chance I would have brought it home with me.
You can see hubby and I walking the hound and son and his fiancee admiring the tree.
I have had to farm the printing of these out this year, due to a regrettable breakdown of the steam printing machine tethered to the computer.

Gone Fire Night

2008-11-05T10:40:00.001Z

Well it's the 5th of November and the Thief of November has struck again. I half expected him to. Some guy's sneaked into my garden in the dead of night and had it away with my bonfire. I'd built it up all nice an' that, ready for tonight but it's gone and this is the third year in a row it's happened.

I haven't even got any fireworks because I'd planned to surreptitiously watch next door's display from behind my rhododendron with my daughter. All I've got is three jacket potatoes and two of those are on the turn, which means I'll be ok but Elodie and her mum are bound to whinge about theirs.

So I've thought things through carefully and next year I've decided to have the last laugh by drenching my bonfire wood with water, rendering it unlightable.

Stay safe and follow the firework code, kids.

Korea Move

2008-10-23T19:19:00.008+01:00

My little nephew will be taking a couple of days break from being naughty round his own house next week to come and be naughty round mine. Elliot takes a little too much pleasure in playing tricks and winding me up and with Elodie's help he always gets the better of me. He's six years old, he's brighter than me (top of his class at reading and writing etc) and it'll take all my cunning and guile to avenge myself in a chess-like tactical battle of wits from which there can be only one winner.

Anyway, my chums at b small publishing kindly sent me Korean versions of four Science Around You books through the post today. I illustrated these books last year for them and although my Korean's a bit rusty, I reckon Elliot probably hasn't even seen the Korean alphabet before.

So when he's round I'm going to ask how he's getting on at school, to which he'll tell me he's top of his class. I'll then give him one of the Korean Science Around You books to look at and when he tells me he can't read it because the writing's 'funny', I'm going to convince him he's dyslexic!

Check...and mate.

Frankfurter Buchmesse 2008

2008-10-20T11:47:00.003+01:00

In previous years I have been tempted to try the 'pair of sausages - Frankfurter style' for lunch. They aren't good. This year I ate sandwiches instead and thought I'd make use of the "Illustration Machine" to illustrate quite how unappealling the sausages are. This is the machine's interpretation of my request - not exactly representative of boiled sausages, dry bread roll and blob of mustard.

Fortunately nicer food was to be had in the evenings and the Fair was as expected a good chance to meet customers and promote our services to publishers.

You'll be pleased to hear that most of the publishers I spoke to were sounding positive in spite of the tough economic times we are told are imminent... Fingers crossed then!

Name Drops Keep Falling On My Head

2008-10-07T21:15:00.003+01:00

When I was five Tom Baker was Doctor Who on the telly and he was my hero. His companion was Sarah and she was played by Elisabeth Sladen and she was my first crush. I loved Sarah and although my adoration was deep and true, I was pleased it was her facing monsters every Saturday teatime instead of me.

But Sarah left the series and I grew up (sort of) and my feelings remained hidden until 1992 when the twenty one year old me found out Elisabeth Sladen would be doing an autograph signing session in London. So the portrait above is one of two exact portraits I did of her (taken from a photo in the second Doctor Who Monster Book, fact fans). I kept one which she signed and I gave her the other and she was lovely about it. She accepted the drawing, put her arm round me and kissed me on the cheek in front of a load of other Doctor Who anoraks. And in that moment I was five years old again.

Now, quite rightly, Elisabeth's back on telly and fighting the monsters once more in the brilliant Sarah Jane Adventures and, quite rightly, my little girl's a fan too. Our Sarah Jane x.

Making an exhibitor of myself!

2008-09-26T12:49:00.003+01:00

Some of you may remember the little wood engraving print I made of our Jack Russell Charlie last year...well, I submitted a print of him to the Society of Wood Engravers Annual Exhibition and he got selected!

So this Tuesday saw hubby and I down at the Bankside Gallery in London, attending the Private View. We had a thoroughly enjoyable time, speaking to fellow engravers whose work I have admired for a long time. The buzz of seeing my print hung in such distinguished company was priceless.

The exhibition travels around the UK over the next few months, so if anybody has the urge to go and see a collection of amazing craftsmanship and artistry, go and feast your eyes.

Exhibition venues

Bankside Gallery, London 23.09.2008–05.10.2008

Bristol, City Museum and Art Gallery 11.10.2008–14.12.2008

Newcastle on Tyne, Northern Print 16.01.2008–21.03.2009

Art Jericho, 6 King Street, Jericho, Oxford 22.05.2008–27.06.2009

Well Since Mah Baby Sketched Me...

