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The Blog of Annie Beth Ericsson, A children’s book illustrator and design student in New York City, pursuing a career in publishing.
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Dear readers,
After over two years of posting here at WordPress.com… Walking in Public is MOVING! I now have a brand-new, sleek and professional site over at AnnieBethEricsson.com, and I made the decision to host my blog there as well.
As you’ve probably noticed, I haven’t been posting a lot (at all) here in the past few months, and that’s mostly because I’m overwhelmed keeping up with multiple platforms and social media sites online. Now that all of my content is in one place, I’ll be sure to update with new artwork and blog posts more frequently – so please subscribe and check back there often!
If you’re sad to miss Walking in Public, do not fear! All of the old posts are available on AnnieBethEricsson.com, and this site will stay available, if dormant, to take a walk down memory lane.
Can’t wait to see you all at AnnieBethEricsson.com!
- Annie
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By:
Annie Beth Ericsson,
on 3/5/2012
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In case you missed it, this week’s results for School Library Journal’s Fuse #8 Re-Seussify Seuss challenge were in, and they were pretty spectacular! The mission, as set forth by children’s lit guru Betsy Bird, was to draw a spread from a Dr. Seuss book, but in the style of ANOTHER famous picture book artist. I was inspired by the fun mash-up idea, and pulled off the image of Yertle The Turtle in the style of Arnold Lobel, above.
The idea for the image itself came to me pretty easily. It’s no surprise that I love drawing turtles, and Yertle The Turtle is a family favorite. The reptile vs. amphibian factor – Yertle crossed with Frog and Toad - was amusing to me as well. In particular, I wanted to try my hand at Arnold Lobel’s style. I thought the limited palette with textured graphite would be fun, and his characters and watercolors lend themselves easily to my own style. Plus, he’s a fellow Pratt alum!
I learned a lot about Arnold Lobel’s creative process from this video with his daughter, Anita Lobel. She sought to replicate her father’s paintings when she colored Arnold Lobel’s unfinished The Frogs and Toads All Sang:
I am very interested in Lobel’s use of color separations to make the Frog and Toad illustrations, and I wish I could find more on the subject. While Anita went with full-color in her recent interpretation, I wanted to imitate the 2-color (and black) separations by sticking to a green layer, a brown layer, and dark graphite. I’m pleased with the result and think it was rather successful, if I do say so myself.
Now go check out Betsy’s post for the other mind-blowing creative Re-Seussification mash-ups!
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By:
Annie Beth Ericsson,
on 2/29/2012
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This weekend was one of my favorite annual Park Slope traditions: the Park Slope Methodist book sale! Every year, this neighborhood church collects thousands of book donations (and CDs, and records) of every kind, and the BK literati flock to pick up hardcovers and paperbacks for just a dollar or two.
This year, I tried to exercise some restraint – after all, I’ve got books spilling out of the shelves in my room as it is! But I did manage to pick up a few art and home-related titles (I was in a non-fiction mood), that are really fun!
My favorite book of the day is A Book Of Garden Flowers by Margaret McKenny and Edith F. Johnston (Macmillan, 1940). Margaret McKenny turns out to be a renowned Washington State naturalist, and I later found some of her enthusiastic letters about mushroom hunting. But the piece de resistance is Edith Johnston’s GORGEOUS lithographs of flowers! Each one is more beautiful than the next (so much so that I almost scanned the whole book!). Take a look . . .
Truly lovely, no?
I also picked up a couple of cookbooks that I’m really digging:
The Pleasures of Slow Food by Corby Kummer (Chronicle Books, 2002). – This glamorous coffee-table volume takes a warm glimpse into the “slow food” movement – where hand-crafted cooking methods enjoyed among company take the place of modern American fast-food cu
Calling all young publishing professionals (sorry, Early Career Committee events are for employees of CBC member houses only) -
Join us for the 1st Annual Hunger Pub Games! See below for the event invite I created… and RSVP to see in person all the challenges that await. It’s going to be a ton of fighting- I mean, fun!
