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Viewing: Blog Posts Tagged with: talk, Most Recent at Top [Help]

Results 1 - 25 of 33

1. People-Sketching Workshops for Undergraduates

By: Lynne Chapman, on 5/10/2016
Blog: An Illustrator's Life For Me! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: drawing, talk, workshop, sketching, Urban Sketchers, Add a tag

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2. Singing, Dancing, Drawing, Biscuits!

By: Lynne Chapman, on 2/27/2016
Blog: An Illustrator's Life For Me! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: children, storytelling, school, talk, Class Two at the Zoo, Add a tag

Last Sunday afternoon, I took the train to Cambridge. Actually, 3 trains - bit of a long haul. I nearly got stranded part way there too: overhead cables were down in Retford, all trains going south were suspended and, when I did get going, we spent so long sitting in the middle of nowhere that I had time to do this painting of the view:

It was worth the pain though, for several reasons:

1: I arrived to a home-cooked, Thai, veggie meal and a glass (actually 2 glasses) of wine with my hosts Mr and Mrs Clarke.

2: I was soon to sign squillions of books - hurrah!

3: Best of all, was the fantastic time I had in store next day, with the kids at St John's College School...

Yes, it's the Spring school-visits season and, as well as dancing the cancan with Y1, singing about dragons with Reception, rapping, burping and creating monsters with Y2 (plus of course, reading stories galore and drawing loads on the flip chart)...

... I was also called upon to judge 2 competitions.

The first was the 'Extreme Reading' photo prize. It's something lots of schools do for book week: kids have to bring in pictures of themselves reading in weird and wonderful places. There were so many really imaginative ones, we gave a prize to each year group. My favourites were a girl and her book inserted into the shell of a giant tortoise (how?), a small boy atop a princess-and-the-pea style tower of cushions, pretty much to the ceiling, and a brilliant action-shot of someone reading while turning a cartwheel!

I was also the judge of a Class Two at the Zoo illustration competition. All the children took part. This was the display of some of the hot favourites. Mrs Clarke did a great job - notice how the letters of my name are cut out of sections of Class Two at the Zoo illustrations:

I couldn't possibly choose one winner, so again, we awarded a separate prize for each year. All the winners got a signed copy of the book (with a drawing of the anaconda inside, of course).

Throughout the day, every Rec - KS1 child in the school bought a book, so I worked my socks off, signing in every spare minute.

I didn't mind at all though: it's great to sell so many, as it really helps to keep them in print. Plus, I was fed plenty of biscuits to keep my strength up. Posh ones too. I am a sucker for shortbread:

We finished the day with a PowerPoint talk to Y3 and Y4.

Everyone was so appreciative, I felt very loved. Mrs Clarke, who booked me, said it was the best author visit they had ever had, and they have had a few big names, so I came away glowing like the kid in the Readybrek commercial (remember that?). Here is Mrs Clarke in the library:

Fortunately my train journey home was a lot easier than the trip down. Plus, this time I had a stash of shortbread to keep me going!

A huge thank you to Mr and Mrs Clarke for their hospitality and to everyone at school, for making it such a fun day.

Don't forget kids: keep practising your drawing, because it's like magic - the more you do it, the better you get, until eventually you get so brilliant that you explode (that last bit is a fib, but the rest is true).

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3. Masterclass in Lincoln

By: Lynne Chapman, on 6/20/2014
Blog: An Illustrator's Life For Me! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: SCBWI, illustration, talk, Add a tag

"Are you Lynne Chapman?"

I was spied on the platform at Sheffield Station, sharpening my pencils as I waited for the train. I didn't know Beryl, but she recognised me, because she was on her way to my masterclass for SCBWI in Lincoln! Which was lovely: I didn't get to use my newly sharpened pencils, because we chatted all the way there.

I was met at the other end (thanks Alan) and Beryl and I were driven to The Museum of Lincolnshire Life, which looked really interesting. Unfortunately there was not a spare moment to look round, as I had a very full day.

I did a lecture first, about how I became an illustrator and the various other kinds of work I have done before picture books. Everyone laughed in the right places and asked lots of questions afterwards, so I think they enjoyed it.

The rest of the day was more informal. I had rooted out lots of roughs from Baby Can Bounce!, Bears on the Stairs and Swap!, including my very first sketch sheets, where I write my books in a kind of 'half words, half images' kind of way, trying to capture the ideas that pass through my head, before they escape. We laid these out on a big table and I talked people through them.

I had even found my editor's feedback from Baby Can Bounce!, so we could look at my first roughs, the publisher's comments and my re-roughs together. I thought it was useful for showing the kind of feedback you get. I showed artwork too. Again, lots of discussion and good questions.

After lunch, I talked about my Urban Sketchers work. Again, we gathered around the big table and I took everyone through my sketching kit, demonstrating various tools for them. People were very interested in how I use the watercolour pencils and, as ever, people were fascinated by my Sailor pen.

I took a pile of sketchbooks too, and let people have a good old rummage.

I had a smashing day and met so many lovely people. It makes a real change to talk to grown-ups rather than children. Thanks so much to Addy Farmer at SCBWI for inviting me and to everyone who came, for making it such fun.

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4. 'Picture This!': Meet Me for a Day of Talks in Lincoln...

By: Lynne Chapman, on 6/4/2014
Blog: An Illustrator's Life For Me! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: SCBWI, talk, workshop, Add a tag

I am doing a rare event for adults on Saturday June 14th. If you are free and want to find out more about any aspect of my work, there are still places available.

