John Shelley's Blog, page 11
May 5, 2014
Mainichi Newspaper - News Without Words Part 2!
You may remember the map of the world I created for Mainichi Newspaper last year (the web interactive map is still online, see my previous post about it here). Well what do you know, I've done another one! This time a map of Japan.
This new map is in the morning edition of today's Mainichi Newspaper, sold across Japan. You can zoom in on all the details by accessing the fabulous interactive web version.
Can you spot a tiny self-portrait in there?
The observant will immediately notice we had to tweak the outline proportions of the country so it would fill the double page spread of the newspaper. Once again there was a lot of research involved, and the production was a challenge, with every figure and news item drawn separately in pen & ink, scanned and compiled together on screen. Many of the elements of the map will perhaps be more familiar to Japanese readers than overseas viewers, however even if you've never been to the Far East, I hope you can enjoy my virtual tour across Japan!
This new map is in the morning edition of today's Mainichi Newspaper, sold across Japan. You can zoom in on all the details by accessing the fabulous interactive web version.
Can you spot a tiny self-portrait in there?
The observant will immediately notice we had to tweak the outline proportions of the country so it would fill the double page spread of the newspaper. Once again there was a lot of research involved, and the production was a challenge, with every figure and news item drawn separately in pen & ink, scanned and compiled together on screen. Many of the elements of the map will perhaps be more familiar to Japanese readers than overseas viewers, however even if you've never been to the Far East, I hope you can enjoy my virtual tour across Japan!
April 8, 2014
Stone Giant US Release
Yippee! Today the US edition of Jane Sutcliffe's picture book Stone Giant - Michelangelo's David and How He Came to Be is officially released.
Some time ago when the Japanese edition was advance-released I blogged about my process in creating the illustrations for this title, now, finally it's revealed to the public in it's originally commissioned, English edition for the United States. Other than language the only differences are a somewhat different cover for the Japanese edition, and an artist statement from me instead of the list of sources on the last page of the US edition. However the American edition is printed in a slightly silkier, matte paper, which gives it a feeling reminiscent of classic older books.
As today is the release day, here are a couple more of the artwork interiors before text was added!
Charlesbridge has posted an interview with Jane about Stone Giant here. I was interviewed about the illustrations by Elizabeth Dulemba here.
Reviews have already been very supportive of the book! Kirkus Reviews has called it "a handsome offering that helps youngsters understand both an artist’s process and how this stunning statue became the enduring symbol of a city and its people". A School Library Journal review posted on the Charlesbridge site states "This well-written, lively account is graced with excellent illustrations, rendered in pen-and-ink and painted with watercolors, that truly convey a Renaissance Italian flavor". Smart Books for Kids says it's an "Engaging storytelling with beautiful illustrations".
So I'm hoping the book will do well!
The book is on sale in the US, and also through online sellers in the UK and elsewhere. I always recommend people buy or order copies through their local bookshop whenever possible, but here are some direct online links:
Some time ago when the Japanese edition was advance-released I blogged about my process in creating the illustrations for this title, now, finally it's revealed to the public in it's originally commissioned, English edition for the United States. Other than language the only differences are a somewhat different cover for the Japanese edition, and an artist statement from me instead of the list of sources on the last page of the US edition. However the American edition is printed in a slightly silkier, matte paper, which gives it a feeling reminiscent of classic older books.
As today is the release day, here are a couple more of the artwork interiors before text was added!
Charlesbridge has posted an interview with Jane about Stone Giant here. I was interviewed about the illustrations by Elizabeth Dulemba here.
Reviews have already been very supportive of the book! Kirkus Reviews has called it "a handsome offering that helps youngsters understand both an artist’s process and how this stunning statue became the enduring symbol of a city and its people". A School Library Journal review posted on the Charlesbridge site states "This well-written, lively account is graced with excellent illustrations, rendered in pen-and-ink and painted with watercolors, that truly convey a Renaissance Italian flavor". Smart Books for Kids says it's an "Engaging storytelling with beautiful illustrations".
So I'm hoping the book will do well!
The book is on sale in the US, and also through online sellers in the UK and elsewhere. I always recommend people buy or order copies through their local bookshop whenever possible, but here are some direct online links:
Amazon (US)
Powells (US)
Bookworm Central (US)
Amazon (Canada)
Amazon (UK)
Foyles (UK)
Book Depository (UK)
March 30, 2014
Happy Birthday Andrea Brown
My agent for children's books in the USA is Laura Rennert of the marvellous Andrea Brown Literary. This year the head of the agency Andrea is celebrating a milestone birthday, and the other agents had the idea to commission a piece of original artwork from one of the agency's illustrators to be framed and presented as a gift from the staff.