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By:
Annie Beth Ericsson,
on 2/19/2012
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It’s finally time to resurrect my blog from its long hiatus! I’ve actually missed being on Walking In Public… digging up blog content has always kept me engaged with the publishing/art/design industries, and it motivates me to write and draw regularly. So, I’ll be back on the blog for a long while, with all-new features and updates on my journey to success in the children’s book world!
What have you missed while I’ve been away from the blog? Here are the best things that happened, circa 2011:
Annie’s Top 5 2011 Professional Developments
1. Illustrated and designed the Little Farmer app.
You may remember that I began a project working on a toddler game app, called Little Farmer, back in May. Well, after months of illustrating, designing and developing, we released it for sale in the iTunes store in October! It has been a really wonderful experience working with a talented developer, Anita Hirth, to create artwork that children can interact with, right there on any iPhone. There’s much more to say about the process of creating an app, and my future in the digital world… but those are subjects for bigger posts!
In the meantime, purchase the app here, or watch the video trailer, above!
2. Joined the Children’s Book Council’s Early Career Committee.
I’ve been attending events for young adults in the publishing industry for awhile, so it was exciting to be asked to represent Penguin Young Readers (and designers everywhere) on the Children’s Book Council’s Early Career Committee. This organization creates opportunities for those in the first 5 years of the children’s book industry to network, learn, and become more involved in their fields… so their mission is right up my alley! Since becoming a part of the team this summer, I’ve had a TON of fun making great friends with 20-somethings in different houses, through planning creative programming. I’m also having a blast designing fliers, making good use of my design time and talents.
If you haven’t already, make sure to catch up on the CBC and ECC’s fabulous social media enterprises – Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!
You know I’m busy at work when instead of going through art samples with my morning coffee, they pile up on my desk. Today, I finally took lunch to sort through a few. Check out some exciting new finds that came in lately!
Casey Uhelski / For pet lovers (like me!), this SCAD grad has mastered the expressions of adorable dogs, cats and bunnies.
Victoria Jamieson / Victoria’s anthropomorphic characters have landed her a two-book gig with Dial (part of the Penguin family) in 2012/2013. In the meantime, I think her revisiting of Ramona Quimby is spot-on.
David C. Gardiner / This image might suggest that David and I are cut from the same cloth, stylistically, but his Flying Dog Studio also produces everything from fairly realistic older characters to animations.
Caitlin B. Alexander / This Austin-based illustrator’s folksy-yet-modern style looks mostly editorial, for now… but wouldn’t it make a charming children’s book?
Veronica Chen / I was intrigued by her intricate black-and-white patternwork, but her color piece Chameleon City just begs for a story to be told.
Jillian Nickell / This quirky, vintage-inspired vignette was fascinating enough to lead me to her website, where there’s a great series of pieces based on The Borrowers, and more. I can picture her style being perfect in the right book for older readers!
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Things have been bustling here at the newly-founded Smart Cookie Studios, where our first app is almost ready to be revealed to the world! We’re going to launch our website and social media soon (Twitter, Facebook), and are prepping for pre-release so we can finally show you all the final art, music and interactivity we’ve been working so much on.
That being said, I want to know – WHO should we tell about our app?? Do you want news and updates about our new venture yourself? Do you have a great app reviewer we should know about? Know of someone in the industry we should follow on Twitter? Are a fan of another great app studio? Or blog? Or developer?
I’m looking for any and everyone under the sun, so send me Twitter handles! Facebooks! Websites! Emails! Smoke signals! I’ll love you forever…
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By:
Annie Beth Ericsson,
on 7/8/2011
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Do something good before jetting off this weekend – check out this beautifully-produced video from Pearson’s We Give Books and On My Mind Foundation. These two organizations paired up on a trip to Haiti to help schools affected by the earthquake disaster last year, and address the overwhelming illiteracy rate in that area. Now, We Give Books is providing 1,000 books to kids in Haiti, and you can find out more and help here.
The video features Jesse Joshua Watson, author/illustrator of the Putnam book Hope For Haiti, one of my favorite picture books we’ve published recently. Jesse’s artwork is brilliantly colored and perfectly suited to this uplifting story. It goes well beyond soccer and speaks straight to the heart of Haiti’s youngest generation. A must read – and I’m so glad that children in Haiti were able to experience it in their own language!