2008-09-24T17:41:00.005+01:00

You mustn't assume from the title of this post that Elvis was my father because he wasn't. And you mustn't assume that I was his baby in any other sense of the word either.
This is a large charcoal drawing (so technically not a sketch as the above title suggests) of him condensed down to a handy blog sized chunk and if you saw the recent Leonard Cohen post from August then you'd know how much I like to get on my easel in breaks from the rain which provide short breaks from book illustration. So this drawing was done as a distraction.

ZooLoo Dawn

2008-09-22T15:18:00.002+01:00

And this, naturally, is the less successful sequel post to the original ZooLoo.

ZooLoo

2008-09-18T15:07:00.006+01:00

I had tea and crepes at the Savoy with Jet from Gladiators in 2005 where I happened to nick a silver serving fork and a bottle of vinegar. I secreted the items about my person and forgot about them for months.

And you should also know that by keeping my wits about me I'm proud to say I've only ever been locked in a public toilet six times in my life. I'm not counting an incident in the urinals opposite Rochester Adult Education Centre as the cleaning staff have won awards for their work and my incarceration was voluntary.

In Feb. 2006 I happened to be sketching the animals at Howletts Wild Animal Park. I remember it well because the weather was unseasonably chilly and unusually dark and windy. As you know, the cold can play havoc with a weak bladder and I addressed the situation in one of their dank cubicles. I couldn't shut the cubilce door because the hinges had rusted up on it rendering it beyond my strength to close. However, nature is an even bigger mother than I am and the wind slammed the door shut as I was mid-flow. Startled, I jumped and made a right mess.

The force of the slamming door completely jammed the iffy lock and I had no visible means of escape. Panic began to set in. Cubicle doors don't go all the way down to the floor for some reason and I might have considered slipping through the gap underneath but was put off by the thought of clambering about in what was once the contents of my bladder. I'm many things my friends, but I'm not uncouth.

So I stopped, took a deep breath and asked myself, "What would Jet do?" Well she'd probably kick the door down but what else might she do?

Of course! The vinegar and silver serving fork! Still hidden away in my coat pockets was the former property of the Savoy. I emptied the vinegar over the hinges and it dissolved the rust. With the fork I unscrewed the hinges from the door. The door fell from it's frame and I made good my escape.

And I did a bit of drawing too, see above.

Jack And The Beanstalk

2008-09-01T17:36:00.002+01:00

Here's another of the Jof the B illo's. Deadline's fast approaching!

Farm Poster

2008-08-26T19:11:00.001+01:00

This is my latest piece of work. If you want to see a full description of what went into it, please see my blog:¬)

Well my friends have gone and my hair is grey...

2008-08-07T19:48:00.007+01:00

...and I ache in the places where I used to play so that's why, every opportunity I get, I'm on my patio (excuse the mess) with charcoal and an easel. This drawing is of Leonard Cohen and I'm doing it for my little brother who's a big fan of his. It's far from finished and I'm leaving his lips 'til last as I find lips a bit fiddly but I'm taking my time anyway and maybe spend only 20/30 minutes on it a day. Providing it's not raining.

I don't know about you lot but taking a break from the desk and taking to the easel is something I look forward to a lot. When them deadlines are a looming and things are getting pressured and when the going gets tough, the tough sketch Cohen.

Did you see what I did there? Ahhh, you'll come for the drawings but you'll stay for the weak puns.

Current Projects

2008-07-10T19:11:00.000+01:00

I had an email from a design studio I worked with on my last commissiom. They said the author didn't make clear what he wanted when he asked for a shellfish as a thumbnail image. I had photographed my crab from a different angle to the main illustration but they really wanted a Scallop or something similar. So I created one in plasticine. I modelled the basic shape in white, then put some pink clay through a pasta machine and layered this on top. I then cut away strips of clay with a scalpel and incised grooves into the surface to blend it together. It's only going to appear as a small image so the detail should be sufficient.

Below the scallop shell is an image of three armatures for the current commission. They are for the hen, duck and horse. Below that are the animals at various stages of development. The horse and duck are semi-roughed out. I modelled the hen's body but decided I would need more detail for the head. So I did that separately and added it to the body in Photoshop! Shown at the bottom of this post.

Money, money, money.....

2008-07-03T15:44:00.005+01:00

From 1988 until 2004 I was the "court-illustrator" of a small fantasy family-themeparc, called "het Land van Ooit". In English one would translate this as "the Country (Land) of Ever". This theme-parc presented itself as a country where "children are in charge". It was inhabited by all kinds of fantasy characters like the forest-elf "Sap the Earthroot", a talking horse called "Kos with the Moustache" (who in fact was an enormous Shire-stud), giants with trees growing out of their heads and a variety of knights, sorcerers and vagabonds.
This country was ruled by the Governor, because the heirs of this country - the Count and Countess - were bewitched into black and white swans, which can still be seen in its Coat of Arms. Visitors could only cross its border by first learning its very special greeting-ceremony and by buying a so-called visa.

