Books for Christmas #1 Princess Betony and the Unicorn

Princess Betony and the Unicorn by Pamela Freeman, illustrated by Tamsin Ainslie (Walker Books)  This is a teeny book that appeals to the little girl in me who also loves dollhouses, Sylvanian Families, The Borrowers and other such things, and with delicate illustrations and all things magical it's a little treasure that I'd want to hide away in a pocket to be enjoyed in any spare moment. The chimes in the book trailer are the perfect sound effect you hear in your head when you open the pages. As soon as I read the first few pages set in a library I was hooked!
It's priced at NZ$20, which might seem a bit much for a tiny book but it's hardcovered with a dust jacket and thus destined for a long life. 6-9.

Graphic Design and all that

For the past three years I've been spending much of my time at Unitec, studying for a degree in graphic design and animation.
It's nearly coming to an end, in fact I have six days to go until my final hand in on 22 November, followed by the party night on 29 November when the grad show will show our work in all its glory.
Anyone is welcome to come and look at my work, and all the other student work on show that night, both in my department at Unitec, and the other parts of the design school - painting, interior design, architecture, photography and all that. It's quite a night and well worth getting along to. I've been to many in the ten years that Neil has worked at Unitec and it's amazing that this time my own work will be there.

If you're interested in reading about what I've been doing (and others in my class) you can go to our class blog at www.gda2012.wordpress.com There are a number of aspects you can look at: On the front page you will find each class member and you can see the text and illustrations from a conference presentation we gave earlier in the year about what we have been working on and the research behind it. In more depth you will see several sections on the left hand side which groups us into the types of projects we have been involved in - I'm in Hybrid Media, which mixes up a bit of everything. Find my name there and it will take you to the main piece of writing about my research and making this year.

Still to come is a downloadable pdf of my portfolio which will be up by 29th, and also some external projects I've worked on this year that were graphic design related.

It's been an incredible three years, the most intense of which has been the last few weeks and we strive to produce the best results we can. None of it would be achieved without the fantastic tutors and technicians who help us make it all happen and I can't thank them enough for what they've helped me achieve; more than I ever imagined was possible.

Here's a glimpse of my new book:

NZ Children's Books in Print 2011-12

The new edition of New Zealand Children's Books in Print is out now. It includes books currently in print at the end of 2011, and many from 2012 too. Titles are for children from birth to secondary school and written and/or illustrated by New Zealanders, living both at home and abroad. Books are divided into categories including picture books, graphic novels, junior/intermediate/senior fiction, natural history and resources for teachers and parents. It retails in New Zealand for $20 including gst and postage. Email orders to books@silvertone.co.nz or purchase through the website using Paypal.

Fresh and new NZ Children's Books in Print 2010-11

At last the new edition of New Zealand Children's Books in Print is out. This edition has been a labour of love with a new broom sweeping through all its layers; from building the new database to laying out using my new design programme. Fraser Williamson's illustration is still on the cover - it's so contemporary and I now totally identify with it so it's staying. The colour in the background was the Pantone colour of the year for 2010 - called Honeysuckle.
Inside the covers are 120 pages of books for children from birth to secondary school age, written and/or illustrated by New Zealanders. Listings are to the end of 2010 plus some titles out and coming in 2011 - with the month noted so you know when to expect them.
The price is unchanged - NZ$20 and I'm happy to send out orders with an invoice.

New edition of NZ Children's Books in Print

Work is in progress for the next edition of NZ Children's Books in Print. There are a few changes taking place, the main one being that new editions will now come out at the beginning of the New Zealand school year (beginning of February), rather than the end.

The next edition will include children's books by NZ authors and illustrators released up until the end of 2010. An added bonus for publishers and users is that publishers will also be able to include listings of new books they have coming out in 2011 (this is optional) which will be marked with the month they are to be published.

Advertising bookings are being taken now. If you are interested in taking out an ad take a look at the advertising rates which you can click through to near the top of the page.

Printing Buniboy

I've been experimenting with using my new silkscreen and thought the character from my book would be a good place to start. Two colours, black and red, onto white. I'd been told I could use a stencil with my screen, which I thought I'd start with rather than the photographic process which I couldn't do at home. It was not very successful, the stencil material seemed a bit thick, but I did manage a few recognisable prints. Then I thought I'd try using my stencil with spray paint, which worked much better, though he now has a pink jumper due to lack of red spray paint. So here is Buniboy - the illustrated version from the book, the screenprinted version, and the spray-paint

version.