My talks for adults are thin and far between, and then generally one-off lectures as part of literary festivals, but Picture This! is a very unusual opportunity to hear me talk for much longer and in a broader way, about both my sketching work and my book illustration.

The event has been set up by the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators, but is open to everyone.

The plan is to begin by talking through how I got to where I am now, the different kinds of illustration I tried before I found children’s books, as well as how I got my foot in the door with children's publishing.

I will then be going through the processes involved in creating my picture books, both from the point of view of an author and an illustrator. I will bring plenty of real-life examples of books-in-progress for you to look at, as well as at least a couple of pieces of my pastel artwork. It's so different to see things 'in the flesh'.

After lunch, I'll be sharing my sketchbooks and discussing my work as an Urban Sketchers correspondent.

I'll be talking a little about my educational work with children too and giving advice and practical ideas for any illustrators or authors who want to try doing school visits.

There will be a Q&A after each section, with plenty of opportunities to chat, as the set-up will be intimate and informal, rather than my usual lecture-theatre type of talk.

It is all happening in the Museum of Lincolnshire Life, from 11am - 2.45pm. It costs just £15 (£12 if you are a SCBWI or SoA member). So, given that numbers are limited, you need to get your skates on and get yourself booked in. Email Addy Farmer now, to reserve a place.

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5. Stealing Time on the Beach in Norfolk

By: Lynne Chapman, on 3/24/2014
Blog: An Illustrator's Life For Me! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: drawing, talk, painting, sketchbook, sketching, Add a tag

It's not often that work takes me to the seaside.

As you know, I had a couple of events just outside Norwich last week. I knew the work would be fun, but it's still a 4 hour drive. Which was why we decided to book an extra night's B&B on the nearby coast at Cromer, to make better use of all the travelling.

It's not a part of the country I know, but a librarian I worked with in Leeds recently was born nearby, so she recommended a great guesthouse with a perfect sea view. Not only could we watch the crashing waves, but I had this view down over the pier:

We got up at 5am on Monday morning (ugh) so we could get to Cromer for 10.00 and have a full day to play. We took pot luck with the weather, but it turned out sunny and dry all day. We pottered and ambled along the sand, ate a picnic lunch on the cliff and wandered back across the top, chilling out with the sun on our faces and the wind in our hair (jealous yet?). By 3pm though, John was flagging from the early start and all his driving so, while he went to recuperate, I sat on the pier and sketched.

By then the wind was up. I had to cling onto my book for dear life, to stop it being snatched out of my hands and into the sea. I was also very aware of the pencil-sized gaps between the wooden boards at my feet!

All along the coast they are hard at work, repairing the storm damage. I did a really quick sketch of one of the many diggers on the beach. I was sketching to a soundtrack of sawing and banging. All the pier boarding was being replaced - the sea rose up underneath and simply lifted them all off. It lifted the buildings at the pier gateway too, so they all need rebuilding. So much work, but they are really getting on with it.

The next day was cooler but still nice and we didn't need to get to my event until late afternoon, so we headed the other way down the beach. I did some more sketching, wrapped up in my big coat:

Unfortunately, the rain eventually caught up with us. I was half way through trying to capture all the patterns in the eroded sandy cliff when it started to spit. I held out as it got heavier and heavier, until my sketchbook was starting to get quite wet (as well as me, of course). You can see the rain marks in the paint:

We headed inland to dry off at our next B&B, which turned out to be even lovelier. When I booked White House Farm in Hindolvston, I had no idea it was such an old and beautiful house. A lovely garden too, with lots of different kinds of chickens and a pond full of big frogs. Inside, there was a big soppy dog to greet us, plus lots of cake.

The Book Group talk went really well and it was nice to show everyone the drawings I'd done that very day. People were all really friendly and interested. I stopped and chatted to them afterwards and signed lots of books.

Next morning, my chauffeur dropped me at Reepham School, where I had a brilliant day with the children and got them all drawing too. The time shot by and, before I knew it, John was back to pick me up. We drove back via the coast and grabbed one more brief walk on the marshes with the sea birds, before starting the long drive back.

Good fun, good company, good weather and good sketching in a beautiful part of the world - I think we can call that a great success!

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6. Chauffeur Driven to Norfolk...

By: Lynne Chapman, on 3/20/2014
Blog: An Illustrator's Life For Me! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: storytelling, school, John, talk, workshop, Add a tag

This week I have been back in Norwich. Remember I spoke at the Reading for Pleasure conference there in November?

Well, I visited a couple of local schools while I was there and one of them, Reepham Primary, has invited me back, which is a lovely vote of confidence (thank you Reepham!).

It's a long way to go for one day though. I was originally spending a couple of days in another Norwich school too, but they cancelled on me at the last minute. Not ideal, despite the cancellation fee. But I couldn't let Reepham down, so I'm still going.

Luckily another event has come up: Marilyn Brocklehurst at the much-admired Norfolk Children's Book Centre was supplying books for signing at Reepham School but, as it happens, she also coordinates the Norfolk branch of the Federation of Children's Book Groups. The Federation do all sorts of amazing things to promote reading, not least run the highly acclaimed Red House Book Award.

Marilyn arranged for me to do an author event for the Norfolk group on the evening before my day at Reepham Primary, which has definitely helped to get more value from all that travel time.

I was originally going to take the train but, with the changes to the plan, John volunteered to be my chauffeur instead (an ever-expanding job-description!). We got home last night and I'm declaring today a day of rest, so we'll be putting our feet up, probably with a book and a coffee, quite possibly in a nice local coffee shop. There might even be cake involved...