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By:
Annie Beth Ericsson,
on 6/18/2011
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You’d think that being in rural Minnesota wouldn’t bring much in the way of industry happenings, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. My Midwest visit just so happened to coincide with the Bemidji Book Festival, a 6-day marathon of events with local authors, poets and illustrators. Kudos to the Bemidji Library and the MN Legacy Fund for making this all happen!
I stepped off the plane and immediately headed to a presentation by Catherine Friend, author of both children’s stories and the adult books, Hit By A Farm, Sheepish, and The Compassionate Carnivore. With a humble, witty voice on her 1 1/2 memoirs and a great perspective on local farming (and sheep), she’s like a lady Michael Pollan with a personal touch. I’m thinking it’s time to take a closer look her kids’ books, and also take up knitting!
The next morning, I accessed my inner child by attending Thursday morning’s library event with author/illustrator Lynne Jonell. While Jonell got her start in picture books, she’s now known for her middle-grade novels, like Emmy And The Incredible Shrinking Rat. I think the design (by Amelia May Anderson) and art (by Jonathan Bean) for Emmy is impeccable – the hand-drawn type is seamlessly integrated to the limited-color line drawings, which carry over into a flip-book style interior. Plus, it was a pleasure to listen to Lynne’s story and watch her graciously field questions from aspiring picture book authors with just the right answers (five letters: SCBWI) and some kind inspiration.
Well, it’s been another one of those times where my blog has hit a bit of a lag! My life these days is crazy busy, personally and professionally, so I really can’t complain. Unfortunately, it doesn’t leave a lot of room for writing about my experiences or keeping up with my social media presence. So now that I’m comfy on the recliner on vacation in Bemidji, it’s time to play a little Walking In Public catch-up…
First off, if you haven’t headed over to my new gig as a columnist on the blog, Publishing Trendsetter, you want to go to there! The site is full of great advice and insight from young professionals on those either in their first few years, or looking to get into the industry. As for me, I’ll be bringing the visual inspiration with the column, Design Candy.
A few weeks ago, I kicked it off on Trendsetter with my favorite design finds, head-to-head, from the publishing extravaganza of the year, BEA. But I had a lot of favorite moments that didn’t make it onto that post. For some reason, most of the Big 6 publishers disappoint – their large space isn’t utilized with books, but posters/video screens that don’t make an impact. It’s the indie publishers (plus the usual suspects in Chronicle, Candlewick and Abrams) that make up the best exhibits.
Missed BEA the first time around? Check out my highlights now:
Chronicle Books: Is designer heaven – no one even comes close to these guys in my book.
Abrams: They always pull out all the stops, this time with a giant snowglobe.
International: Saudi Arabia is by far the friendliest, but I love looking through all the foreign-language books.
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By:
Annie Beth Ericsson,
on 5/20/2011
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Mozart at the Beach from Christee Curran on Vimeo.
Oh, the Pratt Show . . . it’s hard to believe that it’s been a full year since all the momentous graduation-related events were happening to me! It was great to be on the other side of things last week… browsing new artists, sipping champagne and catching up with old classmates, without the stress of having my own work in the show.
This year’s class certainly didn’t disappoint in talent! I was so proud to see many familiar faces represented at the show, from Sarah Mimo‘s swoonworthy clocks, to new textile prints from Alexa MacFarlane and new comics from our former Putnam intern, Kris Mukai. I’m also jumping for joy to showcase Christee Curran‘s video storyboard project (above). How adorable is that kid at the beach?!
In addition to old friends, there were also a few new faces at the show. Here were my favorite kids’/book related discoveries:
1. Alexandria Marie Compo / I loved her quirky animal characters, and combination of digital and hand-crafted work. In fact, we were all so taken with her 3-D figures that they almost “walked” away with us! Very well suited for the pages of a trade hardcover picture book.
2. Michelle Lynch / Michelle’s range of work is crazy &nd
May means graduation time, and New York City is filled with student exhibitions and senior work on display for the world to hire. So for the next few weeks, I’ll be snooping several art schools’ openings for new and inspiring illustrators, and bringing the best of the best right here to the blog.
