Pssssst!

Da da da da! I am so excited about tomorrow, because it's the publication of...

She is published by Brubaker, Ford & Friends, just in time for my birthday. 

Thank you so much to Amelia, Amy, Daniel, and to Brett and David - it's been wonderful working with you, and I couldn't be prouder.

Olive feels very dear to my heart. Go well, short chubby friend!

More details

More details from a book I've almost finished.

Also, I've started a Tumblr blog! At the moment it's just a replica of this one, albeit, I think, slightly cooler looking. I guess I'm not sure which way to go, feeling Tumblr might be more fun, but not sure yet! But check it out!

Lots of Babies!

Here are some pictures from Babies Don't Bite, written by David Bedford and published by Hodder Children's Books, with pictures by me. I had to draw three animals I'd never really tried - horses, sheep and cows - I'd always feared the farmyard animals. But I'm glad I did, sheep especially make nice characters.

It's available in bookshops now! Go get those sweet furry babies! You won't be sorry you did!

Slight return

I'm roughing out a book set in a Paris-style town, and just went fishing under my bed to find my location drawings for reference. Most of which I've blogged already. But I like seeing them again - more than a photograph they evoke feelings, because I can remember drawing each one, sitting outside on my low folding chair, what I was thinking about that day and what the weather was like, what I was doing later etc... A lucky record. Wish I'd done more...

Photographs are a wonderful aid to memory (although often I'm just checking if it was a good hair day) but location drawings are really memories in themselves, as you sit there for an hour or so making them, and that's its own experience.

(Excuse the horrid scans, my home scanner is complete rubbish. NO, Epson 2-in-1 scanner/printer!)

Octoperve

Now if you're scared of ghosts you'd better look away!

Fearful!

I just read The Woman in Black, so my head is full of terrifying ghosts like this guy.

Rabbit poses

Doodles

Lucille

Cat skeleton drawings. I think it's so important when you do drawings as anatomically correct as my cat drawings are, to really get down to the nitty gritty (of the kitty). Next I'm going to look at their musculatureyness and inner branial workings. And their whiskerlature [edit: new joke]

Really I was listening to Little Richard, which reminded me of this super video:

Get down with your bad bony selves, cats!
(If you put on Lucille and manage to start it just at the right time, as I've spent the last minute doing, these cats are totally in time, almost! Although the one on the bottom left may have been drinking.)