G.R. Mannering's Blog, page 3
December 7, 2015
November 25, 2015
Scars Across Humanity
This month I’ve had the opportunity to work on an incredibly important book by Elaine Storkey, Scars Across Humanity: Understanding and Overcoming Violence Against Women. Below is a video I made from an excerpt of the book and you will see it appear on my channel soon too. This is such an essential book and I would be delighted if you could like and share.
November 16, 2015
Beards In Review
So it’s been a little while since all of the ‘beardage’ on my blog and I wanted to review the past few weeks. I’m so pleased by the response to Boo’s Beard online. There have been some wonderful reviews such as, this one and this one, and an interview too. I love all of the ‘beard selfies’ I was sent and I especially love the one above featuring all of the team at my publisher, Sky Pony – that one really put a smile on my face! Soon I will be announcing the winner of my giveaway who will be walking off with a copy of the book and a cuddly Boo toy (ya lucky thing) so watch out for that. But this is by no means the end of my beard-antics, come Christmas time (which is just around the corner) there will be more ‘beardness’ so it’s only a matter of time until I’m back flooding your feeds with grey whiskers. *cue evil laughter*.
November 13, 2015
Get Reading With Me | Creating New Content
I’d been planning to make this video for over 6 months and finally last week, I did it. I think doing something new can always be quite daunting and since my YouTube Channel is a hobbie that I do in spare time, justifying extra energy and hours to try filming something completely “un-tried” can be tricky. But I’m so glad I eventually ended up doing this. I was helped (a lot) by my little sister and I’m pleased with what I produced. It’s nice to create something new and unique. I hope to do more videos like this in the future.
Vlogging Away
I was very lucky to be invited to two vlogging events in October (I felt very spoilt). I walked away with some fabulous goodie bags, having met some equally fabulous people, and I just generally had a great time. I vlogged both events so if you want to see what I got up to (and have a peek in those goodie bags) then take a look at the videos below.
November 9, 2015
A few different videos…
Just recently I’ve been experimenting on my YouTube Channel and trying to create content that is new and different for me. I love doing this – it’s a real challenge – and it’s interesting to see what people think. Obviously I’m still happy with my book hauls and my reviews, but it’s nice to branch out sometimes. I’ve actually got something exciting in the works coming up pretty soon, but more on that later.
October 9, 2015
The #BoosBeards so far!
Our week of beards is going well! Want to get your own #BoosBeard? Here’s the template!
Would you like to win a copy of Boo’s Beard? Enter the giveaway – and the winner gets a free cuddly Boos too!
October 8, 2015
Meet Boo’s Personal Artist #BoosBeard
The wonderful illustrator, Bethany Straker, was blessed with the enviable job of capturing the magnificence of Boo and her fabulous beard in our picture book, Boo’s Beard. Today she kindly agreed to sit down and have a chat with us about what an honour it was, and how she managed to bring those grey whiskers to life.
Q: Hello, Beth! This has been quite an exciting week for us – how does it feel to finally see Boo’s Beard in the flesh?
A: Amazing! It feels like decades ago we were excitedly emailing back and forth ideas before we got our deal. But now the leaves are turning red and there’s a chill in the air – it’s beautifully autumnal to match the scenery of the book.
Q: What was it like drawing Boo? Did you find it difficult to capture her beautiful beard?
A: Very! Miniature Schnauzers have a very amusing – and very cute – naturally grumpy expression, so creating more positive ones was a little harder. There’s so much hair above the eyes its tough not to make it look like a frown!
Q: The illustrations have a gorgeous, autumnal flavour to them – how did you come up with the colour palette?
A: The books where I work with pen and photoshop use very specific colour palettes, but it’s quite the opposite with my watercolours. It’s very free and fluid, and nothing is really planned, which is why I end up discounting a lot of pages! I also use a lot of black ink, so the effect can be quite muddy where I decide I don’t always want the colour to dry first. This gives off a more negative mood – which I used for the sadder parts in the book.
Q: This is your second picture book with me using watercolours (the first was The Spotty Dotty Daffodil) how is your illustrative process different when you’re using watercolours?
A: Apart from the colour palettes being a lot more rigid, my photoshop methods are quite similar really. I use a computer brush on the screen which I use in a similar way to my brush with watercolours. I also use black ink to ‘frame’ what I’m doing so that it doesn’t get too out of control! I enjoy how mad the colours look with watercolours before I apply the ink to bring things together.
Q: How long does it normally take you to create a spread?
A: Some of the pages are quite quick – for example if there is a scene with a lot of similar colours I focus that page more on the inks afterwards. But there’s a lot of trial and error and a lot of waiting for things to dry.
Q: Did Boo’s Beard challenge you artistically in any way?
A: I think I found it one of the most difficult books I’ve ever worked on! I enjoyed the challenge immensely, but to get a likeness of a specific dog breed whilst attempting various different facial expressions was tough – especially as the dog had to have a ‘character’ to her without looking different on each spread. I hope I pulled it off!
Q: Where do you work?
A: I work at home, with my own dog at my feet – a cavapoo called Alf. Since I had my son 10 months ago I’ve been mostly working in the evenings so it’s changed around a bit. I wouldn’t change it for anything though.
Q: Lastly (and most importantly) what’s your favourite beverage and snack to have when you’re working?
A: Well….in the evenings I’m afraid it’s a glass of red! But only in the evenings, ok? Kettle crisps go very nicely, but all those watercolours and inks mean food and drink is a dangerous thing to have close by! I don’t want to dip my brush in my wine, either.
Thank you so much for answering my questions, Beth!
It was a pleasure!
Boo’s Beard is out now and ready to arrive at your house with the click of a few buttons. Get it on Amazon, Book Depository or Barnes and Noble online, or if you live in the states, ask for it in your nearest bookstore. Everybody needs a bit of beard in their lives!
October 7, 2015
Get your own #BoosBeard!
Boo and her beard have been taking over my life this week and my twitter feed! Would you like to have your own beard? Just print out the file below, cut out and voilà! A #BoosBeard! Snap a selfie and send me your best Boo beards on @rose_mannering!
