tips – James Foley

Collaborative artwork with kids

I’m honoured to have some artwork included in the 2026 SQUIGL calendar! But the artwork isn’t just mine – it’s a collab between me and a kid living in regional Queensland called Will Thomas.

Buy a calendar

I was given Will Thomas’ excellent whiteboard drawing of a toucan …

… which I worked up into a very scribbly rough …

… then a more detailed rough.

My next step was a colour test, which I liked …

… but once I had my final artwork together, I felt like mucking around with the colours.

I tried a purple background instead, which helped the toucan beaks to pop.

Finally I added a sunrise in the background and some shading, and voilá – the artwork was finished!

Big thanks to Will for the excellent initial drawing – I hope you like how it turned out!

More about the calendar

The 2026 SQUIGL Calendar is a fundraising initiative by Andy Geppert’s SQUIGL Club, an online drawing group for kids living in remote Queensland.

All calendar sales support sending these remote community kids to visit regional writers’ festivals run by Somerset Storyfest.

Buy a calendar

Free capybara drawing tutorial

They’re the internet’s favourite animal! Have you ever wanted to know how to draw a capybara?

Here’s a free step-by-step drawing tutorial showing you how to draw Barry from my picture book Happy Barry Capybara.

Order ‘Happy Barry Capybara’

🌏*Signed copIes* – PAPER BIRD

🇦🇺 LOCAL INDIE BOOKSHOPS

How to create a linocut style digitally

For my picture book Bigfoot vs Yeti: A Love Story, I used a digital linocut technique for the illustrations.

Linocut is normally a printmaking technique – so how do you do it digitally?

Find out in the demo below.

Demo tech specs

I’m using a 2017 iPad pro, with a 1st gen apple pencil and the Procreate app.

The digital linocut brushes came from Patternologie and Seamless Team.

Buy Bigfoot vs Yeti: A Love Story

🌏 *Signed copies* – Paper bird

🇦🇺 🇳🇿 Local Indie bookshops

How to use comics in the classroom

Hello teachers!

Would you like some FREE P.D.?

Check out this 15min video I made, commissioned by the good people at Awesome Arts Festival! It’s full of tips and tricks for teaching Comics in the Classroom.

No drawing skill is required, because comics aren’t about being the best at drawing; they’re about effectively communicating ideas, and you can do that with stick figures if need be!

Check out the video for more.

If the video doesn’t show up for you, you can view it on youtube here.

I got to chat with Brenton McKenna for ALIA Graphics

Back in May I had the great privilege of yarning with my bud Brenton McKenna for ALIA Graphic Novels and Comics. ⁠
⁠
Brenton and I interviewed each other about our newest graphic novels (including Secret Agent Mole: Goldfish-Finger), our processes and our inspirations. Brenton is the creator of the Ubby’s Underdogs trilogy and has a new series out called Hairy Holes, all about some hairy creatures that live in the Australian outback. It’s hilarious! ⁠

You can catch our chat here on YouTube.

P.S. ALIA has a massive treasure trove of videos, all about graphic novels and comics. Make sure you check it out!

Littlescribe Mini Writing Festival

It’s a writing program and a writers festival all-in-one, and it’s back for another year!

The 2023 Littlescribe Mini-Writing Festival features Australian Children’s Laureate Gabrielle Wang, past laureate Jackie French, CBCA picture book of the year winner Claire Saxby, best-sellers Jacqueline Harvey and Louise Park, and festival favourites Deb Abela and Oliver Phommavanh. Oh, and me too.

It’s on from Monday 31st July to Friday 4th August and is fully online, so no matter where your school is (or whether you’re homeschooling), you can join in. There’s sessions for students aged 5-14, covering everything from poetry to picture books, and sports writing to slam poetry.

I’ll be chatting with Tim Harris (we made Toffle Towers together!) about creating and illustrating unique characters, plus joining all the other sessions as an illustrator-in-residence.

Program below. Full details on the LittleScribe website.

How to draw JUNE BUG from Secret Agent Mole

Want to learn how to draw June Bug from my new series, SECRET AGENT MOLE?

Here’s a free tutorial to show you how.

Youl’ll need:

plain white paper
lead pencil
eraser
sharpener
coloured pencils (dark green, light green)
black felt-tipped pen or black texta

Watch the youtube tutorial here.

How to draw HELENA HIPPO from Secret Agent Mole

Want to learn how to draw Helena Hippo from my new series, SECRET AGENT MOLE?

Here’s a free tutorial to show you how.

Youl’ll need:

plain white paper
lead pencil
eraser
sharpener
coloured pencils (pink, red or dark red)
black felt-tipped pen or black texta

How to draw MAX from Secret Agent Mole

Want to learn how to draw Max Mole from my new graphic novel series, Secret Agent Mole?

Here’s your chance!

Click below to watch my free tutorial.

You’ll need:

plain white paper
lead pencil
eraser
sharpener
coloured pencils (dark blue, light blue, red, black)
black felt-tipped pen or black texta

Three new interviews

Writers Weekend: Drawing on the Imagination
Seesaw Magazine
with Julie Hosking

I chat with Julie about the upcoming Perth Festival Family Day in Freo, a day of sessions with local and Australian authors and illustrators. I also talk about the creative processes behind some of my books.

Secret Agent Mole
reading With a Chance of Tacos podcast
with Ken Williams

Chatting with Ken is always a laugh! We talk about my new graphic novel series Secret Agent Mole – what it’s about, where the ideas came from, and where the series could go in the future.

Animals in Space
What the Duck?! podcast
with Dr Ann Jones

It was a real pleasure to be able to speak with Ann about the research I did for my picture book Stellarphant. I learned so many weird and wonderful stories about the true history of animals in space, and I got to share some of those tales on the podcast.