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7. University Lecture: 'Drawing as Reportage'

By: Lynne Chapman, on 10/6/2012
Blog: An Illustrator's Life For Me! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: drawing, talk, sketchbook, sketching, Hallam University, Add a tag

I get lots of invitations to work with school children, but it's more unusual for me to go into universities. So I'm really pleased that, for several years running, I have been asked to do one-off, inspirational lectures at Sheffield Hallam University, to get the undergraduates fired up about drawing and illustration.

Last Monday afternoon, I talked to the 1st year Graphic Design and Illustration students about 'drawing as reportage' and shared my top tips for sketching out on location.

I discussed things to consider when selecting subject matter, various possible stylistic approaches and the benefits of experimentation. I looked at the advantages and disadvantages of various media and how to make your kit as compact as possible. I suggested techniques for drawing people without attracting attention and ways of gaining the confidence to embrace the attentions of passers-by.

To fall in with this, the students were launched into a project where they have to chose any building in Sheffield and then document it in sketchbooks, not just architecturally, but also looking at the space the building occupies, both inside and out: the happenings, the people, the details of life it encomposes.

In previous years, we have used one of the big lecture theatres, but it can feel a little impersonal. So I was pleased when the uni told me that this time, as there were slightly less students, they wanted to split them into two groups, so we could deliver the lecture in their studio space instead. It was really nice to be able to look them in the eye as I was talking to them. Of course, it meant I had to give two identical 1.5hr lectures, end-to-end. Luckily it went rather smoother than last year!

Before I strutted my stuff though, illustrator/printmaker Sean Gee, a recent graduate of the Hallam degree course, did a short introductory talk about his work: he is going to be helping the students create drypoint etchings for the project, as a culmination of their sketch work. It was lovely to meet him and look at his fabulous screenprints: he was in the audience as a student for one of my earlier lectures!

John came with me too this time (he took the photos) and filmed the whole event, so watch out for highlights on my YouTube channel...

By the way, if you are an illustration student, don't forget, there are now lots of useful resources on my website, not just the various videos of me talking about my sketchbooks and my illustration work, but also highlights from my hot tips blog posts, gathered together, as well as short, anecdotal analyses of aspects of specific book projects, in the Getting it Right section.

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8. Poetry Friday in the Classroom

By: Mary Lee, on 9/7/2012
Blog: A Year of Reading (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Poetry Friday, Teaching, Talk, Add a tag

For my mini-lesson today in Reading Workshop, I'll project the 5th grade Week 2 poem from
The Poetry Friday Anthology (Common Core ALL GRADES (K-5) e-book) (The Poetry Friday Anthology E-book Series (Grade-by-Grade))
It's a fun poem by Irene Latham in the voice of a backpack. It will get us talking about personification.

And about that talk...I've had great success with what Ellin Keene calls "Open Forum" in her book, Talk About Understanding: Rethinking Classroom Talk to Enhance Comprehension
When we're sitting in a circle (in chairs or on the floor) and I call for an "Open Forum" discussion, it lets the students know that they will "pass the conversational ball" from student to student, rather than every comment going through me. They do not raise their hands to take turns. After the first person speaks, the next person says that person's name, along with a statement of agreement or disagreement, or some other conversational segue. ("Billy, I agree with what you said about your backpack. I had the same thing happen one time...")

During the independent reading time on Poetry Friday, students read poetry alone or with a partner (or two). The goal is for everyone to participate in the oral reading of a poem at the end of the period during share time. Eventually, we will work together to develop a rubric to use for self- and teacher-evaluation of their presentations, but at the beginning, it's all for fun.

Last week, I limited the students to only the books in my poetry collection by Douglas Florian and J. Patrick Lewis, so this week I will choose books by topic -- perhaps only putting out books of nature poetry from which to choose. And, in keeping with the poem in the mini-lesson, we'll keep our eyes peeled for examples of personification the poems we read.

Poetry Friday is fairly informal and definitely a lot of fun. Even if you don't have a large collection of poetry in your classroom library, you can check 20-30 books out of your school or public library and be ready to have fun reading poetry once a week throughout the school year. Infect your class with your enthusiasm for having fun with poetry!

For fun with Poetry Friday on the blogs, go to Katya's blog, Write. Sketch. Repeat. for the Poetry Friday roundup of posts.

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9. Have we posted this before? Maybe, but it’s worth watching...

By: John, on 5/29/2012
Blog: DRAWN! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: creativity, talk, presentation, John Cleese, Graham Linehan, Add a tag

Have we posted this before? Maybe, but it’s worth watching again: John Cleese’s wonderful talk on creativity (circa 1991 (?), and found on the Google+ profile of The IT Crowd creator Graham Linehan). It’s about a half-hour long, but you can play it in the background.

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10. All that Talk....

By: Chris Verstraete, on 2/20/2012
Blog: ACME AUTHORS LINK (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: talk, book promo, book blurb, Add a tag

One thing I've noticed about book promotion. There's a lot of talking going on.

New book. Buy. See. Sign up, etc.

Everywhere you turn - Facebook, LinkedIn, blogs... it's authors-- promoting to others, yes, but doesn't it seem sometimes like you are promoting to other authors, or talking to yourself?

Authors with backlists have endless promos, some good, some funny, some just never-ending.

Sometimes you stop simply since you feel like you're talking too much. You know, me, me, me.

So, what do you find to be the best promos?

What promos do you like - and admit it, hate?

