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Do Creatives Need Websites?

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There is ongoing debate about whether or not creatives need to have a web presence in addition to being on Twitter, Instagram and/or Facebook.

Many authors and illustrators have decided that their presence on social media is sufficient.

Some, who have had websites in the past, have let them crash and burn and seem to have no intention of resurrecting them.

For those who dislike social media, a website is really essential.

One of the troubles with websites is that they can so quickly go out of date, both in terms of content and design.

It is important that an author or illustrator retains control of their site, and that updates are easy to instigate.

There is no point in having a fancy and elaborate website that can only be appreciated on a laptop. A website needs to be mobile-friendly – just as functional on a mobile phone as on a full-size screen.

Many people assume having a website will involve high ongoing costs. Not so.

Annually renewing costs are limited to hosting and domain charges.

An author/illustrator site should cost no more than £50 a year to host and the domain name registration (usually free in the first year) will be a further £10. So that’s £60 a year, or just £5 a month.

A simple WordPress site is relatively straightforward to set up; much more so than it used to be. There are other options but I would strongly recommend WordPress.

Many people will like to have a little help with this initial setup. There are businesses that specialise in website design. Expect to pay upwards of £500 for bespoke design services.

But help can be found from freelancers for as little as £100. My own fee for WordPress setup ranges from £100 to £500, depending on requirements. Most of my freelance time is currently spent copyediting but I am always happy to help authors with website issues – updating an existing site, or starting one afresh. Reach out (as they say) if you need some advice.
[Other freelancers can be found on Upwork.com]

Isn't WordPress for bloggers?

Not any more, it isn’t. It’s a rich and highly versatile CMS – Content Management System. A WordPress website consists of a mix of Posts and Pages. The balance is entirely up to you. If you don’t want to blog, you don’t need to – your site can consist entirely of menu-related Pages.

So, for as little as £150 in the first year and £5 a month thereafter, you could have a professional and functional online presence.

It's a good time to take stock and decide. Ask yourself:
  • Do I need a website?
  • Is my current website fit for purpose?
  • Do I think an online presence is worth £5 a month?
  • Can I set something up myself with the help of YouTube videos?
  • Do I need the help of a freelancer?
  • Am I flush with funds and able to hire a design company?

An example of a WordPress site we like is that of Lucy Christopher:
https://www.lucychristopher.com

If you do not have a website currently,
or you have a site that is old and no longer fit-for-purpose,
take a moment to consider whether
a site like this would benefit your profile.

 

David Macaulay Feature

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David Macaulay is renowned for his intricate drawings demystifying everything from how castles were built (Castle, 1977) to the inner workings of the brain (The Amazing Brain, 1984). But he may be best known for the comprehensive The Way Things Work, first published in 1988. A 1991 Caldecott Medal winner and 2006 MacArthur Fellow, the British-born illustrator, 71, has lived in Norwich for the past dozen years.

Now on view at the Vermont Arts Council‘s Spotlight Gallery, “Macaulay in Montpelier: Selected Drawings and Sketches” provides insight into the artist’s meticulous work translating a variety of technologies and structures into visual form. In addition, Macaulay presents the lecture “Illustrating Architecture From the Inside Out” on Wednesday, October 24, at the University of Vermont in Burlington.

Seven Days chatted with Macaulay about his process and perfectionism and what he’d like to do next.

Full interview >>> https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/illustrator-david-macaulay-talks-about-drawing-learning-and-forgetting/Content?oid=21877060

Oliver Jeffers Interviewed By Digital Arts

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Oliver’s latest book, Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth, isn’t a story but an introduction to the world for his first child – written and illustrated in the first few months of his son’s life.

[Digital Arts] caught up with Oliver on a recent press tour to promote the book, and interviewed him about his creative process and approach to mark making and composition – and how different it was to work on a non-fiction book with a very particular audience in mind. 

Highly recommended link…
There is a video presentation of the interview (just under 10 minutes in length) and an edited transcript.

“I was never able to draw using a [graphics] tablet,” he says, “because it’s an unusual thing to be looking at the screen at something being created that’s actually happening with your hand. I tried it a couple of times [and thought], ‘No. It feels unnatural.’

He did find some advantages to working on an iPad though.

“You can zoom in, which is a huge advantage,” he says. “You can’t do that with an actual piece of paper.

“It’s strange because there’s zero friction. Whenever you’re drawing with a pencil across a piece of paper, there’s texture, drag, resistance. It’s just not there, and that’s a strange sensation, which I don’t know if you’ll ever really get used to.”

 

via Oliver Jeffers on how he illustrates picture books children (and adults) love – Features – Digital Arts.

Chris Haughton Feature In Irish News

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Jenny Lee chats to award-winning Dublin-born children’s picture book author Chris Haughton about his eclectic career, the secret of writing for young readers and seeing his work transformed into a stage production…

“In all my books, I use colour to tell the story, highlight the most important aspect and heighten the drama,” he explains.

His readers may be under five, but Haughton believes the secret of his success is that he makes them page turners.

“When planning my books, what I love thinking about is the before and after page turn. There has to be that anticipation and drama as you turn the page. With Shh! We Have a Plan, they are lining up to catch the bird and are poised with the net and looks like they are going to catch him this time, and you turn the page and you see the bird is flying off as they miss again,” he laughs.

