I’m running a workshop tomorrow at Teignmouth Pavilions and we’re going to be making cute little concertina books – with pockets! I think the pockets are the best thing about it 🙂 Once you’ve made the basic book you can fill it with whatever you like – cats, dogs, jungle animals, your family, insects, monsters…. it’s up to you 🙂
So here’s one I made to show in the workshop, and below it is a video of how to make the basic book. Just in case you’d like to do this at home. Have fun!
Disclaimer! I got the idea for this activity after looking at the wonderful work of artist Yael Frankel on Instagram – you can see more of her work and follow her here
What a lovely bunch of woodland animals were created and animated at Tuesday’s workshop at the Pavilions Theatre in Teignmouth. Here’s what we made, enjoy!
I’m running art and animation workshops at the Pavilions in April and May. Click here to book!
Woodland Creatures 3D Animation Workshop
During the springtime, woodland animals start to come out of hibernation and get ready for the year to come. What’s your favourite Woodland Animal? A rabbit or hedgehog? Maybe a squirrel? Come and make your own 3D woodland creatures using plasticine, stones, pinecones etc, and animate them to make your own little animated story to share with friends and family.
Tuesday 7th April
10.30am -12.30pm
£16.00 per child
Ages 6-12
12 places available
Parents must stay for session with children under 8
Dress for (a little bit of) mess, aprons provided.
What are your favourite animals, birds… or bugs? Come and draw, colour and cut out your favourite animal characters and learn to make a simple mini folding book to keep them in!
Tuesday 14th April
10.30am -12.30pm
£13.50 per child
Ages 7-12
15 places available
Parents must stay for session with children under 8
Dress for (a little bit of) mess, aprons provided.
Come and make your own 2D plasticine Elephant character and then animate them enjoying a nice cup of tea and a bun – or maybe a messy one!! Things could get VERY messy at an Elephants Tea Party!! I wonder how you would drink a cup of tea and eat a bun if you were an elephant??? It’s up to you! 🙂
Tuesday 26th May
10.30am -12.30pm
£16 per child
Ages 5-10
12 places available
Parents must stay for session with children under 8
Dress for (a little bit of) mess, aprons provided.
On the bus (with an excitable Exeter City supporter), the big garden birdwatch, a zig-zag card inspired by the coast at Dawlish , “Blue Bus Monkey” – a new character I spotted, winter walks, and watercolour sketches of rockpool life.
It has been an age since I last posted – and that’s because I’ve been very busy, which is good! 🙂 So, a flurry of posts will be incoming shortly, ranging from an inspirational Picture Book Retreat on the Island of Iona, a comic about a disappearing cat, viking god animation workshops and a Christmas Illustration Challenge from the wonderful Orange beak Studio!
If I’m honest, this will happen in the New Year, so in the meantime “Merry Squeakmas! Bring on the Flaming Cheese!”
Wishing everyone a Happy and Peaceful Festive Season
I totally recommend this course – it’s so much fun, and thought-provoking. Who would’ve thought you could make up a comic round this week’s theme “Getting Dressed”?!
The panes show me as a small kid trying on hand-me-down clothes my Nana used to send. They were all ghastly and too big – Nana got them from another grandmother, whose granddaughter Alison was held up to me as the model of all that was wonderful in little girls. Needless to say I wasn’t a big fan of Alison – her clothes or her reputation – I always felt I must be inferior to her in everything!
However, ten years later history showed otherwise after I sat my ‘O’ levels and did much better than Alison, much to mine and my Nan’s delight! 🙂 Not that O levels prove much, but it made me feel l wasn’t inferior to her in everything after all… (A bit of a life lesson about not comparing yourself negatively to others when you barely know them.)
The first two pictures are pencil roughs, a first version. In the three ink images I’m having a go at adding a bit more “character” to the line – to do this I used indian ink and a bbq stick! (NB I find that if I use a ‘weird’ drawing tool it tends to slow me down and make me think about the line more.)
I’ll post the rest of the ink images when they’re finished 🙂
I’ve been given (given – out of a lucky dip!!!) a place on one of Jane Porter’s fantastic comics courses. The two hours whizzed by and it was so good to meet everyone (from all over because it’s Zoom 🙂 )and see their work – such interesting people, including a wonderful children’s illustrator, whoe drawing is, well, AMAZING.
So I ended up doing some pretty gruesome self portraits (as you can see…) and a comic of my twice monthly walks with Harry the Dog. This scenario happens almost every walk… :/
He is lovely though.
Here’s the dog himself. He’s waiting for me to throw his ball…
This was fab – only an hour, but so relaxing, creative and playful…
David Melling is one of the wittiest, most accomplished British illustrators around, and he works a lot in watercolour – so I immediately signed up when this workshop was announced by Picture Hooks, an organisation specialising in promoting children’s book illustration.
The doggy image was made with water, burnt sienna watercolour and Indian Ink. The way the ink combines with water when you drop it in off your brush is spectacular, and I loved the effects you could create. The bird image is a bit overworked but it is really cool to just paint your subject in water then drop colours in and see what happens… Magical
I’m a huge fan of Manon Gauthier, a Canadian illustrator who makes the most exquisite, but kind of rough and wonky illustrations in painted card collage, so this image is inspired by her work.
A busy, fun session at Teignmouth Pavilions last Wednesday with a group of super-creative and focused children making their own spin on the Lilo and Stitch film as a stop-motion animation.