What turns you off as a reader, or author?

Yes, you can talk. Please speak your mind!

2 Comments on All that Talk...., last added: 2/23/2012

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11. Public Talks about Children's Book Illustration

By: Lynne Chapman, on 2/15/2012
Blog: An Illustrator's Life For Me! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: talk, exhibition, Bears on the Stairs, libraries, Add a tag

People sometimes ask me when I am doing events which are open to the general public, rather than in schools. Well, I have several coming up really soon: on Tues Feb 21st in Oldham, on the evening of Fri Feb 24th in Batley, and two on Sat Feb 25th: in Holmforth in the morning and then Huddersfield after lunch.

At 1pm in Oldham Library, I will be giving a 1hr lecture, 'A Life in Pictures', on children's book illustration and how I starting out. I'll also look at some of the other illustration work I've done before finding my way to books, and look in detail at my recent book Bears on the Stairs. It's like an extended version of the short film on my website.

This event is linked to the exhibition of children's book illustration currently in Oldham: Picture This! If you would like to attend, please contact Oldham Library on 0161 770 8014.

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12. Becket School: Workshops with Older Kids

By: Lynne Chapman, on 12/13/2011
Blog: An Illustrator's Life For Me! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: children, school, talk, workshop, pencil, sketchbook, sketching, roughs, characterisation, sketching on the train, Big Bad Wolf is Good, hot tips, Add a tag

Last week, it made a nice change to work for 2 days in a secondary school. They are so BIG compared to primary schools!

I visited Becket School this time last year, but it took some doing: thick snow stopped all trains for a while. They invited me back this year and it did start to snow again, but fortunately we got away with it.

I was working the whole 2 days with Y7 students (1st years). We started with a lecture to them all - around 170. Above I am talking about characterisation: how you can use pointy or round shapes to suggest evil or vulnerable creatures, and how carefully chosen clothing can give hints to a character's personality.
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13. Illustration Exhibition: Giant Children's Jigsaws

By: Lynne Chapman, on 12/11/2011
Blog: An Illustrator's Life For Me! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: storytelling, talk, exhibition, artwork, Giddy Goat, An Itch to Scratch, Add a tag

Sadly, my one man show in Salford, Llamas in Pyjamas, has come down now, but the mixed show, Picture This!, has just opened at Gallery Oldham - hurrah! Things have been so crazy-busy that I haven't been to see it yet, but Anna, the curator, has sent me a couple of photos of the huge, vertical jigsaws they have created from a couple of my illustrations.

The first is my hairy friend Big Gorilla from An Itch to Scratch, written by my slightly less hairy friend Damian Harvey:

On the other side of the board, is another jigsaw, created from a spread from Giddy Goat by Jamie Rix:

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14. I’m giving a talk this Sunday, October 2 at the Norman...

By: John, on 9/28/2011
Blog: DRAWN! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Norman Rockwell Museum, Jaleen Grove, russell patterson, Illustration, Talk, Add a tag

I’m giving a talk this Sunday, October 2 at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, on the great jazz-era illustrator Russell Patterson. It’s titled Sex, Booze, and All That Jazz, and I promise to wear an awesome outfit.

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15. I’m giving a talk on Robert Weaver Thursday 29 Sept in St...

By: John, on 9/28/2011
Blog: DRAWN! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: robert weaver, jaleen grove, illustration, talk, Add a tag

I’m giving a talk on Robert Weaver Thursday 29 Sept in St Louis - free!

http://wulibraries.typepad.com/whatsnew/2011/09/blind-spots-robert-weaver-and-juxtapositions-of-art-and-illustration.html

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16. Books instead of Toads

By: Lynne Chapman, on 6/28/2011
Blog: An Illustrator's Life For Me! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: libraries, storytelling, school, talk, workshop, pencil, sketchbook, sketching on the train, Add a tag

Can you imagine: you're sitting on the loo, doing your business, when a great, warty toad plops into your lap?! Well, it might have happened at Padfield School, because the space that's now full of books was once a grotty old loo, so damp they had resident toads and newts! No, really.

I was at Padfield all day Friday, doing a talk, a storytelling and a workshop, then cutting a yellow ribbon to open their lovely new library. Everyone at the school has apparently been fundraising like crazy for ages to pay for it, and are so proud of what they've achieved. And rightly so - well done guys!

The school itself is in a truly beautiful location, surrounded by hills and meadows, in Derbyshire. The children have a proper allotment and access to a wood. Inner-city it's not! I did this quick sketch from the staff room window, but it doesn't do it justice:

Actually, I nearly didn't make it: I went down with a cold (again) on Wednesday and had been feeling quite rough all Thursday, but I didn't want to let them down, as they had the press coming and everything. As it turned out, I felt better than expected and we had a fun day. The children were SO excited and everyone gave their all. At 2pm, I wielded my ribbon-cutting scissors, and chatted to parents invited especially to view the library. Then I signed books. And signed books. I sold every single one from my loaded suitcase and took it home empty. Thanks so much Padfield.

It took so long that I thought I was going to miss my tr

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17. Open Talk: An Illustrator's Life For Me!

By: Lynne Chapman, on 6/13/2011
Blog: An Illustrator's Life For Me! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: hot tips, libraries, illustration, talk, Add a tag

I sometimes get emails, asking if I ever do talks for adults that are open to the public. It's unfortunately not something I do that often (though I'm always happy to...), but this month I have been invited by The Friends of Harrogate Library and the Harrogate Children’s Book Group, to give a lecture:

AN ILLUSTRATOR'S LIFE FOR ME!