One of the more rewarding projects I did quite some years ago - at the end of 1989 to be precise - was designing its own currency: the "OoitSenten", which could be purchased at "the Bank of Ooit".
I'm proud to say, that these banknotes were printed by the printing-house, where also the dutch national banknotes and passports were (and are) printed: The Royal Joh. Enschedé in Haarlem , founded in 1703, one of the ten oldest family-businesshouses of the Netherlands.
That's why the OoitSenten look so beautiful (at least in my opinion) with their special iris-print; the gradual change in colour in each note.

Unfortunately this parc went bankrupt a few months ago, leaving many, many fans orphaned. These "old-Ooiters", as they call themselves, are finding each-other again on a few fora on Internet and for them - and for anybody who is interested - I started a special weblog where I'm presenting in a more or less chronological order, all my artwork I did over the years for this sympathetic little country.
So if you like, check out: ooitgetekend.blogspot.com
Only in dutch, I'm afraid, but with loads of illustrations.

The Ugly Giant

2008-06-26T15:09:00.000+01:00

Daisy

2008-06-22T21:08:00.003+01:00

Beanstalk Model

2008-06-19T20:12:00.000+01:00

This is what I've 'bean' working on. Although I haven't had approval for the roughs yet, I thought I'd get some of the main 'props' done. I have just cut the model out from its background using Photoshop. I will await the go ahead from the Editor before I create the watercolour matte. Believe it or not the actual model is 2 1/2 foot tall. It is based on an armature made of garden wire and covered in papier mache. This was originally already a beanstalk I made for an illustration over 5 years ago. But then I stripped and cut it down to make a tree for the dog illustration below.

I stripped the bark off and reconnected all the bits of wire framework and built the whole thing up in green plasticine. It was like creating Celtic knotwork which is more like maths to me than art. Having said that, at times I quite enjoyed creating the sculptural form.

Jack And The Beanstalk Rough Roughs

2008-06-15T22:22:00.008+01:00

Here are a couple of roughs from my current brief. The size and shape of the images have made it interesting trying to get scale and perspective to look right. In the images with the giant coming down the beanstalk, version 1 is closest to the brief, but they wanted 'mum' and the 'hen' to be shown looking on anxiously. I created a version 2 because I thought the main action was at the botom of the stalk! I didn't go overboard in terms of quality of the sketchwork but I did try to give a reasonably accurate idea of how I intend to compose the images. I am going to create the main characters in clay and render the backgrounds in watercolour.

Aesop's Fables

2008-06-04T11:29:00.007+01:00

Hi there, i'm working on a series of acrylic paintings of the Aesop's Fables. Here are a couple that are not so well known: The Bull and the Gnat and The Dove and the Ant. I really like the size difference between the two animals in each story. The ant is a bit tricky to see as the photo is a little too dark - he's there in the water - don't worry there's a happy ending, the dove saves him!

When you think of Gargoyles...

2008-05-27T15:58:00.004+01:00

...think of me! Hello fans, Leighton Noyes here and this is one of my preliminary character roughs for a new Random House book series called Gargoylz. I snagged this job last week and I'll be starting work on it as soon as the books are written.

Random House wanted lots of loose lines to bring each character to life so I loaded up my dippy pen with ink and got some quick, juicy marks down on the paper.

Further revisions are still needed (very common for me this) with regards to clothes and stuff but I'm nearly there.

And where I say 'Hello fans' above, that's supposed to be read with an appropriate degree of irony. Just thought I'd better clear that up right now. Although my mum thinks I'm brilliant! Thanks mum xx

2008-05-15T15:19:00.003+01:00

These are the last of the illustrations for my latest brief. The starfish was a bit of an epic, having to attach dozens if not hundreds of legs and spines, many of which decided to fall off mid camera shoot.

Orphan Works

2008-05-08T09:52:00.003+01:00

It's a bit dry and there are no pictures but I believe this issue is relevant to all of us:

The subject of 'Orphan Works' is currently causing a stir in the USA with proposed legislation called the 'Orphan Works Bill'.

It basically proposes that if someone cannot identify the creator of an image following a basic search, then they can call the image an 'Orphan Work' and use it however they want without having to obtain permission and regardless of who owns the copyright.

