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De Automonteur

Nikalas Catlow — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:08:05 +0000

Another retro children's book from Antwerpen. De Automonteur, published by Dupuis.

Herfst

Nikalas Catlow — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:16:53 +0000

I've had requests to name the bookshop in Brussels. I had their card on my fridge at home so when I remember I will check the name and post it for you on here.

During my recent trip to Belgium I came across a little comic shop almost at the end of my day in Antwerpen. The shop sold mostly comics but some children's books and I noticed a very interesting shelf in the corner that had some old children's books from the 60's.

Herfst is a book about the autumn and for some reason I couldn't put it down. I like the browns in all their retro glory and the compositions are lovely. At €1.50 I kinda wish I'd bought them all...

OOOO! - Gay Wegerif

Nikalas Catlow — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:07:26 +0000

There's an amazing children's book shop in the centre of Brussels just minutes away from the main square in the 19th century arcade. I went there 18 months ago and have been wanting to return to Brussels and the shop ever since. I've only just found the time to go back so it was a real treat to spend a good hour or more in there looking through the most amazingly illustrated and designed French and Flemish books.

My first find in the shop was this fantastically graphic book called OOOO! which is created by Gay Wegerif. Published by Editions MeMo, I was surprised on further digging that Wegerif studied at Falmouth and is based in the UK.

The Story of Everything - Neal Layton

Nikalas Catlow — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 17:49:36 +0000

So, the filming of the apple and the egg app is continuing and a number of illustrators are already 'in the can'. The whole project is taking much longer than expected, in between my own books though so you should be expecting to see the finished product in the itunes store in the spring.

Filming the app has enabled my passion for children's books to be re-ignited as seeing how everyone works in a completely different way is so interesting. I recently filmed Neal Layton. An illustrator with a fantastically spontaneous and charming style with just the right amount of quirkiness. Here's his recent pop-up book The Story of Everything.

Lane Smith and Molly Leach

Nikalas Catlow — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 12:39:41 +0000

One of the first children's books I discovered as an adult which made me realise what an interesting and creative field this is to work in was The Stinky Cheese Man. Illustrated by Lane Smith and designed by Molly Leach, the book was a watershed in visual communication for children.

Book Trailers

Nikalas Catlow — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 13:18:36 +0000

I've been very veeeeeery busy the past six months. I left Random House in order to persue my freelance career as an author and illustrator and have produced in the past six months: 6 books (working on the 7th now), various book trailers and I'm also just about to start work on a series of apps. here's the most recent book trailer I completed for Random House:

You can see more trailers I've produced here.

I've also been busy planning and apple and the egg iphone app which I'll be filming over the summer and am hoping to have ready for release in the fall. I'll be posting snippets of info about the app here as it comes together.

Motivation Monday # 32 - Tom Frost

Nikalas Catlow — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:47:12 +0000

Tom Frost is an illustration graduate from Falmouth College of Art and now lives and works in Bristol.

He produces screen prints, paintings, gocco prints and 3D objects from a studio that he shares with 7 other artists in the centre of Bristol.

Tom explains about his sketchbooks, 'I would not consider myself a keeper of beautifully filled sketchbooks, with flawless images and fully developed ideas, more a collector of bits of paper with odd ideas and scribbles, which I hope will one day turn into a pleasing and eye-catching illustration!'

Motivation Monday # 31 - Reka kiraly

Nikalas Catlow — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:18:29 +0000

Reka kiraly is a Hungarian illustrator/pattern designer and lives/works in Finland. She has a very distinctive graphic style which although very graphic is still loaded with charm.

She works with white paper/notebook and black felt-tip pen ('I have them with me always').

Reka explains about her process of working, 'Nowadays I draw on large sheets of paper and crop the parts I like. Color comes usually when Im more or less ready with the rough image in black and white. People told me that the colour combinations I use are strange/weird but I like neighbouring tints and colours that are very close to each other and only in certain light for example they show that they are different.'

Big Rabbit's Bad Mood - Delphine Durand

Nikalas Catlow — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 13:16:13 +0000

One of the best children's book illustrators working in French, Delphine Durrand has illustrated this picture book for Chronicle Books. Durrands characterization is fantastic especially as she's able to create great characters from simple shapes and blobs.

Gravity is a mystery - Don Madden

Nikalas Catlow — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:54:19 +0000

Here's another brilliantly illustrated science book published in 1970 by Thomas Y. Crowell Company and again illustrated by Don Madden. Loving the pink and orange together. There's no way in hell you'd be able to make a unisex book in pink these days.