It will be at Harrogate Library on Saturday 25th June 2011 from 2.45 - 3.45pm.

The lecture is about my work and the making of picture books. It follows the life of a book from the germ of an idea to the bookshop. I look at character development, the evolution of ideas, creating pastel artwork, pre and post-artwork design, production methods and publicity. I also look at some of the hilarious and frustrating effects of foreign markets.

And it's of course stuffed to bursting with illustrations (just like this similar talk I do, pitched at kids):

Tickets are £3.00 (HCBG members free). Please pre-book though, as they tell me places are limited.

1 Comments on Open Talk: An Illustrator's Life For Me!, last added: 6/14/2011

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18. Still on the Go...

By: Lynne Chapman, on 3/21/2011
Blog: An Illustrator's Life For Me! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: storytelling, school, talk, workshop, festivals, Add a tag

I had a fabulous week last week, in Shropshire and then Leicester, working with kids.

Once again I had to pack my suitcase. I was away from home for all except 1 night, so it was especially nice that everybody was very kind and looked after me really, really well. A special 'thank you' to Sophie Peach, the driving force behind the wonderful Shrewsbury Bookfest who, despite all the balls she had in the air, still made sure I had company for dinner every night I was there.

I visited 6 schools in 5 days! I was on the tail end of a cold all week, blowing my nose left, right and centre and, once again, was in fear of losing my voice. It got really quite shaky around Tuesday lunchtime. I tried my best not to push it too far and, miraculously, this time I survived. Phew.

The children were, without exception, all smashing. It's been fun as well, to have a fair bit of variety, lectures, workshops, storytellings - I have been with 4 year olds and 13 years olds and more or less everything in between!

Unfortunately there is no time to tell you much more, or to say hello to my new friends individually, as I have to be off again at first light tomorrow morning, for another 2 days away, this time I'm staying overnight with a kind teacher, to visit Allerton Bywater Primary School in Garforth, near Leeds.

By the time you read this, it will be well underway...

As you can see, last week's adventures meant I had lots of opportunity for train sketching again (hurrah!). These drawings are just some I did on Friday's journey to and from Leicester - I haven't had time to scan the Shrewsbury ones yet.

It's another almost as

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19. Lecture: Using a Sketchbook

By: Lynne Chapman, on 1/16/2011
Blog: An Illustrator's Life For Me! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: talk, pencil, sketchbook, Sheffield, Urban Sketchers, Hallam University, drawing, Add a tag

Something else I've been beavering away at on the sly, is a PowerPoint lecture about my sketchbook work...

I was invited to talk on Reportage Drawing at Hallam University (where I've done occasional bits of Life Drawing teaching over the last couple of years). It sounded like good fun but, though I do sneak the odd sketchbook drawing into my lectures, I've never done a talk exclusively about sketching before.

Preparing has proved a real labour of love. It's forced me to really analyse how I work, as well as what I choose to draw and why. I've had to take a step back and think about explaining many things I've learned to take for granted. It's also been brilliant timing, as I have been turning a lot of the same information over in my head for my part in the Urban Sketcher's book.

The worst bit is always gauging the timing - I have a tendency to add-lib once I get excited. I have been practising, delivering the lecture to thin air (or to poor, long-suffering John). Luckily, doing this as a one-off lecture (rather than part of a packed timetable in a school or festival) I was allowed plenty of time.

Last Tuesday afternoon, I took myself, my memory stick and a few sketchbooks to Hallam Uni, and was shown to a nice, posh lecture theatre: all padded seats and high-technology. I'm so lucky that I don't really suffer with nerves on such occasions, so I enjoyed myself immensely.

The students all listened and laughed in the right places. When I'd finished, I asked for questions. They all sat mute. One lad finally put his hand up. His question: 'Can you do my project work for me please?'

I invited them to come down to the front, and look at the actual sketchbooks. For a moment, it looked like they might just all shuffle off, then suddenly a couple got up the courage, then it was a deluge (phew!). They gathered round, chatting excitedly, and several said they were off to buy a sketchbo

5 Comments on Lecture: Using a Sketchbook, last added: 1/16/2011

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20. The History of The Beat, WordPress, and Media Temple

By: Heidi MacDonald, on 1/2/2011
Blog: PW -The Beat (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Blogosphere, Tech, Meta, Talk, Add a tag

Be forewarned: Unless you are interested in nitty gritty web crap stuff, this post is NOT for you. In fact, if you don’t like it, I suggest skipping down to the section called “So what have we learned here?”

Although this is going to be as nerdy as shit, in the hopes that others who find themselves faced with the same challenges as I have met may google this and find some guidance. For those who don’t want to wade through it, there are two lessons to be learned:

1) OWN AS MUCH OF YOUR CONTENT AS YOU CAN.

2) DON’T BE AFRAID TO LEARN

So…

A Seven Year Journey

The Beat started, if I remember correctly, in July of 2004. (Aside: Jesus Christ — six and a half years of daily blogging.) It was hosted at Comicon.com and, after a very brief struggle with a CMS called Greymatter

, mainly used Movable Type as the blogging platform. Seven years ago, MT and WordPress were competitors for the blogging crown; MT at the time was a bit wonky and unstable. Several crashes slowed things down and I even lost about two months of blogging at one point. I was a web neophyte at that time and Comicon’s mastermind Steve Conley had wisely given me extremely limited access to the backend — The Beat was hosted at a massive ginormous site that housed many other subsites and tinkering was out of the question.

