Frances McKay Illustration

The Doughnut of Doom: A Food Town Tour

My new book, The doughnut of Doom, is out now! But what is it about? Well, it's another ordinary day in Food Town and Nancy McNutty, peanut butter sandwich and rookie reporter, desperately needs a big break. So, when news comes in of a monster doughnut on the rampage, she's straight on the case - she knew there was something dodgy about the superfoods down at Lemon Labs! And boy, is that doughnut hungry! It's EATING everything in sight and not even the police, the fire chiefs OR the military can bring it down. Whatever will President Bacon do?

If you want to find out how they defeat the doughnut you’ll have to read the book but today I’m going to take you on a tour of Food Town, pre doughnut destruction of course.

First stop on our tour is The Peanut Press, Food Town’s premier newspaper and the workplace of intrepid reporter Nancy McNutty. It’s editor is chief is Big Cheese who’s rumoured to be a pretty awful boss.

Next stop is Micro Tan. This is the place to go if you want to looked sun-kissed for the summer, but be careful not to overdo it.

If you want some classier entertainment you might be better off visiting the Food Town Theatre. Here they put on highbrow productions such as Ham-Let and A Midsummers Ice Cream.

If night life is what you’re after then the best place to go is the Chocolate Bar. With DJ Mushroom in residence the best nights out are always found here but be careful of the Allsorts, they’re wild.

Stylist Andy Floss will give you an all new look.

Want to see some local landmarks? By far the most famous is the Empire Steak Building which offers panoramic views of Food Town, That’s when it’s not occupied by a giant monster doughnut, of course.

Many tourists visit the Food Town park to see the iconic statue of local hero General Gauda, who distinguished himself in the Cheese Board wars of 1883.

And finally it’s worth stopping by City Hall to see if you can catch a glimpse of President Bacon, now in his second term. He’s always around for a photo op.

 

The Doughnut of Doom by Elys Dolan is published by Nosy Crow.

You can find out more about Elys and her work at elysdolan.com and elysdolan.tumblr.com or follow her on twitter and Facebook at @ElysDolan and facebook.com/elysdolanillustration.

 

Introducing Charlotte Cotterill

Frances McKay Illustration is delighted to announce that Charlotte Cotterill, a new graduate with an MA and a merit in Children’s Book Illustration from Cambridge School of Art, is joining the agency from June 2016.

Charlotte says; ‘In 2011 I began my degree in Illustration with Animation at Manchester Metropolitan University and I graduated with a first class honours in 2014. I love making picture books and have worked on 4 stories that I have written myself in the last 2 years as part of my university courses. I am inspired by my own experiences and my observations of the world around me.

I create images using coloured pencil and then add washes in watercolour and ink. Recently, I have also been developing artwork created in lino print, I print using black oil based ink and then add colour digitally in Photoshop.

I also have an interest in freelance illustration and have created work that has been displayed in Manchester Central Library as part of a competition from Manchester City Transport in 2014. I completed a two week work placement with Hallmark Cards in July 2015, and I designed an image to feature as the cover illustration for the March 2016 ‘Cambridge Edition’ magazine.

I grew up in Nottinghamshire with my family and a love of reading, drawing and playing the clarinet. I live and work in Cambridge.’

 

Charlotte's website: Charlotte Cotterill.co.uk

Blocks

At last! Finally… Drumroll please…. We present… ‘BLOCKS’  

My picture book 'Blocks' has been published by Nosy Crow. Hurray!

This story of toddler rivalry and reconciliation is now ready to be shared with pre-schoolers everywhere, but reaching this day was a story in itself, taking a little over four years.

I thought I would share how it came about.

2011 MA illustration project: Devise a sequential narrative. That’s what I was working on, so when I awoke with this in my head I just scribbled it down. Job done. Or so I thought.

I planned it to be wordless, tweaked it a tiny bit, and drew it up for hand-in. I even trying out screen printing along the way, enjoyed creating my first ever dummy book, and didn’t think too much about it - other than noting my tutor had an aversion to the boggly eyes on the children! 

2012. I had heard about the Macmillan Prize but never thought about entering, but with only a few days to the deadline I decided to ditch the boggly eyes and redraw the entire 32 page book with coloured crayon, and enter. 

Weeks later, I got the call from Macmillan. Blocks had won first prize. Which was very nice indeed.

They really liked it, but to publish it, the team at Macmillan had to sign up co-editions. Somehow the whole wordless thing just didn’t work. So I popped it back in the drawer and I went on with my course, developing   my practice as they say, a very different style emerging along the way.

2013. The end of the MA course was approaching, and having spent all my time on the final project, I had almost forgotten about the little wordless book, but at the eleventh hour I had dug it out, dusted it off, had a rethink and drew it all over again, but with soft pastels, and included it in my show. 

Being concept driven, the style changed, but the sequence, basic composition and use of limited colour, which are essential to the story, stayed exactly the same.

2014. It was on the suggestion of Kate Wilson at Nosy Crow that a re-working of Blocks in my newer style, with the addition of some very limited text, might just be what was needed. 

So, always one to take heed of good advice, I did just that. And this is the one which is now a proper book.

The published version is the fourth time I have drawn these characters, each time very differently, but now they have names (Ruby, Benji and Guy)  and the book has words, and just the right amount. I am quite attached to them all now!

So just as some author/illustrator projects are snapped up and published with little or no no editing (you talented lot know who you are) so others, like mine, take a more meandering path to get to the finishing line. 

