World Illustration Awards

I was amazed, and very happy, to hear that I DO NOT LIKE BOOKS ANYMORE! is shortlisted for the Association of Illustrators’ World Illustration Awards. Just being included in the exhibition at Somerset House is a bit too exciting.
Photo of I Do Not Like Books Anymore!It’s especially exciting as the book isn’t even out yet: Walker will publish I DO NOT LIKE BOOKS ANYMORE! on May 3rd and there’ll be a book launch at Gosh! on the 10th. This is Natalie and Alphonse’s second adventure, following ALPHONSE, THAT IS NOT OK TO DO! and I’ve just finished the artwork for their third escapade – so I’ve got to know these monsters very well.

I DO NOT LIKE BOOKS ANYMORE! is about what happens when Natalie struggles with learning to read – and how she and Alphonse find their own solution (involving an ambitious elephant and a caterpillar driving a truck). I’ll be sharing more about the book, especially on Instagram, in the run-up to publication.

Four months of not nothing

I have not done nothing since May, not quite.
Talk to the mouse
For one thing, in August I got proofs of The Girl with the Parrot on her Head:

The design and printing are lovely, thanks to Walker, and it will really be a book on February 5th (pre-orderable even now!).

In the meantime I am finishing my second book, which now goes by the name of ALPHONSE, THAT IS NOT OK TO DO! Here are Natalie and Alphonse watching bad TV:
And telly was awful
This book is mostly face acting and involves a lot of drawing the same monster MANY TIMES:
Who invited elephants? And the one with the orange dot gets it:

Foxes eating pizza: new birthday cards

I’ve drawn three new cards for Earlybird: bearded men trampolining, balloonist beasts and a foxes’ pizza-party. Some of my original cards sold out (weird to think hundreds of people have been given my drawings, and cool – I hope they all had good birthdays/babies/sundry other life-events), so they reprinted those and commissioned these while they were at it.
New birthday cards for Earlybird in 2012 Apparently, foxes are in, along with squirrels and owls. Owls are so above fashion though, surely? And I say foxes are never less than hip.

In other news, LOAf magazine has got half of its people-funding already, which is splendid! Please add a crumb or crust to the bread-basket if you can, it will undoubtedly make you more of a man.

By the way, I didn’t mean to imply squirrels were just a fad.