Blink and you'll miss it! 
If you look closely at the iPad on Hazel Edwards' desk on page 39 of today's Home magazine in the Herald Sun, you'll see the nine eBooks I have recently illustrated. The Project Spy Kids series and Frequent Flyer Twins series are lined up and ready to read in the iPad's bookshelf. 
These nine books will go on sale from Hazel's website very soon, at www.hazeledwards.com. They are a great way to encourage your kids to read on your iPhone, rather than playing with aps. 

I've finally put my 'Pirate' series of illustrations on sale at the online store Red Bubble. Red Bubble is a trusted online illustration community who print and resell images on stickers, baby jumpsuits, greeting cards and more...

Start Shopping at Red Bubble > All products available in both designs

© Jane Connory, 2011.

It was serendipitous when I met Hazel Edwards, author of 'There's a Hippopotomous on my Roof Eating Cake.' I was watching my kids at the playground when she sat down beside me on the park bench and started chatting. And before you know it, we are collaborating on a series of eBook publications. Both the Frequent Flyer and Project Spy Kids mystery series (for ages 7-10) are available in my Book Shop.

The process of adapting my illustrations to a style, that was usable on an eReader rather than in print, was a tricky one. Below is the process I used.

STEP ONE

After a series of thumbnails and researching kids fashion and airport interiors on the web, I sketched a full size rough, scanned it in and placed it as a jpg into a new document in Adobe Illustrator CS5.

© Jane Connory, 2011.

STEP TWO

Next I used the pen tool to trace the shapes.

© Jane Connory, 2011.

STEP THREE

I used the colour palette and gradient tools to give the shapes tone and form.

© Jane Connory, 2011.

STEP FOUR

Lastly I added the background and did the type setting. I tried to keep the feel of the colour palette within a 70's retro/industrial theme.

© Jane Connory, 2011.

STEP FIVE

I created chapter heading and paragraph divider illustrations and saved them for 'Web & Devices' so they could be placed directly into my ePub file.

© Jane Connory, 2011.

THERE YOU HAVE IT
For each book in the series I kept the same layout but changed the dominant colour and text. The aim was to make sure the simple vector illustrations looked good as small and large jpgs on devices ranging from iPhones to iPads, as well as visually holding together as a series.

© Jane Connory, 2011.

Get your kids into reading and check out the Frequent Flyer eBooks (for ages 7-10) in my Book Shop. Enjoy!

Another illustrator stole the show at the AGideas design conference in Melbourne yesterday.
The students had a great opportunity to see how Dean Gorrissen's interest in 'Golden Books' and the black and white worlds of 'Get Smart' and 'Star Trek' were the sparks that ignited his successful career.
Dean showed world class work that he has had published in everything from glossy advertising campaigns to fun and friendly kid's books.
It was a refreshing and down-to-earth perspective for the students, who seemed to be impressed by Dean's unpretentious attitude and vibrant work.


Dean's blog can be found at: http://deangorissen.blogspot.com/2011/04/agideas.html#comments
Dean's page on the AGideas website is at:
http://www.agideas.net/index.php?nodeId=60&speakerId=64&eventId=6
The above picture was referenced from The Little Golgen Books website:
http://www.randomhouse.com/golden/lgb/

Quoted as "fast approaching cult status", Oslo Davis took us on a witty and absurd journey through his vast folio of cartoons at the AGideas seminar in Melbourne yesterday.

And what a delightful insight into the mind of an illustrator.

Hearing how he has struggled to have a recognisable style was interesting because his looseness and sparse colour are evident every time you look at his work. Self-doubt seems to torment even the most successful.

Oslo has seemed to simply pursue his love for drawing through his life, which has brought him great success. His wide portfolio of work kept the laughs coming and kept the audience, full of design students, interested - not an easy task.

I can't help wondering if he'll attend the after-party and whether he'll quote a student in his next 'Overheard' cartoon. We can only hope.

Check out Oslo's 'Overheard' cartoons at the link below.
http://www.oslodavis.com/projects/overheard/
Quote and image taken from AGideas website - link is below. 
http://www.agideas.net/index.php?nodeId=60&speakerId=58&eventId=6