An entertaining tale of three hapless hunters being bamboozled by birds, this funny, engaging and poignant tale won the Assocation of Illustrators award for best Children’s Book in 2014 and has been translated to the stage by Northern Ireland children’s theatre company Cahoots NI.


Waterstones

full feature >>> https://www.waterstones.com/book/shh-we-have-a-plan/chris-haughton/chris-haughton/9781406360035

Q&A With Axel Scheffler

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Axel Scheffler talks about Brexit, his love of English and French cheeses and his untidiness, amongst other things in the Q&A feature for the FT

What drives you on?

Maybe I should say, the whips of my publishers! It sounds quite cheesy, but it is the popularity of the books and the affection I get from children and parents. I often think I should retire and do something else; paint or something. I feel I have done enough books for the children of this world to read — even babies have a lot to read these days. But I will carry on a few more years.

What is the greatest achievement of your life so far?

I guess it’s not my decision. Probably creating The Gruffalo with Julia Donaldson. That’s the most successful book. I wouldn’t consider it the best thing I’ve ever done, but it’s the greatest achievement.

>>>> https://www.ft.com/content/94520dce-d3c6-11e7-8c9a-d9c0a5c8d5c9

My Working Day: Judith Kerr (Going strong at 94 on coffee and Martini)

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Mine isn’t really a writing day, it is a drawing day and it varies according to the time of year. I can draw by artificial light, but I can’t colour or paint by it, so I always hope to finish a book before the clocks go back. In the summer it is wonderful, I can work until 9pm if I want to, but in the winter I try to get on with it in the morning. The summers are very carefree because I can go out for a walk during the day, knowing I can work the rest of the day.

I need to walk in order to think about work. I feel lucky to be alive at this time: I’ve had two cataract operations so my sight is fine and I’ve got a new hip so I can walk. I live in Barnes, west London, so I walk along the river or to the duck pond or into the village. At the moment, I walk after dark so as not to waste the light. I like it too: everything looks good in the dark. The other day I got to the end of a book, which I’d worked particularly hard on, I’d only had one day off in the last month, and though it’s always nice to finish something, this time I felt strangely triumphant. So I went out for a walk at about eight in the evening and suddenly there were fireworks going off all around me. I hadn’t realised it was Guy Fawkes night. All these fireworks were going off and the church bells started to ring. I thought: this is very kind, but it’s only a little picture book. It was such a happy thing.

…

In brief

Hours: on a good day, 10.30 till about 5 
Drawings: I’ve discovered rather late in life never to stop when you think you’ve finished; always start on the next thing so there’s something to work on the following day 
Refreshments: endless coffee. It’s nice that they’ve decided it’s good for you now. I also have a Martini Rosso on ice with lunch. It gives me energy to keep going in the afternoon – at least that’s what I tell myself

via Judith Kerr: ‘I’m still surprised at the success of The Tiger Who Came to Tea’ | Books | The Guardian.

8 Illustrators I Love by Lauren O’Hara

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The Puffin blog spoke to Lauren O’Hara, illustrator of the beautifully-dark fairy tale Hortense and the Shadow, about her influences and illustrators that have inspired her work. 

When I was very little, I spent hours reading a copy of the fairy tale The Snow Queen with my sister. It was illustrated by Errol le Cain, and the pictures looked so magical we half thought they actually might be. Maybe one day we’d fall into an illustration, and ride under the Northern Lights on a talking reindeer. I still get that tingly feeling when I see Errol Le Cain’s paintings – he’s enchanting.

Find out who the other 7 illustrators are > https://www.penguin.co.uk/puffin/articles/2017/oct/8-illustrators-i-love-by-lauren-o-hara/?utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral

Masters of Illustration Bring Breathtaking Art to Four Seafaring Stories

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Highly recommended:
Leonard S. Marcus on four new picture books, in the New York Times

While some sea stories are mainly good for a pirate-y thrill, others take young readers a bit deeper. The vast scope and power of the high seas makes the world’s oceans a dramatic setting for stories for those just getting their sea-legs as thoughtful, feeling, capable humans. Four new picture books leave dry land behind to reflect on the rewards and perils of friendship, empathy, courage and more…

The 4 titles reviewed by Marcus are

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/07/books/review/mordecai-gerstein-peter-sis-fan-brothers-matthew-cordell.html

Nicoletta Ceccoli : the “best children’s book illustrator in Italy”

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Nicoletta Ceccoli is a pop surrealist painter/illustrator from the Republic of San Marino (a microstate within north-central Italy). Nicoletta has an animation degree from the State Institute of Art in Urbino and has illustrated over 30 children’s books since 1995. She does both commercial and personal work, and has exhibited her artwork all over the world. Among many other awards, she has received a silver medal from the Society of Illustrators in New York and the Andersen Prize, “honoring her as the best children’s book illustrator in Italy.”Ceccoli’s work depicts a world of delicate, feminine girls alongside freaky creatures in strange situations.

via The “best children’s book illustrator in Italy” is coming to Los Angeles with a new painting exhibition / Boing Boing.

Children’s Book Illustrator Karel Franta Dies At The Age Of 89

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Czech artist Karel Franta, the author of illustrations of books for children and winner of a number of international awards, died at the age of 89 on Wednesday.

Franta illustrated more than 100 books for children, mainly by Czech authors, and also the production of foreign, particularly German-language publishers.

via Children’s Book Illustrator Karel Franta Dies At The Age Of 89.