Christopher Denise's Blog, page 2

Childhood toys and inspiration

 

From Knight Owl

I was remembering a beloved childhood toy while creating the castle environment for Knight Owl. This image (found on eBay) is the toy that I played with for hours on end as a kid. 

And yes, I was tempted…..

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#childhood #artisticinfluences #toys #childhood #knightowlbook #christopherdenise #kidlitart #childrensbook #christyottavianobooks #littlebrownbooksforyoungreaders #illustratorsoninstagram #newchildrensbook

A fantastic way to start the week!Thank you Barnes &...

 

A fantastic way to start the week!

Thank you Barnes & Noble Booksellers!

Check out all the award winners by clicking the link in my bio.

#bnbookawards #barnesandnoble #christopherdeniseillustrator #knightowlbook #christopherdenise #bookaward #newchildrensbook #thankyou

Independant Bookstore Day!

 Do you love bookstores?

Saturday is Independant bookstore day! 

It is the perfect day to stop in and browse all of the new titles out this spring!

I will be at Barrington Books reading from “Knight Owl”, signing books and chatting, hopefully with you, if you drop by any time between 11:00 am and 12:30 pm.

Joining me at the bookstore is the talented and fun Josh Funk. His books include the “Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast” series.

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#IBD2022 #independentbookstoreday #joshfunk #christopherdenise #kidlit #kidlitillustration #barringtonbooks #kidlitlist #christopherdeniseillustrator #newchildrensbook #christyottavianobooks #littlebrownbooksforyoungreaders #childrensbooks #reading #knightowlbook

Independent Bookstore Day!

 Do you love bookstores?

Saturday is Independent bookstore day! 

It is the perfect day to stop in and browse all of the new titles out this spring!

I will be at Barrington Books reading from “Knight Owl”, signing books and chatting, hopefully with you, if you drop by any time between 11:00 am and 12:30 pm.

Joining me at the bookstore is the talented and fun Josh Funk. His books include the “Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast” series.

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#IBD2022 #independentbookstoreday #joshfunk #christopherdenise #kidlit #kidlitillustration #barringtonbooks #kidlitlist #christopherdeniseillustrator #newchildrensbook #christyottavianobooks #littlebrownbooksforyoungreaders #childrensbooks #reading #knightowlbook

It's all in the details...

Images from Knight OwlWhen creating a scene for a picture book I take a good amount of time developing convincing and well-thought-out environments. 

In many ways, I see the “world” that my characters live in as playing a supporting role. The illustration here is doing a good amount of the storytelling through the signage put up on the castle's bulletin board. There are flyers warning of Dragon sightings, the call to arms poster, and of course, many flyers for Squires Pizza. All of these things play an important part in the story. Less obvious, and perhaps not as effective as it could have been, was the looming porticos at the top of the frame. I wanted to build in an underlying tension and possible danger to what seems to be a sunny day. I thought it might also be fun to foreshadow the massive teeth of the dragon.

I understand that most of this sort of thing will be missed by many readers but it makes it fun for me!

Have a great Monday!

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#christopherdenise #worldbuilding #kidlitart #conceptart #childrensbooks #owlsofinstagram #newchildrensbook #illustratorsoninstagram #sketch #knightowlbook #christopherdeniseillustrator #kidlitlist #instaart #wacom #christyottavianobooks #picturebook #owl

Great News!

Knight Owl by Christopher Denise
Great news this week!

Knight Owl debuted in the #3 position on the Indie Next Best seller List!

Thank you #indiebookstores !

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#childrensbooks #christopherdeniseillustrator #newchildrensbook #indienext #knightowlbook #owlsofinstagram #kidlitlist #illustratorsoninstagram #kidillustration #owl #littlebrownbooksforyoungreaders #christopherdenise #instaart #reading #christyottavianobooks #kidlitart  

Knight Owl book signing!

Click here to register!
I will be doing my first in-person book event in a VERY long time at An Unlikely Story in Plainville Massachusetts this weekend!

We will be there to celebrate the launch of my new book Knight Owl.

Saturday, March 26th, 6pm

111 South Street, Plainville MA 

There is a link in bio to register.

Hope to see you there!

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#booksigning #storytime #christopherdeniseillustrator #kidlit #kidlitauthor #picturebook #knightowl #childrensbooks #kidltart #newchildrensbook #bookevent #knightowlbook

Knight Owl sneak peek & Kirkus review

Detail from Knight Owl by Christopher Denise 

KNIGHTS!
Coming soon…..
Knight Owl, March 2022.
Message me for info on getting signed bookplates.
"A charming blend of whimsy and medieval heroism highlighting the triumph of brains over brawn"-Kikus
Click here to read the full review--------> https://covers.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/christopher-denise/knight-owl/
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#knights #newchildrensbook #kidlitlist #christopherdenise #illustratorsoninstagram #christyottavianobooks #kidlitart #christopherdeniseillustrator #childrensbooks #medieval #littlebrownbooksforyoungreaders #knightsofinstagram

Inside the studio.

It could be easy to believe that we (Illustrators & Writers) hang around all day sipping tea and waiting for inspiration. Just for the record, there is a fair amount of caffeine consumed on a daily basis but know that most of them run a pretty tight production schedule.

Here is a screenshot of my calendar from February. I've redacted some of the personal information.

Tap to enlarge

I create excel worksheets to update the estimated amount of time required to finish each piece. I then take that total and divide it into work blocks that are placed in my calendar. Each one of those purple tasks represents a 1.5 to 3 hr block of time dedicated to a specific piece (page) of my current book. Those blocks can be dragged to different days to suit my preferences. 

For example, let's pretend it is February 4th. 

Detail of February 4th

The first item on that day is "WB_6_7_woods". If I am really making headway on pages 6-7 I can drag an extra block of time over to that current day and move something from February 4th to another day. The blocks are checked off when they have been completed. 

I know that there is production schedule software out there but as you can see, I have little time to get up and running with a new program and this method seems to work for me.

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#christopherdeniseillustrator #christopherdenise #productionschedule #studio

The Redwall Sketchbooks Collectors Print #9

The Redwall Sketchbooks Collectors Print #9.
Available at my ETSY shop. Link below.

When Brian Jacques gave me the manuscript for “A Redwall Winter’s Tale” I was delighted to find that the story included musicians who were part of The Thistledown Traveling Troupe. I took the opportunity to dive deep into the research of Medieval instruments and try to figure out how the animals of the Redwall universe might play them.

This print is scanned directly from one of the first sketchbook pages of that development work.

—-> Link to purchase the print. https://www.etsy.com/shop/christopherdenise

More about the print:

The sketches and preliminary drawings for my work in the Redwall series have remained in storage for years. Originally seen only by my editor, my art director, and of course, Brian Jacques, these sketches and drawings have never been reproduced, until now! 

Printed on heavyweight archival acid-free paper, the piece measures 8"x10". The white border makes it suitable and ready for framing with or without a mat board.

The title for each print is hand-lettered and signed by the artist.

This item is shipped flat in a resealable polypropylen bag with a rigid mailer. The bags are Acid-free, archival safe, 100% blemish-free virgin polypropylene, and FDA compliant.

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#christopherdenise #redwall #etsyseller #sketchbook #childrensbookillustration #brianjacques #redwallabbey #mouse #musicians #illustratorsoninstagram #redwallart #collectorsprints #christopherdeniseillustrator