Though this is proposed US legislation, it could affect all international artists as it could be your images that are described and used as 'Orphan Works' in this way.

The Illustrators' Partnership based in North America is leading the campaigning against this bill and is asking people to write in now and express their concerns with a pro-forma letter they have supplied:

"For international artists and our colleagues overseas, we’ve provided a special link, with a sample letter and instructions as to whom to write."
http://www.illustratorspartnership.org/01_topics/article.php?searchterm=00267

The King and I

2008-05-07T10:41:00.004+01:00

When Elvis died in 1977 I wasn't able to attend his funeral because,

a, I didn't know him and

b, I was only 6.

So what's old Leighton's connection to Elvis? Well, apart from the spectacular burners that streak down the sides of our faces, we're both beautiful and can sing the birds down from the trees with our deep, honey-toned drawl. Admittedly Elvis was more successful with his singing career than me but how many books did he illustrate? Eh?

Thank you. Thank you very much. You're a beautiful audience ladies and gentlemen.

Leighton has left the blog.

Association of Illustrators Questionnaire

2008-04-11T17:11:00.002+01:00

The AOI has asked if we could make our illustrators aware of a survey they are running about the illustration market place (and also about some of the AOI's services).

You don't have to be an AOI member to fill in the questionnaire and it is anonymous so you may wish to contribute and help them exceed the 250 responses they received in 2004.

The responses they receive are used to compile statistics to help them when lobbying on behalf of the Illustration industry...

"The Association of Illustrators is currently engaged in an important industry wide information gathering exercise that relates to all illustrators, the commercial practices of commissioners and supply of statistical information to influence Government and various lobbying groups etc. Deadline is Monday 21 April.

It would be very much appreciated if you could take 6-7 minutes out to fill in the on-line questionnaire below. Just click on the link."

http://www.theaoi.com/survey2008.html

Bologna Children's Book Fair 2008

2008-04-07T18:41:00.003+01:00

Back from another successful visit to the Bologna Children's Book Fair catching up with existing customers and seeking out potential new ones.

This was our 5th consecutive year visiting Bologna and as it is focussed on Children's Books, it is definitely the best Fair for us to present our portfolio to a wide selection of British and International publishers...

...and the food is much better than at Frankfurt too!

Again something historical.....

2008-03-20T16:35:00.005Z

.......but now slightly different.
This is one from a series of four illustrations which I did for - and to be used in - an archeological exhibition in the town-museum of the city of Vlaardingen (near Rotterdam). The pictures tell the story of one of the earliest counts of Holland in his struggle for independance from the German emperor in the battle of Vlaardingen in AD 1018. In this battle the poorly armed Frisians (as they were called) defeated the mighty German army, which could hardly manoeuvre on the - at that time - inaccessible, swampy terrain of the dutch delta, full of water-courses, dikes, swamps, puddles and ditches. As a result almost all soldiers were killed by the dutch or drowned, while withdrawing in panic. the Duke of Lorraine was captured and served as a hostage in the negotiations with the Emperor. Ultimately this event led to the rise of the powerfull county of Holland.
Because image-sources from that time are very rare, my client and I agreed to use a very rich informative and famous contemporary source from 1066: the Bayeux Tapestry; which I did with much pleasure, for it's fabulous!

New Work

2008-03-18T17:08:00.007Z

Hi everyone, it's been really great seeing all the work up on the blog so I thought it was about time I had a go too. This is a painting inspired by a weekend at a cottage when I was a child, I usually work with gouache or watercolour but thought it would be nice to try some acrylics and have a go at painting on canvas.

New work computer?

2008-03-11T10:16:00.002Z

Hi fellow GCI-ers, I'd like to pick the brains of the computer users amongst you.

I need to start looking for a new computer for my illustration work. My present one (Powermac 867 dual mirror door for the techies among you) is at least 5 years old and although chugging along still, I'd like to replace it before it expires.

Now my question is this: do I spend an awful lot of money on a new basic Mac Pro model which I know will do the job and last me another 5 years or so...or do I go for a much cheaper and more compact imac with 24" screen? The thing I worry about is the screen...is it up to professional standard colour correction for publication? I read on a forum that there are issues with some units having uneven screen illumination, which isn't good news.

Does anybody out there have any thoughts? (Apart from buy a Windows machine....not an option. ) All opinions welcomed and thanks.

Sue

Shipwreck

2008-02-17T11:11:00.006Z

These are some images from a commission I'm working on almost continuously now for the last 4 months and which I hope to finish at the end of February. It is/was great fun but at the same time it will be a relief when it's ready!

Images from recent commission

2008-01-29T13:19:00.001Z

leader of the pack

2008-01-17T17:05:00.000Z

Inspired by all the great photos of peoples dogs on Chris Evans BBC webpage.

