By: Mark G. Mitchell,
on 5/25/2013
So what is musician-performer-dancer-composer Lindsey Stirling doing on this blog about children’s book illustration? She’s an artist but she works in a different medium. She hasn’t published a children’s picture book. (Not yet, anyway, but give her time.) I’m sharing this video of her 2011 tune Shadows, because twenty-two million YouTube viewers are not wrong […]
By: Mark G. Mitchell,
on 8/9/2011
Illustrators can now jump with both feet into digital publishing with the help of some free software and a contest launched by InteractBooks.com
“What better way to showcase all that our InteractBuilder e-book software can do on the iPad and iPhone than holding a contest to find the very best interactive book it can make?” asks the Interact Books website .
“And who better than you to produce this book by using your developer talent and our app software for the Mac and PC?”
A Youtube video doesn’t do the reading experience justice, but an actual iPad encounter with The Tortoise and the Hairpiece by Don Winn, illustrated by Toby Heflin and distributed on the Apple iTunes store demonstrates how the touch screen interactions and subtle animations of an interactive book (let’s call it an i-book) make for a whole new storytelling language.
I-books or interactive e-books aren’t quite the same as the e-books now making headlines for trouncing paperbacks in sales at Amazon.com.
They’re a new animal — maybe a new art form, and it may be months or even years before anyone knows where this fusion of interactivity and literacy is going, aesthetically or commercially speaking. Developers and a few publishers are delving into the format, but no leader for an interactive book-building engine or platform has emerged — yet.
In the meantime Austin, Texas based-InteractBooks wants to push the innovation timeline up a little by launching the first ever contest for an interactive children’s book. Entries must be built with their free InteractBuilder software.
First place prize – 16gb white or black WIFI iPad2, or $500. lnteractBooks will also publish your title and give you a three year membership in the InteractBuilder community (a $300 value)
All runners up and anyone entering the contest with an InteractBuilder-approved book will have a free year’s membership in the InteractBooks builders community.
The deadline is September 18 and the winner will be announced October 1, which doesn’t give you much time.
That’s why the InteractBook folks are encouraging illustrators and authors to mull over the books they’ve already done, published or unpublished, with pictures and text ready to go — and see how they might adapt their story to this new media
By: Greg Leitich Smith,
on 7/5/2011
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| Jeff read from WIENER WOLF at BookPeople |
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By: Just One More Book!!,
on 8/23/2008
Author: Jeff Crosby & Shelley Ann Jackson
Illustrator: Shelley Ann Jackson & Jeff Crosby
Published: 2008 Tundra Books (on JOMB)
ISBN: 0887768156
Rich, realistic, edge-to-edge illustrations full of action, maps and lovable hounds combine with history, humour and friendly, accessible text to provide the full scoop on 43 canine breeds in this quickly dog-eared non-fiction tome.
This episode includes contributions from our daughter, Lucy.
More Dogs on JOMB:
Maybe instead of ‘ball’, I’ll do the same with the word ‘nut’… Also like the illustrations in Grandfather Gandhi – bold, but subtle in layered ways. Nice.
Mark, this is a wonderful post!! Thank you for the inspiration. AND how generous of you to share the other illustration courses. I have to add a plug for YOUR course which you humbly mentioned last. Mark’s course, Make Your Splashes; Make Your Marks!, was career and confidence changing for me! I feel so much more equipped to enter into the world of picture book publishing. Mark teaches a little history, as well as the craft itself and watercolor instruction that empowered me like never before. Reasonably priced and paced to your pocket book and schedule DO NOT MISS THIS excellent class. Mark is always encouraging and gives personal input and feedback. You will grow as an illustrator!