Children's book writer and illustrator
Sally Tinker and Brobot are coming to the West Australian newspaper’s ED! liftout every week in term 3.
It was a big challenge to reformat the story – I had to edit it down, rearrange the panels to fit the newspaper’s dimensions, AND divide it into 10 episodes.
Your school can get in on the action with an ED! section subscription: full details here.
Attention teachers! Fremantle Press is giving one lucky Perth metro school a free author visit from me.
To win the visit, all you need to do is check out the latest edition of Fremantle Press’ education newsletter, Classroom Express, here – then click on the ‘Forward to a Friend’ button at the top right and send it to your colleagues. The school with the most teachers subscribed to Classroom Express by 30 June 2019 will win the author visit!
But wait – there’s a second prize up for grabs! If you also happen to be a subscriber to the Classroom Express newsletter (you can subscribe here), AND you get the most friends signed up using the ‘Forward to a Friend’ button, then you’ll win 10 Fremantle Press books for your school library valued at $200.
So pass it on! And tell your colleagues, friends, parents and more about the competitions, teaching resources, activities and merchandise that they can get from The Classroom Express.
Both competitions close on Sunday 30 June 2019. The winner for each competition will be notified by email after this date. The winners will be announced in the Term 3 issue of The Classroom Express.
Great news!
I’m illustrating a new chapter book series written by the very talented Tim Harris.
The series is called TOFFLE TOWERS, and the first book is out August 6th.
Here’s the cover …
… and here’s the official synopsis:
Toffle Towers hotel has been run by a Toffle for over one hundred years – and it’s about to be inherited by the next generation.
Chegwin Toffle is only ten years old. But he isn’t going to let that stop him from turning this run-down hotel into a success. Chegwin is determined to transform Toffle Towers from a boring hotel for grown-ups into an incredibly exciting destination for children (and their families).
But running a hotel isn’t easy. Chegwin has a lot to learn, and his tendency to drift off into daydreams isn’t helping.
Chegwin has plenty of ideas. But can he turn his madcap daydreams into reality?
Toffle Towers 1: Fully Booked is published by Penguin Books Australia, and available in all good bookshops from August 6th, 2019!
PRE-ORDER your copy now:
– Booktopia (Australia/NZ only)
– Kinokuniya (Australia only)
– Angus & Robertson (Australia only)
– QBD (Australia only)
– Dymocks
– Readings
Or find your local bookseller
Hello you! I hope your 2019 has been treating you kindly so far. What did you get up to? I spent most of January soaking up time with my wife and son and labrador. We paddled in the river, read books, watched more than a little netflix and had bbqs. I also got to work on some new sketches and picture book ideas that I’m excited about. It’s been great to spend quiet time relaxing and ‘refilling the well’ so that I’ve got the energy for the year ahead.
I’ve got a few great events coming up at the end of this month – the Perth Writers’ Week family day and a teacher/librarian PD in Sydney. See below for details. Hope to see you down the track!
Happy reading/creating/living,
James 🙂
My new book Gastronauts is out now in bookstores and online.
Today I’m taking you behind the scenes to show you how I illustrated the front cover.
Here’s my final rough:
Continue reading “Behind the scenes of Gastronauts, part 4: final cover illustration”
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Have you ever wanted to illustrate a children’s book? Join me to find out how. Learn how character design, composition, choice of medium and typography all affect the visual story, and have a go yourself.
Bring your favourite drawing materials and a notepad or sketchbook.
WHEN: Thursday Nov 22nd
TIMES: 6:00pm-7:30pm
WHERE: Victoria Park Library, 27 Sussex Street, East Victoria Park, WA 6101
AGES: 8-12yo
COST: $3 per person
BOOKINGS: essential. Click here to book online, or call the library on 9373 5500.
My new book Gastronauts is out now in bookstores and online.
Today I’m taking you behind the scenes to show you how I designed the robots and vehicles in the story.
Quick recap: Sally Tinker is the world’s foremost inventor under the age of twelve. In Gastronauts, Sally’s baby brother Joe swallows her latest invention. So Sally and her friend Charli shrink themselves down in a tiny submarine and journey into Joe’s body.
Here’s how I designed the cover.
Sometimes you get the cover idea pretty quickly and clearly from the start.
This was not one of those times.
I struggled with this a lot at first; I couldn’t figure out how to show the reader that Sally and Charli were inside a sub, inside Joe, and make Sally and Charli big enough so that they were recognisable, without being too big that the scale stopped being anatomically correct.
None of these ideas really work, but I’ve included them here to show you how a cover design process can go. There are usually lots of rejected, fairly ordinary ideas.
Continue reading “Behind the scenes of Gastronauts, part 3: cover design”
My new book Gastronauts is out now in bookstores and online.
Today I’m taking you behind the scenes to show you how I designed the robots and submarine in the story.
Quick recap: Sally Tinker is the world’s foremost inventor under the age of twelve. In Gastronauts, Sally’s baby brother Joe swallows an invention called the smartCHIP, along with a bunch of tiny robots called smartbots, and also a tiny shrunken submarine containing Sally and her friend Charli.
Here’s how I designed Sally’s SUB and the smartbots. But:
**SPOILER ALERT***
I’ll discuss plot points for the book, so if you haven’t read the book yet, go do that first, then come back.
All good?
Have you gone and read the book?
Ok, here’s how I designed the SUB and the smartbots.
Continue reading “Behind the scenes of Gastronauts, part 2: submarine & robot design”
My new book Gastronauts is out now in bookstores and online.
Today I’m taking you behind the scenes to show you how I made the illustrations.
Here’s one of my favourite spreads from the book. It’s where Sally leads her friend Charli into the SUB (Sally’s Underwater Boat) for the first time.
I thought it would be easiest to show the insides of the SUB by just drawing a massive cut-away diagram. Here’s how I drew it.
Continue reading “Behind the scenes of Gastronauts, part 1: illustration process”
I’ve just been on a book tour, celebrating the release of my new junior graphic novel called Gastronauts. From Sept 26 to Oct 14, I had 23 events across three states.
I started in my hometown of Perth, then visited Sydney and Melbourne. We had four book launches, heaps of cartooning and comics workshops, and I got to deface decorate the windows at a few bookstores too. It was a brilliant trip, but I’m very happy to be back home with my family, and gearing up to work on some new projects.
Fun fact: Gastronauts is probably the first book in the world to be launched via a giant nappy. It will probably also be the last, as I don’t recommend it. Too messy. Watch what happens in the video below.
Here’s my favourite photos from the trip.
Thanks to everyone – bookstore owners, librarians, teachers, kids and parents – who came to events. And big thanks to my publishers Fremantle Press who helped organise the tour.
Buy local – find your closest bookshop
Or order online:
– Booktopia (Australia and NZ only)
– Angus and Robertson (Australia only)
– QBD (Australia only)
– Boffins
– Dymocks
– Book Depository