Eventually I got a fantastic offer from Publishers Weekly to move The Beat and actually get PAID to blog, so I moved over, and switched to WordPress which I was very happy with — I was already using the blogging client Ecto

, which I found super useful, and WP had even more functionality. That was Spring, 2006. Reed Business International, PW’s parent company, was going headlong into this “web” thing, and they were adding blogs, and it all made a lot of sense for everyone involved.

As time went on, of course, problems arose — because no popular website is ever static, and amazingly, it turned out that the “Web operations” department at Reed Business “did not support WordPress.” As in they wouldn’t do ANYTHING to fix or upgrade the site. That’s because most of their site and some of their blogs were run on a ghastly Web 0.9 software called eLogic

, which RBI owned, along with Variety, Library Journal, School Library Journal, and many other B2B magazines. In some ways, I could understand sticking with the home product. But it made no sense for contemporary content management, especially something as dynamic as a daily blog. Even with no support, this was the Golden Age of blogging and The Beat’s traffic soared — to the point where it was soon nearly

15 Comments on The History of The Beat, WordPress, and Media Temple, last added: 1/3/2011
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Allyn Gibson said, on 1/2/2011 1:57:00 PM
As for the slow loading time and massive memory drain — this was all due to a script in theme, Daily Edition, specifically the one that automatically resizes the front page image to create a thumbnail.
I ran into a similar issue with my WordPress blog. I’d upload an image, then link the image as a thumbnail, and even though the image was already the right size, a WordPress plugin insisted on resizing the thing.
What I settled on doing…
1) I scrapped the plugin entirely, and instead recoded the thumbnail line of code in my index.php file to call the image directly, at the proper (hardcoded) size.
2) I also stopped using WordPress’ media upload routine. It’s quicker for me, honestly, to just open an FTP client, stick the image where I want, and then handcode the URL to the image.
These two things, taken together, have speeded up the load on the front page of my blog.
Another thing you may want to do, if you’re got nasty overhead, is to turn off Post Revisions — assuming you don’t need to roll back a post (a la Wikipedia), that is. Post Revisions can really clog up your WordPress database; every little punctuation change results in a new record in the database. If you turn off post revisions and delete the revision records from the SQL database, you’ll have a leaner, meaner database.
Mike Everleth said, on 1/2/2011 2:57:00 PM
This is an amazing post! I think it’s great when masters of their own domain (ahem) reveal their personal battles, defeats and wins.
As a fellow webmaster — although my site gets waaaaayyy less traffic than yours — there’s one overall theme to this post that is incredibly true:
When things go to hell on your own website, it’s painfully devastating. BUT, the best thing about experiencing a catastrophic disaster, it teaches you so much more about how your own system runs! And by being tenacious enough to recover, it gives you so much more confidence in your own abilities to be your own boss.
So, I enthusiastically endorse your position that one should own what one creates. The Beat is one of my favorite websites — and I don’t even really read that many comics anymore! — and I’m glad to hear that all these negative experiences have added up to one big positive one for you.
The Beat rules.
Mike Everleth said, on 1/2/2011 3:09:00 PM
Also, in addition to what Allyn says:
I second his image management and revision control tips. But, I also recommend using a database management plugin that lets you frequently optimize.
And you might want to look into a “Mobile Edition” plugin, so that your full site doesn’t load on iPhones, etc.
The Beat said, on 1/2/2011 3:27:00 PM
Mike, that’s a great idea for the mobile version. I didn’t know that was just a plugin. We’ll look into it.
Allyn: rewriting code is where I get hopelessly lost. But hopefully my webguys will know how to do it.
david brothers said, on 1/2/2011 4:30:00 PM
This was a really good read. I got a crash course in MySQL and server overhead earlier this year when 4thletter! started acting up. It was crazy stressful, but I’m better for having done it.
Bruce said, on 1/2/2011 6:45:00 PM
Heidi, that was super interesting to read, and I agree, learning to do it yourself, as much as is reasonable of course, is always the way to go.
For the iPhone version, check out the WP plugin called WPTouch. It might be what you are looking for.
And I second Mike’s motion, The Beat most certainly rocks!
CitizenCliff said, on 1/2/2011 6:58:00 PM
I thought it was a pretty interesting read. Love the whole DIY effort! Glad the site it running smoothly,it’s one of my all-time favorites!
Steven Taylor said, on 1/2/2011 7:34:00 PM
PUNK!!!!
Steven Taylor said, on 1/2/2011 7:35:00 PM
…and I mean that in the most positive way!
Kelson said, on 1/2/2011 7:56:00 PM
Great write-up! And a great point about making sure you own your content, not just legally but logically, in a format that you can take with you. This is one reason I prefer blogging with an open CMS to relying on services like Facebook or Twitter. You never know when they’ll fall out of fashion — or even go out of business — and take your entire archive with them.
I’m going through some similar server problems at Speed Force, trying to figure out just what’s causing various spikes now that I’ve moved away from a server I actually managed myself (my previous employer was a web host that recently shut down).
I’ll third the recommendation for a mobile plugin. In addition to Bruce’s suggestion of WPTouch, I’ve had success with WordPress Mobile Edition by Crowd Favorite. That’s what I’m using on Speed Force and K-Squared Ramblings these days, and I can vouch that it works with both WP-SuperCache and W3 Total Cache.
toby cypress said, on 1/2/2011 10:53:00 PM
Really great article. Thanks for taking the time to explain. I was very curious how things started here, and your experience building The Beat.
Thanks!
~T.

