"Books about 'yukky' things" ABC Victoria

The following is an excerpt from a radio program recently discussing scatology in children's books. I had the honour of having Who Flung Dung? mentioned, and favorably so. I don't believe I've ever heard the word "sophisticated" used in discussing this book before now...

NOT THIS LITTLE BLACK DUCK

Here's some samples from my third picture book collaboration with author Mark Svendsen. It'll be released by Koala Books later this year.

Up and coming...

I haven't updated this blog in ages, so here's a couple of samples from an upcoming book...

COWZAT! - Character Development

Some very early cow concepts for Bruce Atherton's Cowzat!

I would have found these difficult to have playing cricket, so I came up with a refined, more practical design. I began with a basic template that I used for most of the cows...

From there I set about creating unique, defining characteristics for each.

Two breeds of cows are represented here, Jerseys (which are mentioned in the text) and Friesians/Holsteins. I initially had the two teams a mix of each, but decided to use their distinct markings as team colours, which made more sense.

There's an awful lot in a name. I can come up with many ideas from a name alone, especially if those names are as inventive and fun as those in Bruce's text. Because there is little in way of character descriptions in this text, I was free to flesh out each character visually, with just the names as starting points.

There's team captain number #1, Jezzabel:

The only description of her in the text is she's got a hat. A baggy green seemed the obvious choice. I gave both team captains bells too.

Team captain number #2, Floppy May:

In my original design for Floppy, she had an abnormally large udder, twice the size it is in the finished book...

I was talked into giving her an udder reduction by my editor, a move which was supported by my wife who was also slightly troubled by it's enormity.

Next, there's Daisy Lou:

With a name like that, Cowboy boots and a straw hat seemed appropriate.

Jenny Bramble Rose:

She's a key character in the book. A messy 'bramble' of hair adorns her head.

Lady Daffodil:

This name sounds aristocratic and snobbish, so she always has her nose in the air and glowering.

Marjorie:

My grandmother's name is Marjorie, so this is an affectionate nod to her. The hair and glasses are reminiscent of my grandma's hair and glasses in the 1960s. I guess this cow is also a tip o the hat to Gary Larson, there's something Far Side-esque about this character and her name.

Pattie Pie:

Branching away from the template with this one. You just couldn't possibly have a slim cow with this name...

Aunty Moo:

The senior citizen of the group.

Jill:

With a name like Jill, this character could be anything really. So I decided to make her young and small, to contrast the very old Aunty Moo.

Twinkle Toes:

The less said about Twinkle Toes the better...

Cowzat! is out now in Australian bookstores.

COWZAT!

COWZAT!, written by Bruce Atherton, and published by Windy Hollow Books is out now apparently.

I'll talk more about this book later...

Toilet Humour continued...

Here's some slightly better photos of the toilet door commission. Enjoy...

I like the grainy texture of the timber, it was a good surface to paint on. It also added an aged look, almost like cracking paint, which was all the more befitting of the subject matter...

Painting is a peaceful, cathartic process most of the time. Makes me wonder why I don't paint more often.

Monkey Bouquet

"Peoni's may be out of season, but monkeys are all year round!" is the message on the back of this Valentine's gift for my wife (then fiancee) in 2007. She said she hated it at the time, but it's been on display since, so it can't be that bad.