I'm on instagram as timjonesillustration http://instagr.am/p/FoflV/

I'm on instagram as timjonesillustration http://instagr.am/p/FoflV/

I've been working on a small group of portraits drawn only with a brush. Here's one from last week.

I've been working on a small group of portraits drawn only with a brush. Here's one from last week.

Allyn Johnston and Marla Frazee from The Horn Book:

We’re clearly not alone in believing that sharing traditional picture books with children is one of the best ways to grow them up. If a child’s life is filled with picture books, read aloud from birth, he or she will be better able to process the complexities in the world, read with deep understanding, and emotionally connect with themselves and with others. And the adults in their lives will grow right along with them.

Allyn Johnston and Marla Frazee from The Horn Book:

We’re clearly not alone in believing that sharing traditional picture books with children is one of the best ways to grow them up. If a child’s life is filled with picture books, read aloud from birth, he or she will be better able to process the complexities in the world, read with deep understanding, and emotionally connect with themselves and with others. And the adults in their lives will grow right along with them.

Have you discovered Sword and Sworcery? It’s a game for iPad, wrapped in an immersive audio-visual art experience. Although it evokes games of pixel-past, it feels new. There are rich, untamed landscapes and careful color choices made throughout. Such care is given to the lighting, and subtle rustling sounds have an emotional impact as you move around. And the music? Just incredible. There are a number of good reviews written for the game, so I won’t go into great detail, but beyond a certain nostalgia it evoked I did want to highlight a specific memory.  If you are of a certain era and ever had the chance to play Pitfall II from Atari, you might have found there was a hidden level built into it. At the time it was a thrilling discovery--a doorway into a new world within the game. I may have reached it once or twice, but as sometimes happens, our controllers broke. There was no eBay or Amazon to easily replace the controllers so the game console languished, moved to the attic and eventually disappeared. This lost place was never to be visited again. But as with all art that has an impact, it stays with you. Entering sword & sworcery was like teleportation. I felt as if I was back inside the additional Pitfall level, except it had evolved while I was gone and now there was wind, and music and humor.

I played for a few minutes longer with my 5 year old. As I was figuring out the game I asked her to help me decide what to do and where to go next. Within moments she would only speak in whispers as we tried to find the tome and tame the dark wolf in our path. The careful combination of story, sound and image, I think, allowed her to be so fully engaged. 

This kind of gaming experience reminds me that the meta-realities we create though our art are real. They are places that we go, leave and come back to. They act not merely as brief escapes, but as appurtenances to our real lives.

Have you discovered Sword and Sworcery? It’s a game for iPad, wrapped in an immersive audio-visual art experience. Although it evokes games of pixel-past, it feels new. There are rich, untamed landscapes and careful color choices made throughout. Such care is given to the lighting, and subtle rustling sounds have an emotional impact as you move around. And the music? Just incredible. There are a number of good reviews written for the game, so I won’t go into great detail, but beyond a certain nostalgia it evoked I did want to highlight a specific memory.  If you are of a certain era and ever had the chance to play Pitfall II from Atari, you might have found there was a hidden level built into it. At the time it was a thrilling discovery--a doorway into a new world within the game. I may have reached it once or twice, but as sometimes happens, our controllers broke. There was no eBay or Amazon to easily replace the controllers so the game console languished, moved to the attic and eventually disappeared. This lost place was never to be visited again. But as with all art that has an impact, it stays with you. Entering sword & sworcery was like teleportation. I felt as if I was back inside the additional Pitfall level, except it had evolved while I was gone and now there was wind, and music and humor.

I played for a few minutes longer with my 5 year old. As I was figuring out the game I asked her to help me decide what to do and where to go next. Within moments she would only speak in whispers as we tried to find the tome and tame the dark wolf in our path. The careful combination of story, sound and image, I think, allowed her to be so fully engaged. 

This kind of gaming experience reminds me that the meta-realities we create though our art are real. They are places that we go, leave and come back to. They act not merely as brief escapes, but as appurtenances to our real lives.

This weekend is the Cambridge Friends School Music Festival. If you live near Cambridge MA and are looking for a fun, family event, this is it! You can learn more and get tickets here:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=220918977924676

This weekend is the Cambridge Friends School Music Festival. If you live near Cambridge MA and are looking for a fun, family event, this is it! You can learn more and get tickets here:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=220918977924676

We've added an overview page to the site of all the work done to create the art for the I See I Learn series, from author Stuart J. Murphy and Charlesbridge. See it in Current Work.

We've added an overview page to the site of all the work done to create the art for the I See I Learn series, from author Stuart J. Murphy and Charlesbridge. See it in Current Work.

No school today, so why not make some art and share it!

No school today, so why not make some art and share it!

I'll be heading down to BEA 2010 on Wednesday. For the past year and a half we've been developing the look and illustrations for the I See I Learn series with the wonderful folks at Charlesbridge.

Renée Kurilla is the character designer, I create the thumbnails and sketches, and then we both work on the book illustrations. You can read more about the first four titles over at author Stuart Murphy's blog.

I'm looking forward to seeing a few people and enjoying the day in the city. Hope to see you there!

I'll be heading down to BEA 2010 on Wednesday. For the past year and a half we've been developing the look and illustrations for the I See I Learn series with the wonderful folks at Charlesbridge. You can find all about the series at their booth.

Renée Kurilla is the character designer, I create the thumbnails and sketches, and then we both work on the book illustrations. Read more about the first four titles over at author Stuart Murphy's blog.

I'm looking forward to seeing a few people and enjoying the day in the city. Hope to see you there!

When you're trying to discuss concepts like large numbers with a four year old, it's helpful to draw donuts and let them participate in the drawing.

My daughter has been in love with this little wizard puppet all week, which she inists on calling Santa. For today though, he's all mine as I work on a mid-march book deadline. More blog posts to come as we approach spring!