I started with the School of Visual Arts’ MFA Thesis exhibition last night! I’d highly recommend trekking to Chelsea for both design and illustration. Details below:
Visual Arts Gallery / 601 W 26th Street, 15th floor
April 29-May 14, 2011 / Mon-Sat, 10 am – 6 pm
All the student work was of exceptional quality (they ARE MFAs, after all), but here were my Top 5:
1. Hye Su / Looking at Hye Su’s body of work is like stepping into a completely different universe. Her mastery of a range of mediums (from embroidery, to zines/books, to 3-dimensional objects) remain entirely consistent – everything is shown through her very unique lens. I couldn’t get enough of her wild and wonderful characters!
2. Lisa Anchin / Of anyone else at the show, it was Lisa who was made for children’s books. I was impressed how prolific and professional her work was – at least 4 or 5 book dummies ready to go, and full of adorable characters and dynamic compositions to boot. Lucky for me, guess which Penguin imprint she’ll be interning at this summer? That’s right… we’re very excited to have her!
3. Philip Cheaney / How excited was I to see someone who created a fully-formed eBook app?! I was really impressed with (read: jealous of) its smooth, polished look on the i
Wow . . . I am having so much fun working on this recent iPhone app project I’ve been blabbing about. The game app consists of identifying every farm animal under the sun, so I recently completed all the character sketches. I’m really satisfied with the work I’ve done thus far. They look like a cute little family!
There’s still much to be done, but in the meantime, enjoy this sneak preview of a few of my favorite farm animals . . . and get your iPhones at the ready for its release this summer!
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I know, I know . . . it’s been too long since I’ve posted. But in that time, a new project has been brewing. I’ve been offered the opportunity to illustrate and design an iPhone app for babies/toddlers, and I couldn’t be more excited. So stay tuned for tons more updates as I enter the world of new media and app development!
In doing market research and speaking with the app developer, I’ve come to the conclusion that when it comes to game apps for babies and toddlers, the market is wide open. For instance, the Toddler Teasers series (above) has sold millions of apps – I’ll bite my tongue and leave you to judge the images and design for yourself.
What’s lacking, overall, are game apps with high-quality illustrations. Who says that images in an app have to look digital, cartoonish, mass-market, or be pasted together with clip art and stock photos? The developer and I agree that it doesn’t have to be that way – and I’m looking forward to putting the same watercolor, hand-drawn quality into this app that I would into a trade picture book.
That being said, there are a few good illustrated apps out there (and some nicely-designed apps that don’t need illustrations at all). Before I dive into book apps, let’s take a look at some nice iPhone game apps for toddlers:
1. Peekaboo Barn (Night And Day Studios) / The most comparable app to ours, Peekaboo Barn’s game of farm animal names has been downloaded over 400,000 times! Illustrator Divya Srinivasan’s young, quirky illustrations are well suited for the app world as well – quite a departure from her editorial work. Be sure to check out the sequels, Charley Harper’s Peekaboo Forest and Peekaboo Wild.
2. Word Wagon (Duck Duck Moose) / Duck Duck Moose is another award-winning app developer that I can really get behind. Their animated characters and levels of learning look like a lot of fun, don’t they? And as far as illustrations that are super-digital, these are pretty sharp. Check out their other apps like Park Math, Wheels On The Bus, and Fish School.
There’s no doubt in my mind that Marcel The Shell With Shoes On is the best stop-motion animation video I’ve ever seen. If you’re not familiar with this Youtube sensation, I won’t even bother to explain – just do yourself a favor and watch the film (above)!
Now, I’ve been itching to announce for awhile now that Marcel will star in his own picture book, the first from YA imprint Razorbill. When Marcel made a video guest appearance at work, to talk about how excited he was to be part of the Penguin family, we couldn’t be more excited for him (and his creators, Jenny Slate and Dean Fleischer-Camp).
How will Marcel The Shell translate to a picture book? I initially pictured it as a photographic Chronicle-style gift book, but turns out, the images will be traditional oil paintings instead. Now… who is the artist going to be, I wonder?? And if you’re worried about this style of humor losing its touch without Jenny Slate’s hilarious voice, don’t be. The press release assures us that there will be an interactive audio version to add the voice of Marcel to the reading experience.