Guess which artist they chose?
I painted Andrea and the staff in front of a cabin of Big Sur Lodge, where the agency holds it's annual Writing Workshops, a location that has deep significance and is full of memories for the agency.
The painting, which measures 43 x 37cm, was presented to Andrea on her birthday.... last night!
Many happy returns Andrea!
Guess which artist they chose?
I painted Andrea and the staff in front of a cabin of Big Sur Lodge, where the agency holds it's annual Writing Workshops, a location that has deep significance and is full of memories for the agency.
The painting, which measures 43 x 37cm, was presented to Andrea on her birthday.... last night!
Many happy returns Andrea!
March 15, 2014
Bearing up!
It's been a while since my last post! In fact you may notice I've not blogged since the New Year, blimey, what's been going on?
Well the short answer is "work!". I usually write blog posts in two languages to go on separate English and Japanese language blogs, which can take up a chunk of time, so I took a tactical decision to stand back from blogging while I tackled more urgent matters. Other social media? Well, yes, to a point, but I've tried to keep my online activities short, sweet and quick. As some people read this blog from feeds on Facebook and Twitter I thought it would be quicker to just post occasional updates directly to those platforms, but it's not quite the same is it. Blogs are more personal, more of a journal, more themed.
Earlier this year I posted daily sketches on Twitter and Facebook until work issues obliged me to stop that too - however sketches will return shortly!
Things have been very hectic. At the moment I'm working on a picture book for Holiday House in the US. It's my second collaboration with author Marion Dane Bauer, after the spooky Halloween Forest. Though not a follow-up to that title at all, our new book has a somewhat complimentary rhythm.
Without giving too much away at this stage, I'll just say the book follows the journey of a bear, a child and various other animals through a late winter night, because, as the bear explains, "It is time..."
Time for what you ask? aha....
The title is Crinkle, Crackle, CRACK! Right now I'm painting the spreads, here are some scans of the pen work before colouring.
Well the short answer is "work!". I usually write blog posts in two languages to go on separate English and Japanese language blogs, which can take up a chunk of time, so I took a tactical decision to stand back from blogging while I tackled more urgent matters. Other social media? Well, yes, to a point, but I've tried to keep my online activities short, sweet and quick. As some people read this blog from feeds on Facebook and Twitter I thought it would be quicker to just post occasional updates directly to those platforms, but it's not quite the same is it. Blogs are more personal, more of a journal, more themed.
Earlier this year I posted daily sketches on Twitter and Facebook until work issues obliged me to stop that too - however sketches will return shortly!
Things have been very hectic. At the moment I'm working on a picture book for Holiday House in the US. It's my second collaboration with author Marion Dane Bauer, after the spooky Halloween Forest. Though not a follow-up to that title at all, our new book has a somewhat complimentary rhythm.
Without giving too much away at this stage, I'll just say the book follows the journey of a bear, a child and various other animals through a late winter night, because, as the bear explains, "It is time..."
Time for what you ask? aha....
The title is Crinkle, Crackle, CRACK! Right now I'm painting the spreads, here are some scans of the pen work before colouring.
December 31, 2013
New Year Greeting
Happy New Year of the Horse!
Wishing all my friends and followers a joyous New Year, I hope 2014 be bountiful, jolly and successful to all!!
Wishing all my friends and followers a joyous New Year, I hope 2014 be bountiful, jolly and successful to all!!
December 16, 2013
Seasons Greetings!
Hoping all my followers have a wonderful festive season filled with starry dreams!
December 13, 2013
Ho.. ho.. oh?
Hush! What's that sound? A strange old man with a long white beard is creeping through the night.
December 7, 2013
Under Siege by Sound
My house and studio is an island in a raging sea of noise. Right outside my window the builders are digging up the road yet again. The daily cacophony of tractors, diggers, clanging scaffolding and other commotion from the building site over the road has been a constant companion ever since we moved here in July, and there's a long way to go yet. The house feels like a refuge. Much as I'm fascinated by the bustle of the construction site, much as the activity outside encourages me to get on with my own work, the incessant tension of noise throughout the day doesn't leave much room for just drifting with my own ideas. There are times, like today, when I just can't think at all because of the noise so I tend to crank up the radio and get on with deadline stuff, and by the time the builders go home, I'm mentally drained and domestic issues (feeding the family etc) take precedence.
