Feeling Festive with Alex T Smith

After an unusually challenging year it's comforting to know that Christmas is only a matter of weeks away. With eager young book worms to treat it's time to start our Christmas book wish lists, what better way to start the festive season than with a seasonally suitable picture book. In Iceland it's a long held tradition to present your nearest and dearest with a new book, this celebration is called Jolabokaflod, which translates roughly to “Christmas book flood” and we can't think of a better Christmas treat than a copy of The Twelve Days of Christmas by Alex T. Smith published by Macmillan Children's Books

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We made the 2021 Blue Peter Book Award Short-list!

We were completely thrilled to see the big reveal of the prestigious 2021 Blue Peter Book Award shortlist. What a dazzling array of brilliant books for all ages and reading abilities. We are especially excited to see Aleksei Bitskoff featured in the books for 9-11 year old category with Life of Riley: Beginner’s Luck written by Simon James Green and published by Scholastic. You can read more in our blog post here. Since 2000, the enormously popular and influential Blue Peter Book Awards have been recognising and celebrating the best authors, the most creative illustrators and the greatest reads for children. Watch a short introduction to this amazing shortlist HERE.

This funny, gentle story is packed with snappy humour and hilarious characters. You can’t help but love Riley, a brilliant, witty, world-weary kid and long-suffering underdog. There’s a lovely message about being grateful for all the things that you have and for appreciating the people who support you, no matter what. Perfect for Diary of a Wimpy Kid fans or children about to start secondary school, though there’s a lot of fun to be had for grown ups here too.

You can grab a copy of Life of Riley Beginner's Luck HERE

Aleksei Bitzkoff is represented by Arena Illustration, you can view his online portfolio HERE

George Ermos for M&S

This month, Bright Artist George Ermos’s art can be seen in high-streets around Britain, as he illustrated packaging for this year’s Marks & Spencers Halloween food range.

George’s range of work in Children’s Publishing, and his bold, fun style made him perfect for the seasonal packaging project. Read more about it HERE  

George Ermos is represented by The Bright Agency

Magic Cat’s The Dragon Ark, Illustrated by Tomislav Tomic

This month unveils this long awaited, large format and beautifully bound book The Dragon Ark with exquisite illustrations on every page by Tomislav Tomic.

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Little Monsters by David Walliams, Illustrated by Adam Stower

We are very excited to announce the publication of a new picture book partnership, Britain’s best-selling author David Walliams with super talented Arena illustrator Adam Stower.

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Yuko Kondo / Tiny Forest / Earthwatch

Yuko Kondo was commissioned to create the artwork for Earthwatch’s ‘Tiny Forest’ campaign. Tiny Forests are densely packed native forests that fit into the size of a tennis court. This means they bring all the benefits of a forest – climate cooling, lower flood risks, biodiversity, improved air quality and physical and mental wellbeing – right into the heart of our cities and urban spaces. Yuko created a design that packs the wildlife and plant life of the United Kingdom in to this space. The design was used both online and also as mural in urban areas around the UK.

You can see more of Yuko’s work at https://www.debutart.com/artist/yuko-kondo

On the Go with Cheerios

Motion Club create four energised animations for a Cheerios and Shape Advertising feature.

The brief was to create 4 animations that capture the mood of a positive, healthy morning routine.

We love using exaggerated poses in our characters, so this was a great chance for us to have some fun.

We were also able to play with the Cheerio photo as a device to incorporate in the narrative - whether the rising sun or sleep pod!

Motion Club are represented by IllustrationX

Juicy Crones

Who better to create a bold, bright and inspiring illustration than Laura Greenan who designed this sensational artwork for the Juicy Crones project... a new book, website and way of thinking for older women. The illustration needed to portray an older woman who was confident, balanced and calm.

The fabulous Juicy Crones is about 'courageous women claiming this part of their lives for adventure, activism and creativity.' The bright, psychedelic colours represent the energy and vitality of these women, who are in no way, 'past it'.

Laura Greenan is represented by IllustrationX

Daniela Terrazzini illustrates “Where Snow Angles Go”; Maggie O’Farrell’s first childrens book.

Daniela Terrazzini has illustrated acclaimed novelist Maggie O’Farrell’s first children’s book, Where Snow Angels Go; an incredible collaboration between two exceptional artists. Daniela’s dreamy illustrations are perfectly partnered with the modern fairy tale's exploration of the fragility of life and the places we find strength.

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Laura Barrett’s illustrations turn a gin bottle into a snow globe for M & S!

Laura Barrett has illustrated two scenes for Marks & Spencers range of gin liqueurs, helping to create the effect of snow globe on a bottle!

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