Can’t wait for November 1 to see Marcel pulling his lint “dog” around by a hair!
“Sometimes people say that my head is too big for my body, and then I say, ‘Compared to WHAT?’”
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1 Comments on MARCEL THE SHELL Becomes A Book!, last added: 4/6/2011
10. The best books have already been written.
9. My ideas are too conceptual to be confined to a commercial market.
8. I can make more money by self-publishing my dystopian-paranormal romance novels.
7. Other jobs that pay better: circus performer, used car dealer, phone psychic. pyrotechnician, lifeguard, court reporter.
6. I’m looking to attract a more intellectual audience.
5. It’s no fun without violence, drugs or nudity.
4. Celebrities are taking over my craft.
3. No one needs illustration when you can steal stock photography off the internet – for free.
2. In 10 years, books will be obsolete anyway.
1. It’s so easy a child could do it.
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On Monday, the Art Department took a field trip to see the AIGA’s 50 Books/50 Covers of 2009 exhibit. It was a worthwhile show to attend, but I had mixed feelings about it. For one, the non-traditional gallery presentation (above) brought both advantages and challenges. I loved the low bleacher set-up for books, because I could sit and relax while browsing heavier volumes. But the bleachers did the covers a huge disservice; not only did you have to bend down repeatedly to pick up each individual cover, you had to flip the card over to even see the image.
But the main reason that I left ambivalent over the 50/50 exhibit encompassed more of my greater feelings about design in general. Without a doubt, the books on display were creatively inspiring. I loved thumbing through the photos and art, the lavish paper stocks, and the 3-dimensionality of a beautifully-presented package. Books like these make me want to go home, stay up all night and make ART. It makes me feel a little inferior that I’m not doing that kind of work already.
At the same time, though, many of these books get right to the heart of one of my greatest pet peeves: design for design’s sake. Design should always serve a purpose, complement its material, and make content accessible to its consumer. I love design because it places equal importance on being functional AND visually pleasing. But many of the 50/50 books suggest the opposite. Type running into more type, or scattered across the page, or written in tiny Helvetica Bold . . . these things appeal to the hipster art-design community, but aren’t the best solution for the general reader. Go ahead and be as artsy as you want, but please, let it make sense.
That being said, I’ve composed some highlights of the exhibit to present my case. I’ll showcase my favorites, as well as some titles that really made my blood boil.
A perfect example to explain my point? Two books, no type on the cover:
Afrodesiac (AdHouse Books) – Perfectly captures the 1970s exploitation and comic book crazes. The interior contains pictures, not words. Generally all-around badass.
vs.
Manuale Zaphicum (Jerry Kelly LLC) – Yes, the letterpressed interior is absolutely gorgeous, but I found a blank cover for a book about a type designer to be annoying-ironic, not funny-ironic.
See what I mean? Okay, now on to some favorites:
Pictorial Webster’s (Chronicle Books) – Gimme gimme gi
Those of you who follow me on Twitter might remember that I tweeted this a few weeks ago: New video/book trailer from AMAZING project @itgetsbetter – watch, retweet, pledge support!http://youtu.be/TvhZA0B_qiQ #ItGetsBetter #LGBT
It was the first time that I had heard of this amazing viral movement created by Dan Savage and his husband Terry Miller, where thousands of people have spoken up via video messages to encourage gay teens to stick it out through bullying, believe in yourself, and find people in this world that support you.
Because it DOES get better – in the real world, it’s okay to be different, and there are SO many people out there that will love and accept you for who you are. I believe in this with all my heart! While I had it easy to be born straight and female (inside and out), I think of all the people I care about who did have to carry that kind of secret with them. And I, as with many other straight allies and creative people, remember what it’s like to grow up feeling like an outsider, picked on, or invisible. In the real world, that ceases to matter – it only makes you stronger and more confident in who you are!
I don’t think I’ve ever been more proud of Pearson, in introducing this It Gets Better video (above). It features some of my amazing, beautiful colleagues who were brave enough to share their stories.
For more information about the It Gets Better movement, what you can do to help, and the newly-released book, see below!