Which is one reason for the lack of doodles and sketches lately, it's only when I can get away from the studio to quiet cafe's or on increasingly rare train journeys that I'm able to put myself in the mind to explore ideas and doodle. When that happens this is where I go...
I keep telling myself I should spend more time in cafe's, though perhaps not all my clients would see it as essential part of the creative process!
Which is one reason for the lack of doodles and sketches lately, it's only when I can get away from the studio to quiet cafe's or on increasingly rare train journeys that I'm able to put myself in the mind to explore ideas and doodle. When that happens this is where I go...
I keep telling myself I should spend more time in cafe's, though perhaps not all my clients would see it as essential part of the creative process!
Under Seige by Sound
My house and studio is an island in a raging sea of noise. Right outside my window the builders are digging up the road yet again. The daily cacophony of tractors, diggers clanging scaffolding and other commotion from the building site over the road has been a constant companion ever since we moved here in July, and there's a long way to go yet. The house feels like a refuge. Much as I'm fascinated by the bustle of the construction site, much as the activity outside encourages me to get on with my own work, the incessant tension of noise throughout the day doesn't leave much room for just drifting with my own ideas. There are times (like today!) when I just can't think at all because of the noise so I tend to crank up the radio and get on with deadline stuff, and by the time the builders go home, I'm mentally drained and domestic issues (feeding the family etc) take precedence.
Which is one reason for the lack of doodles and sketches lately, it's only when I can get away from the studio to quiet cafe's or on increasingly rare train journeys that I'm able to put myself in the mind to explore ideas and doodle. When that happens this is where I go...
I keep telling myself I should spend more time in cafe's, though perhaps not all my clients would see it as essential part of the creative process!
Which is one reason for the lack of doodles and sketches lately, it's only when I can get away from the studio to quiet cafe's or on increasingly rare train journeys that I'm able to put myself in the mind to explore ideas and doodle. When that happens this is where I go...
I keep telling myself I should spend more time in cafe's, though perhaps not all my clients would see it as essential part of the creative process!
November 26, 2013
A Father's Diary
Illustrators can be a lonely bunch, one cog in a production process involving a team of people you usually never meet. More often than not you deal with an art director, designer or editor, just one or two staff members who are merely the tip of an iceberg of people involved in the project. Others might include creative directors, producers, authors, copywriters, designers, marketing staff, printers and distributors.
Teamwork! - this and other drawings from A Father's Diary
So it's always a pleasure to meet someone for the first time who had some kind of involvement in a past job, especially when it's the author of a book, and even more so when illustrations and story were created at opposite ends of the world.
Printed front cover of the Japanese edition of "A Father's Diary", Bury St. Edmunds no Kofuku-na Oka, Media Factory 1994
Back in 1994 I was deeply emerged in Tokyo life, having at that stage been based in Japan virtually without a break for eight years. This was before the internet, and although I travelled back to the UK for the occasional brief holiday, for all intensive purposes I was wholly preoccupied with business and life in Tokyo. All my work was in Japanese, from Japanese clients, regarding subjects in Japan. My friends at that time were exclusively Japanese too, largely connected with the creative business. All in all the UK seemed a very distant place.
So it came as a pleasant surprise to be asked to illustrate the Japanese edition of Fraser Harrison's A Father's Diary, a non-fiction journal recording the day to day life of two children in the Suffolk countryside. The book had been recently published in the UK, Media Factory had just bought the rights for Japan. The journal is set in a village outside Bury St. Edmunds, I'd never been to Bury, but as my parents were at that time in Norwich I was quite familiar with the East Anglian landscape. The commission was for a simple cover and a few light black and white drawings in the text, a modest job amidst the high profile advertising that usually filled my schedule then. But of course I agreed to the assignment, not only was it a welcome reminder of the old country, as a father of very young children myself Fraser's touching account resonated strongly.
The book is divided into 13 months, so I created 13 little section heads and 13 narrative drawings, 26 black and white drawings altogether, plus the simple cover. Deadline was short and there was no time for research, this was way before Google image search of course! So the pictures flowed naturally, I pictured the children Jack and Tilly from descriptions in the text, the setting was based on my memories of the region, with a few references from the UK I had to hand.
The Japanese edition, translated by Sakae Kokawa, carried the somewhat bemusing title Bury St. Edmunds no Kofuku-na Oka "The Happy Hills of Bury St. Edmunds" - curious, Bury isn't exactly noted for it's hilly country!
From the rear coverSo that was that.
Fast forward nineteen years. I'm now back in the UK (in Norwich in fact), there arrives an email out of the blue. It's from author Fraser Harrison, who'd tracked me down online.