Merry Christmas, all!

2007-12-12T16:55:00.001Z

Here's my Christmas card offering for this year. Wishing everyone a peaceful Christmas and a busy New Year!

christmas card

2007-12-03T17:21:00.001Z

My Xmas Contribution

2007-12-03T13:08:00.000Z

2007-12-01T15:24:00.002Z

2007-12-01T15:24:00.001Z

Dutch golden Age II

2007-11-29T20:26:00.000Z

Just to complete the series, including some beggars especially for Sue.

And my client asked me to change the Batavia harbour scene a bit, because she thought it to be too crowded and I think she was right.

Good Morning America

2007-11-21T14:41:00.001Z

I met this woman while jogging one early morning

2007-11-15T09:44:00.000Z

I am living in Spain at the moment and thought a Spanish Bull would be suitable for this years Christmas card.

I have used pen & ink with coloured pencils for a bit of texture.

Well i know it is a bit early but Merry Christmas or as the locals say Feliz Navidad

Something Different From Me Too

2007-11-13T15:51:00.000Z

One of the Three Pigs

2007-11-07T17:18:00.000Z

I thought I'd get my watercolours out for a change. Here's my first offering. Please be gentle:¬)

Dutch Golden Age (17th century)

2007-11-05T20:51:00.000Z

First of all I want to apologise for my poor english; I hope I'm able to convey my meaning.
Currently I'm working on 5 full-colour illustrations (42 x 28 cm) on the Dutch Golden Age,
which will be printed on a 60 x 40 cm size and used for educational purposes.
Here are two roughs; one of a ficticious master-painters studio and another of a dutch VOC-ship lying on the roads of the dutch colony of Batavia roundabout 1650 AD.
Still to do: merchants and beggars, the siege of a dutch town by the Spaniards and scientific discoveries.

And now for some thing completely different.....

2007-11-05T11:48:00.000Z

This is a wood engraving of our Jack Russell Charlie, that I've been working on in odd moments. Almost finished (just clearing out some background that kept picking up ink and printing itself). I must say I do enjoy the slowness of engraving...the delibarateness that is necessary; once a cut is made in the block, you can't erase or un-cut it. What a change to the comparatively frantic dashing out of illustrations in the course of 'the day job'!

I'm also still getting used to my press, an old Farley galley press , fresh from the composing room of some Lancashire printer, victim of the new photo-lithographic age. It found a home in my already-cosily-proportioned studio, next to the Mac. Proper job! (As they do say down in Cornwall)

tides out

2007-10-26T13:09:00.000+01:00

I have been plucking up the courage to post a picture on GCI`s blog.

I have decided on `Tides Out` a painting based on a photo i saw of a great fishing boat.

Two characters having tea with a bored dog.

I look forward to seeing some of the work from other illustrators that is mabey not represented on their webpage!

The Frankfurt Book Fair 2007

2007-10-15T16:56:00.000+01:00

I spent two days last week 'walking the floor' of the Frankfurt Book Fair chatting to some of our existing customers and seeking out new ones. Quite exhausting but I hope ultimately quite productive too.

If you have never been to Frankfurt before, it is staggeringly large. So large that there are 'travelators' to speed up your progress between the halls...

And if walking seems too much like hard work as the day wears on, you can always hop on one of the courtesy shuttle buses that cruise endlessly around the perimeter of the Fair.

Rugby card finished

2007-10-02T11:04:00.000+01:00

Well it's done, bar possible final tweaks by the client. I'm glad to get it out of the way, spare time is very short at the moment for various reasons and I've been promising this card since early summer!

Grandmas Visit

2007-09-26T16:30:00.000+01:00

This is an illustration from a little story that I made about a little chap who makes a huge mess whilst getting ready for his grandmothers visit, in this picture he is "helpfully" washing up.

A Christmas card in progress

2007-09-25T17:28:00.000+01:00

I've been asked to do an Xmas card for our Rugby Club this year so I thought you might like to see it as a 'work in progress'. I'm doing it digitally, in Corel Painter and using oil painting type brushes.

Here is the rough :

And here it is so far, I've dropped the line work onto the dark background and am applying layers of colour.

It looks quite dark at the moment but in the end I'd like it to have the feel of this card (in the best Blue Peter tradition, here's one I did earlier!):

Feel free to post comments!
Sue W

British Summertime

2007-09-19T16:18:00.000+01:00

Just thought I would kick off this blog by posting a little drawing of a typical British summer, one when it doesn't rain the whole time and everyone has a chance to get attractive sunburn marks.