Watch Videos and Pledge Support
Buy The Book
Help get the It Gets Better book in every school in America
Lutheran bishop Rev. Mark Hanson’s video and ELCA response
Full interview on NPR this week
The Trevor Project
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Today was a more wackadoo day in illustrator submissions than usual, so I thought I’d give myself a pick-me-up by highlighting three great illustrators who draw some super-cute animals. Enjoy!
1. Charrow / My first favorite recent find is Charrow, whose quirky illustrations exude a playful spirit and sense of humor. Her light watercolor and drawing technique feels breezy, like she just jotted down some animals, and they happen to be hilariously adorable. She’s also a frequent contributor to They Draw and Cook. Her Etsy shop is down at the moment, but when I checked it out a few weeks ago, it was easily my favorite part of her portfolio… be sure to check back for it soon!
2. Stephanie Graegin / Probably my all-time favorite illustrator submission ever is a little “mini portfolio” booklet from Stephanie Graegin. Her Renata Liwska-style woodland creatures, accented by limited color and unlimited sweetness, had both design and editorial drooling. Crossing my fingers that I see a book with her name on it soon!
3. Lizzy Hallman / If illustrator David Catrow’s art proves anything, it’s that there’s a place in this business for a little ugly-cute. And if my love of french bulldogs proves anything, it’s that I will always get behind ugly-cute! Hallman’s characters may have wonky eyeballs, but they make their expressions unique and humorous. And her color treatment? 100% sweet!
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Time for a little spring cleaning, aka. link updating. If you haven’t noticed, down the column on the right are a bunch of fantastic blogs that I read regularly, and I try to occasionally go through and add/delete links so the list stays fresh with active bloggers. It’s a great place to turn to when I’m lazy busy here at Walking In Public!
I’m sure I’m missing blogs, though, so if you’re reading this and want me to add yours or a friend’s, add a comment below (note: I try to keep it to blogs only, not static websites).
Speaking of friends, can we discuss how amazing are Pratt student Sarah Mimo‘s hand-crafted clocks (above)? I’m astounded at her innovation and stunning detail . . . wow. Talk about a senior project that deserves buzz. Her new artist blog is full of more clocks, as well as some lovely textural illustrations, so make sure to head over there, pronto!
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By:
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on 3/4/2011
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Since the week has been so crazy for me preparing the Spring 2012 picture books at work, here are a few announcements/discoveries to keep y’all busy:
1. Seems that Coralie Bickford-Smith, senior cover designer over at the UK’s Penguin Books, has been on everyone’s brains lately . . . I received two links to her in the past few days! I have always been a huge fan of her Clothbound Classics series, but I hadn’t seen her full site.
And, my goodness, take a look at her newest work! I’m getting giddy looking at this Penguin Great Food series (link courtesy of Creative Review, via Ryan, extremely cool fellow designer/cubicle neighbor). Each plate is based on vintage ceramic patterns, and I seriously can’t get over how gorgeous they are.
2. Speaking of how the UK dominates beautiful patterned covers, let’s move along to White’s Books, a small London publisher directed by David Pearson (a former Penguin Books designer himself). In a different way, these patterns draw the reader into other imagery and bring visually potent symbolism to distinguished classics. Thanks to Kevin Stanton, amazing paper-cut illustrator from the Illustration Week extravaganza, for referring me to Jessica Vendsen’s blog!
3. On a local level, I have to give a shout-out to a new show opening up in town: Maira Kalman: Various Illuminations (of a Crazy World). I’ve mentioned before my infatuation with Maira’s work, and since she’s a Nancy Paulsen Books author/illustrator, I get to drool over her new children’s books on a regular basis. Can’t wait to check out this exhibit of many of her best-known works, as I know it’ll be as original and out-of-the-box as ever.
Maira Kalman: Various Illuminations (of a Crazy World) is on display at The Jewish Museum from
My impulse to spread bunny cuteness started before Valentines’ Day, but I didn’t finish up these little spot illustrations until last night. It’s only a week or so late, and hey, who doesn’t want a valentine all year round?