For years he'd presumed the Japanese edition had been illustrated by an anonymous Japanese artist, and was astounded to discover not only was I from the UK, but that I was now in East Anglia. The Japanese edition was the only one that carried illustrations, the children Jack and Tilly had grown up with the images, though the family no longer had a copy of the book.
Shortly afterwards I met Fraser and his wife in a local cafe on a day trip up to Norwich from Bury, where they still live. Despite having only worked from a few descriptive references in the text I was assured the drawings were close to the real children. Both are of course very much grown up now, and parents in their own right.
Meeting Fraser in the Cafe (sorry for the poor quality, the cafe staff only took this one image!)It all seemed satisfyingly fated. I was able to present Fraser and his family not only a spare copy of the book, but also the original illustration artwork, which, despite all the losses and upheavals when I left Japan I'd held onto over these years. I still have most of my children's book artwork, and I had an affection for these simple drawings, a link for me with the UK at a time I was so very much involved in Japan. It seemed they were destined to find their way to the author's family. It was really great to meet Fraser and his charming wife, one of those strange full-circle moments where everything just seemed to come together beautifully.
Teamwork! - this and other drawings from A Father's DiarySo it's always a pleasure to meet someone for the first time who had some kind of involvement in a past job, especially when it's the author of a book, and even more so when illustrations and story were created at opposite ends of the world.
Printed front cover of the Japanese edition of "A Father's Diary", Bury St. Edmunds no Kofuku-na Oka, Media Factory 1994Back in 1994 I was deeply emerged in Tokyo life, having at that stage been based in Japan virtually without a break for eight years. This was before the internet, and although I travelled back to the UK for the occasional brief holiday, for all intensive purposes I was wholly preoccupied with business and life in Tokyo. All my work was in Japanese, from Japanese clients, regarding subjects in Japan. My friends at that time were exclusively Japanese too, largely connected with the creative business. All in all the UK seemed a very distant place.
So it came as a pleasant surprise to be asked to illustrate the Japanese edition of Fraser Harrison's A Father's Diary, a non-fiction journal recording the day to day life of two children in the Suffolk countryside. The book had been recently published in the UK, Media Factory had just bought the rights for Japan. The journal is set in a village outside Bury St. Edmunds, I'd never been to Bury, but as my parents were at that time in Norwich I was quite familiar with the East Anglian landscape. The commission was for a simple cover and a few light black and white drawings in the text, a modest job amidst the high profile advertising that usually filled my schedule then. But of course I agreed to the assignment, not only was it a welcome reminder of the old country, as a father of very young children myself Fraser's touching account resonated strongly.
The book is divided into 13 months, so I created 13 little section heads and 13 narrative drawings, 26 black and white drawings altogether, plus the simple cover. Deadline was short and there was no time for research, this was way before Google image search of course! So the pictures flowed naturally, I pictured the children Jack and Tilly from descriptions in the text, the setting was based on my memories of the region, with a few references from the UK I had to hand.
The Japanese edition, translated by Sakae Kokawa, carried the somewhat bemusing title Bury St. Edmunds no Kofuku-na Oka "The Happy Hills of Bury St. Edmunds" - curious, Bury isn't exactly noted for it's hilly country!
From the rear coverSo that was that.Fast forward nineteen years. I'm now back in the UK (in Norwich in fact), there arrives an email out of the blue. It's from author Fraser Harrison, who'd tracked me down online.
For years he'd presumed the Japanese edition had been illustrated by an anonymous Japanese artist, and was astounded to discover not only was I from the UK, but that I was now in East Anglia. The Japanese edition was the only one that carried illustrations, the children Jack and Tilly had grown up with the images, though the family no longer had a copy of the book.
Shortly afterwards I met Fraser and his wife in a local cafe on a day trip up to Norwich from Bury, where they still live. Despite having only worked from a few descriptive references in the text I was assured the drawings were close to the real children. Both are of course very much grown up now, and parents in their own right.
Meeting Fraser in the Cafe (sorry for the poor quality, the cafe staff only took this one image!)It all seemed satisfyingly fated. I was able to present Fraser and his family not only a spare copy of the book, but also the original illustration artwork, which, despite all the losses and upheavals when I left Japan I'd held onto over these years. I still have most of my children's book artwork, and I had an affection for these simple drawings, a link for me with the UK at a time I was so very much involved in Japan. It seemed they were destined to find their way to the author's family. It was really great to meet Fraser and his charming wife, one of those strange full-circle moments where everything just seemed to come together beautifully.