David Quinn said, on 1/3/2011 4:21:00 AM
Appreciate your characteristic candor and details… and will continue to appreciate as I read!
Torsten Adair said, on 1/3/2011 4:58:00 AM
Yup, tinkering with code and getting ito work can be highly satisfying…I caught that bug back in 1982 with a black Apple.
My only quibble is the lack of a mobile version. I scroll past 20+ screens of the top menus, which are rendered VERTICALLY in their entiretly, submenus and all.
Thanks for the look behind the curtain.
Rich Johnston said, on 1/3/2011 5:29:00 AM
I’ve sacrificed ownership for increased pay. You’d think I’d know better but right now it’s what I need, I work part time on Bleeding Cool and part time on advertising, and it pays me a London family salary. I have a flat being let out that covers the mortgage to hopefully see us okay in my old age. Oh and I may be writing one of the better selling comic books this year. But then I won’t own that either. Clearly I have not learned the lessons of the past.
robberry said, on 1/3/2011 5:34:00 AM
A great post on the many roadblocks, and advantages, that come with managing your own content in a changing world of new delivery systems. I can definitely identify with the frustration; when we started thinking about ULYSSES ‘SEEN” I barely knew how to type.
I’d be interested in hearing any follow up you might have to this regarding “profit and loss” strategies. Blogging is a tough business without some backing and no one seems very certain about how the ad-supported model still works. THE BEAT isn’t overly ad-heavy, which is great for readers like me, but can it sustain itself on ad revenue?
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21. Down to Earth & Up to Speed

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By: Lynne Chapman, on 11/18/2010
Blog: An Illustrator's Life For Me! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Sarah McIntyre, SCBWI, conference, talk, Mini Grey, Marcus Sedgwick, sketching on the train, Jason Chapman, When You're Not Looking, Add a tag

My text rework is still going OK, so I feel I have earned the time to scan in some more of my train sketches and talk to you properly about the conference.

As well as the lovely Tim Hopgood, I also met Sarah McIntyre, whose illustrated characters are hilarious (and whose glasses I am SO planning to steal...).

Sarah took amazing, picture-book style notes throughout the conference. You can see more of them on her blog but here's just one of the sheets she did at Tim's talk:

She also sketched her own take on my conference space chicken:

In the conference bookshop, I discovered a new, favourite picture book, by Jason Chapman (sadly, no relation), called Stan and Mabel, which manages to combine beautiful, painterly backgrounds with great, cartoon animals characters. It also has the funniest endpapers I've seen in ages - go and have a look!

By the way: if you're looking for charity Christmas cards, Stan and Mabel star in their own range in aid of Battersea Dog's Home.

I met Jason in person at the celebration party on Saturday night, so was able to congratulate him. It was a rather classy affair, with a string quartet, free champers and colour-coordinated balloons everywhere.

5 Comments on Down to Earth & Up to Speed, last added: 11/19/2010
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Candy Gourlay said, on 11/18/2010 7:40:00 AM
It was a great conference and you were a great keynote! In fact, one of the best!
Lynne Chapman said, on 11/18/2010 8:11:00 AM
Wow - thank you Candy: praise indeed! I'm so pleased.
Jason Chapman said, on 11/19/2010 4:53:00 AM
Hi Lynne, thank you for the big fat Stanley and Mabel mention and links on your lovely blog. It was really lovely to meet you at the Winchester party - I'm a BIG admirer of your work so it was a real thrill!
Our shared surname - someone at the party mentioned that a few people thought we were married but had had an argument because we weren't spending the evening hand in hand!
Only wish I'd been there for your talk - sounds inspiring.
Lynne Chapman said, on 11/19/2010 5:12:00 AM
LOL! That's brilliant, wish I'd known - we could have played it up...
sea-blue-sky & abstracts said, on 11/19/2010 12:19:00 PM
Terrific drawings - you make it look so easy Lynne!
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22. From Impotence to Singing Cats!

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By: Lynne Chapman, on 10/10/2010
Blog: An Illustrator's Life For Me! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: interview, publisher, illustration, authors, publishing, talk, sketchbook, editorial, pastels, Gullane, The Show at Rickety Barn, hot tip, Add a tag

I'm still on the go: it's the Cheltenham Festival today so, while I'm away, here is the last of the short films I have to show you. It's sort of a prequel to the others, as it's me talking about how I came to be a children's book illustrator.

I talk about the textile designing and editorial work I did before I discovered children's books and how I got my first picture book commission. It lasts nearly 8 minutes:

If you missed the previous films here are links:

How to illustrate a book part 1
How to illustrate a book part 2
Keeping a sketchbook
see my work at www.lynnechapman.co.uk

2 Comments on From Impotence to Singing Cats!, last added: 10/11/2010
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cassia said, on 9/22/2010 9:38:00 AM
Brilliant, Lynne. Really interesting and educational. Also, lovely to see you in action!

BTW, the 'becoming an illustrator' link under the vid works, but clicking on the vid doesn't. Just so you know.
Lynne Chapman said, on 10/11/2010 12:40:00 AM
Thanks Cass - set this up while I was away and so on'y just found out it's not working. Will try and sort!
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23. Shadowing the Greenaway

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By: Lynne Chapman, on 7/2/2010
Blog: An Illustrator's Life For Me! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: awards, illustration, school, talk, illustrators, Viviane Schwarz, David Roberts, Freya Blackwood, Kate Greenaway, Add a tag

The Greenaway Medal is a very prestigious annual award for children's picture books, which specifically awards excellent illustration. It has been going since 1955 and is named after the popular 19th century illustrator Kate Greenaway:

The prize is not just kudos either: as well as their medal, the winner gets £500 worth of books donated to the library of their choice, plus the £5000 Colin Mears Award: a bequest left by the Worthing based accountant and children's book collector. Not bad eh?

