3x3 Annual No.11

Yay, the new 3x3 annual is finally out! It is now available as a printed book and as a pdf, and will soon be released as an iPad app, as well.

My illustration (above) got an honorable mention —it is from No Crocodiles in Town.  To see all the winning illustrations online, go to 3x3 then click on the Online Annual No.11 button. It includes work for the Picture Book Show, as well as the Professional Show and the Student/Newcomer entries.  So many fantastic illustrators from all over the world!

PS. Here are some interesting places to click—
Russian books for children
Valerio Vidali has refreshed his website
Annika Oyrabo

Honorable mention in the new 3x3!

Breaking news: I am very pleased to announce that one of my illustrations has been awarded an honorable mention in the latest 3x3 Picture Book Show! It's an image from "No Crocodiles in Town", a picture book I'm currently working on.

Detail

Early pencil sketch

I've been absent from this blog the past few months for both good reasons (a fantastic trip to New York, where I met with lots of my favorite publishers, attended the SCBWI Conference and caught up with long-lost friends) ... and for not-so-good reasons (involving hospitals and unbearable dread).  In the midst of it all, I have tried to continue sketching and grappling with new manuscripts.  But this blog fell by the wayside, somewhat :-(  .  Hopefully this won't happen again...

Now that I'm here, I did want to mention—horribly, ludicrously late—that I finally received my copy of 3x3 No. 10, the annual from last year (!!) ... and it's a beaut! Look:

Beautifully printed and hard-bound, it unites work from all three of the shows (Picture Book, Pro, and Student Work) in a single volume. Below is my page, featuring the cover and four spreads from "Crocodile Shoes" (my as-yet-unpublished picture book, discussed ad nauseum on this blog already).

In a happy coincidence, the page next to mine had images by my friend Zack Rock whose new book ("Homer Henry Hudson's Curio Museum") will be published very soon! Go Zack, go! In fact, the whole annual is overflowing with wonderful work, definitely worth a look.

For those of you who are interested, the 3x3 annual No. 10 is available in both print and digital formats — click here to see!

3x3 Picture Book Show

I seem to be on a roll lately.  First the SCBWI Grand Prize, and now this:

3x3 magazine has decided to include my work in their upcoming Picture Book Annual.  Again!!  A set of five illustrations from my book "Crocodile Shoes" received a Merit award (in the category of Children's Book, unpublished) --above is a little vignette from it. If you'd like to see a few more images from it, click here.

I am thrilled to be included among such wonderful illustrators from all over the world— some very familiar artists, as well as new discoveries whose work I am eager to see.  The annual should be available in a few months time...I am really looking forward to it.

Thanks very much to the judges and to Charles Hively.  And now... I've got to go do some dancin' in the streets!

3x3 Directory

I've been meaning to mention...I finally got my copy of ILLO 13 (the 3x3 International Illustration Directory)! I am very pleased to tell you that I have a couple of images in it. My crocodile illustration can be found in the "Animal" section.  

This image is the basis of the endpapers of my children's book project, mentioned previously. (click image for bigness)

And in the "Children" section of the directory is this mouse, forever contemplating the camembert. Some of you might remember seeing her before, here.

You can look at the website: there are a lot of good illustrations to peruse. Then there's a free app, which you can get from iTunes— and that is available to everybody. And, of course, it exists in book form as well. In fact, if you are an art director, editor, graphic designer or art buyer, you can request a free copy.

Here's what it looks like— the cover art is by the Dutch illustrator, Aad Goudappel....

In conclusion, YAY!

3x3 Children's Show

I've been in summer mode lately, but I just had to pop in today to tell you my news: I just found out that my artwork has been selected for the 3x3 magazine's Children's Show. And not only that, but it was also singled out for Distinguished Merit in its category! It goes without saying that I am stunned, and completely delighted.

The image is one that you may already be familiar with: it was created for Tales of India, and took part in the exhibit Le Immagini della Fantasia of Sàrmede (still touring in Europe).

The annual, No. 9, will be coming out later in the year... I will give you a heads-up when it does. Congratulations to the winners (check out the list, here)— I am really honoured to be in such good company. And many thanks to the jury!