The editorial input from the team at Nosy Crow to guide and direct me to the finished product has been invaluable, and I would like to take the opportunity to thank both Frances and Kate for spotting something worth nurturing in my student work.

I am sure that my next books will be a little more straightforward, and speedier in getting to the finishing line!

 

Irene Dickson

 

 

 

Steven Seagull Action Hero

My new book, Steven Seagull Action Hero, is published today!

It’s about Steven, a retired police detective, who’s called back into action for one last case when someone starts stealing sand from Beach City and leaving massive holes.

On the way to solving the mystery Steven and his ex-partner Mac (who’s a goldfish) question various suspects including Lola the Lifeguard (Hippo), Ice Cream Harry (ice cream van owning rat) and Rick the volleyball referee (great white shark).

As a FMI exclusive I’ve put together a mini-comic introducing Steven and some of Beach City’s criminal underworld:

Steven Seagull Action Hero by Elys Dolan is published by Oxford University Press. You can find out more about Elys and her work at elysdolan.com and elysdolan.tumblr.com or follow her on twitter and Facebook at @ElysDolan and facebook.com/elysdolanillustration.

The Great Big Sleep

‘The Great Big Sleep’, like most of the stories I write, is semi-autobiographical and inspired by true-ish events.

It is a tale of two friends, Squirrel and Bear who are preparing to settle down for their long winter nap. But even after they’ve both had their supper, drank their milk and had one last mess about in the snow, Squirrel is still not tired.

As Squirrel tries his best to make himself sleepy in a number of ever increasingly noisy ways, he begins to test the patience of his friend, Bear. Not wanting to keep his friend awake any longer, Squirrel leaves the den and heads out into the snow.

With the night growing colder and the snow beginning to fall harder it’s up to Bear to find Squirrel and bring him home to the warmth of the fire.

‘Meanwhile, the den was so quiet that Bear couldn’t sleep because he was worried. Where was Squirrel? Bear lit his lantern and headed out into the snow to search for him.’

Although I have illustrated many picture books over the years, ‘The Great Big Sleep’ is the first I have both written and illustrated. It feels like it was a long time in the making but now it’s here I’m really proud of all the hard work that both myself and the publishing team have put into it. The book is published in the UK on 7^th January 2016 by Penguin Random House.

I hope you enjoy reading it with your family and have a Great Big Sleep of your own.

http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/editions/the-great-big-sleep/9781849419888

 

Sean Julian

 

Howard and the Three Billy Goats

Having just finished two books for Ladybird that I can’t quite sing about just yet, I’ve put my writing hat back on and dug out The Troll and the Three Billy Goats Gruff.

Introducing Howard, the misunderstood troll with a passion for baking.

In this most recent spread I’ve coloured up he is making one of my particular favourites, the Bakewell tart.

The story is perhaps a sequel to the original Norwegian Billy Goat Gruff fairytale, but reveals a little more about Howard the troll and what lies under the bridge.

The story also includes a lot of cakes and possibly a new career for Howard.

 

Nicola Pontin

 

Nicola Pontin

Allow me to introduce myself! I am Nicola Pontin, the newest addition to FMI. I am delighted to be represented by Frances and part of such a fantastic set of illustrators.

Originally from the shores of west Wales, I left to study Illustration and Animation at Kingston University, graduating in 2009. During those marvelous three years I developed a passion for both image making and narrative. I wrote my first picture book, Bruno’s Box, in my final year, which was later published by Meadowside in 2011. 

I worked on another book with Meadowside titled Winston and the Wish Department, which was published 2013. It’s a book all about owls and tells the story of Winston, a young owl, who spends a night with his dad at work in the Wish Department. Unfortunately, Meadowside no longer exists, their list of books now being distributed in the UK through Parragon Books. 

I’ve also illustrated a few other book projects, including a princess activity book for the US and some Korean educational books. One, titled Who Will Help Me? in which a space man crashes to earth and is helped by a variety of different professionals was particularly enjoyable to work on. 

I am now thrilled to be working with Frances and to focus on writing picture books again. My latest book idea, Howard and the Three Billy Goats, tells the story of when the three Billy goats helped Howard (the troll) realise his passion for baking. 

If you’d like to take a closer look at my work, you can do so here:

www.nicolapontin.com

http://nicolapontin.blogspot.co.uk/

https://instagram.com/nicolapontin/

More from me soon!

 

What is Swimming There?

Hot of the press: "What is swimming there?" will be available from 22nd June 2015. A book without words, following a submarine going from a pond, to a river, to Africa, to the deep sea, ending up in the Antarctic.

 

 

A dog is swimming after the teddy, which had fallen into the water, a message in a bottle floating along, the frog prince who has lost his crown, a penguin on holiday, a football, a pair of glasses and many more characters are to be found on every double page.

 

 

I really enjoyed telling these little stories, from page to page, without any words. It is for children from the age of 2, so they can develop their language skills and point and talk through the pictures. The challenge was to do a book about fish and water and avoid it becoming too blue. So not only do the pictures follow the water from pond to river to ocean, they loosely follow the seasons  as well, from spring and reproduction in the pond, over summer in Africa and the coral fish, to winter, with snowmen in the Antarctic.

 

 

These books are very popular in Germany, they are called "Wimmel" books, which means that they are full of details on every page, and do not have any text; like "where is Wally?" without Wally. 

 

 

With a bit of luck it will be well received, as I would love to do some more, birds flying, worms crawling...

 

 

 Henning Löhlein