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Is it the weekend yet? The blog has been feeling a little neglected the past few days, due to the fact that it has been CRAZY busy around here. It’s just one of those weeks… something scheduled every day, the “social butterfly” lifestyle that leaves me feeling more exhausted than cool. I don’t have time to paint or write . . . I barely have time to eat!
Here’s another thing that I missed when I was too busy: The Sketchbook Project 2011. I’d sworn I’d fill up the Moleskine (after all, I bought and paid for the chance to be in the exhibit), but after all the holiday rush, the pages were still blank. I need what my mother calls “brain space” to concentrate on art – blocks, not seconds, of free time to complete something like that. And when there’s no brain space available, sometimes you just have to call it quits.
Just because I’m not participating this year, doesn’t mean the traveling Sketchbook Project exhibit isn’t worth checking out. And hey, it starts right here in Brooklyn this weekend!
Go see the thousands of sketchbooks from February 19-27 at:
Brooklyn Art Library
103A N. 3rd St.
Brooklyn, NY 11211
Open Tue – Sun
Noon – 8pm
Closed Mondays
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sketches Tagged:
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0 Comments on Wake Me Up When It’s Presidents’ Day as of 1/1/1900
It is with great sadness that I mention the passing of Brian Jacques, author of the beloved Redwall series (Philomel). Jacques, aged 71, died of a heart attack over the weekend. Read more about his life and work here.
Though I confess I haven’t read any of the most recent titles in the 21-book series, I was a huge Redwall fan as a child. Growing up, I’d play for hours in the woods behind my house, pretending that I was adventuring in Mossflower or preparing for a feast at Redwall Abbey. I’m sure that the positive memories I associate with the Redwall books are echoed by kids and adults the world over.
So when I found out, I just had to draw mouse characters, including Mariel, my favorite Jacques’ heroine, in honor of the great storyteller (see above). And if I can lighten the mood just a bit on this solemn occasion, I thought the two reference photos that I used to make the sketch were pretty funny.
Eulaliaaa!!!
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teen books Tagged:
brian jacques,
mariel of redwall,
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(Oh hey, check out this new Oliver Jeffers’ Heart And The Bottle app!)
Everyone – and I mean, EVERYONE (that’s right, NPR) – is talking about e-books and new media. While adult e-readers are already a major part of consumer culture, childrens’ apps and e-books are still in their infancy (pun intended). People seem to have a special concern and defensiveness reserved for the future of kids’ books – after all, who wants their kids’ future reduced to bedtime stories curled up with an IPad?
Most industry professionals and consumers alike agree that traditional children’s books aren’t going anywhere. For one, buying a two-year-old a Color Nook is a lot less cost-efficient than a $4.99 board book, if all the toddler’s going to do is chew on the corners. For another, people like the visceral experience of buying a hardcover book and turning its pages, reading aloud themselves instead of pressing a button.
Instead, we’re heading towards more and more options for kids books, and while we adults will have to nervously or excitedly adapt, kids will grow up expecting content on myriad forms of media.
So I commend SCBWI’s Illustrators’ Intensive for making the focus of their annual NYC event “Beyond Books: Picture Books and the New Media“. Hey, if we don’t know about it, let’s invite some panelists to tell us about it!
As excited as I was about hearing the “Online Presence: A Panel Review of Websites, Blogs and Social Media”, it wasn’t my focus of the day. Mostly, I was there to hear about the latest digital development shrouded in mystery: apps. It’s something we all know is the future (SO much cooler than e-books), but we don’t REALLY know how they’re created. First off, we sat in on the “Development of Apps from Classics” discussion, with panelists Virginia Duncan of Greenwillow Books (HarperCollins) and Colin Hosten of Hyperion/Disney Digital Books.
Ms. Duncan explained the making of Greenwillow’s first app, Freight Train by Donald Crews. With bold shapes and different views from its companion book, Inside Freight Train, this was a perfect way to get an introduction to all that can be done with an app. Take a simple story, then add movement, games, songs… the sky’s the limit! Check out storyboards and other making-of tidbits from Freight Train here.
Now, say what you want about Disney’s creepy corpo
Totally proud that you made the list of awesome mash-ups! You rock like always! Now I can’t wait to see my mouse book!