This year's winner is Freya Blackwood for Harry & Hopper. It is an extremely poignant and sad story about loss, written by Margaret Wild.

I particularly like the way Freya manages to retain the vigour and purity of her original sketches in the final artwork.

This is a constant battle for illustrators, one that most of us lose, at least a little. No matter how well the final image works, there is invariable some freshness lost from the first drawings. It's generally not apparent unless you see the two versions alongside, so most people don't notice, but the artist knows.

Every year, schools and libraries all over the UK 'shadow' the Greenaway, asking children to read the shortlisted books and vote for themselves - it's interesting to see if the winner comes out the same!

The librarian at Lady Manners School in Derbyshire asked me to be part of a shadowing on Thursday. I met the 5 invited primary schools and gave talks to the children about my work.

The day was a huge success and very interesting. Each child had been asked to design a mask, based on their personal favourite, and I awarded prizes to the best 6. There were group discussions and then children slipped their votes into a ballot box.

We ha

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24. A Mouldy Day at Dean Clough

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By: Lynne Chapman, on 5/29/2010
Blog: An Illustrator's Life For Me! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: illustration, authors, talk, workshop, fine art, Caryl Hart, Chris Mould, Add a tag

A title to keep you guessing, eh?

Well, 'Mouldy' is fab author/illustrator Chris Mould, currently Artist in Residence at Dean Clough, a gargantuan, restored carpet mill, now a business and arts complex in Halifax. That's Chris above, in his studio space at the mill.

I absolutely love Chris's drawings, so it was wonderful to visit Dean Clough on Wednesday and see his room wallpapered in spidery, biro roughs.

The day came about because Chris invited author Caryl Hart and myself to give a short talk about our work to students on an art and illustration course, run by painter John Ross (he in the befittingly arty beret!):

After lunch, Chris took Caryl and myself on a tour of Dean Clough's galleries, introducing us to other Artists-in-Residence, who very kindly showed us their studio spaces and work in progress.

I was particularly taken with the gorgeous colours and textures in Doug Binder's paintings (his space was filled with that lovely oil-paint smell that reminded me of my Grandad's painting shed):

It has been a very busy, but smashing week: Monday in Nottingham, Tuesday in London (more later), Wednesday in Halifax and, as you read this, I will be at Ireby Music Festival in the Lake District. This time I will be in the audience for once! I packed a sketchbook though...
see my work at www.lynnechapman.co.uk

4 Comments on A Mouldy Day at Dean Clough, last added: 6/1/2010
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Damian Harvey said, on 5/29/2010 9:03:00 AM
That looks like a good day out Lynne. Nice seeing a picture of Chris's studio - he's looking busy. I do like his work... quite a talented chap.
Lisa Graves said, on 5/29/2010 12:34:00 PM
this is an amazing post!!!
Lynne Chapman said, on 5/30/2010 11:05:00 AM
Thank you Lisa!

Yes Damian, he seems a very busy bunny indeed!
Jon Davis said, on 6/1/2010 4:46:00 AM
Really interesting post.
Great to see Chris's studio papered with roughs, very inspiring :)
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25. Across the Pennines for World Book Day!

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By: Lynne Chapman, on 3/4/2010
Blog: An Illustrator's Life For Me! (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Julia Jarman, sketching on the train, storytelling, school, talk, workshop, World Book Day, sketchbook, Add a tag

Over 13 million £1 book tokens have been distributed to school children across the UK, because today is World Book Day, and the biggest annual celebration of books and reading in the UK. Hurray!

Which is why I've been invited into so many schools this week...

Monday: I kicked off with a day at Roundthorne Primary in Oldham. I took the train across the Pennines and did these sketches on the way. It started off really misty but burned off into a lovely, sunny day, which makes it a fantastically beautiful run, though I spent most of it with my nose in my sketchbook, as you can see.

Tuesday: closer to home, at a dinky little village school: Barlow Primary. A lovely, varied day and lots of fun. The finale was a drawing demo for all the juniors, giving away the drawings as prizes for children to take home. Thank you so much to Mrs Wolstenholme and Mrs Broad for giving me a lift to school and bringing me home.

Wednesday: in the studio, catching up and catching my breath - phew!

Today / Friday / Saturday: off again, at 6.30am, back across the Pennines to Tameside, to visit Yew Tree Primary. By the time you read this, I will be giving it my all, with a PowerPoint lecture to all the older children.

But instead of coming home at the end, I'm taking a train directly to Bedford, where I am staying a couple of nights with friend and author Julia Jarman, and doing 2 further days of events down that way.

All being well, I should finally return home about 6.30 on Saturday night. I'll fill you in on the gossip about all that later (if I have any energy left!). Don't think I'll be out on the town that evening, do you?
see my work at www.lynnechapman.co.ukDisplay Comments
Damian Harvey said, on 3/4/2010 1:25:00 AM
I hope your book week travels are going well Lynne. I'm sat at home with my feet up this year :-( Good to hear your staying with Julia - give her my love.

x
Anonymous said, on 3/7/2010 5:51:00 AM
Thank you for a fantastic day! The children are still buzzing from it!
My class have done some drawings to send you!

Mrs Broad (Barlow Primary)
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