I'm Not Scared - IF

 

The first thing that came to mind when Illustration Friday's suggested topic word of 'Scary' was remembering all the dressing up and anticipation for the North American festival of Halloween. Which as an occasion is catching on in my Aussie neighbourhood more and more each year. 'The harvesting of the lollies' night is one candy companies, retailers and and (lets not forget the kids) are loving. A bag of free candy from the neighbours just for dressing up! Wow! Kids aren't stupid.

The second thing that came to mind was a book I illustrated in 2005 for Blake Education. The images here are just some from 'I'm Not Scared'. This was for their Gigglers series and was aimed at reluctant primary school readers. Above is a page where an Ogre appears and below is the printed spread where the Bunyip is appearing.













The story was about a father and daughter ghost talking about what they found most scary.
Each scary 'monster' mentioned manifested. Then, as each monster mentions what scares them it then manifested. And so on. It was a great little book written by author Wendy Blaxland and was great fun to create and play around with scary fun characters, including the father and daughter ghosts, an ogre, a giant and Australia's own billabong frightener the Bunyip.

The illustrations were created digitally from scans of the roughs and was the first book that I extensively used photoshop filters for texture. Below, is the cover image showing some of the character faces.

Who killed Cock Robin?

Ferocious -

I said.

I killed. 

I said. 

I saw.

Who killed Cock Robin?

I, said the Sparrow,

with my bow and arrow,

I killed Cock Robin.

Who saw him die?

I, said the Fly,

with my little eye,

I saw him die.

Who caught his blood?

I, said the Fish,

with my little dish,

I caught his blood.

Who'll make the shroud?

I, said the Beetle,

with my thread and needle,

I'll make the shroud.

Who'll dig his grave?

I, said the Owl,

with my pick and shovel,

I'll dig his grave.

Who'll be the parson?

I, said the Rook,

with my little book,

I'll be the parson.

Who'll be the clerk?

I, said the Lark,

if it's not in the dark,

I'll be the clerk.

Who'll carry the link?

I, said the Linnet,

I'll fetch it in a minute,

I'll carry the link.

Who'll be chief mourner?

I, said the Dove,

I mourn for my love,

I'll be chief mourner.

Who'll carry the coffin?

I, said the Kite,

if it's not through the night,

I'll carry the coffin.

Who'll bear the pall?

We, said the Wren,

both the cock and the hen,

We'll bear the pall.

Who'll sing a psalm?

I, said the Thrush,

as she sat on a bush,

I'll sing a psalm.

Who'll toll the bell?

I said the Bull,

because I can pull,

I'll toll the bell.

All the birds of the air

fell a-sighing and a-sobbing,

when they heard the bell toll

for poor Cock Robin.

From the Snakeskin Sketchbook series. 'Who killed Cock Robin'

Here's a link to the wiki site about the poem.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cock_Robin

http://www.redbubble.com/people/kenrinkel/art/7812614-who-killed-cock-robin

Pass It On

Jackie Hosking of the weekly e-zine Pass It On has included my 'Suds' children's illustration and short interview with me in the latest issue. (issue 355. Monday, September 12th 2011)
The suds illustration is from my children's book portfolio and pre snakeskin sketchbook which most of my recent posts have included. You'll need to go back a few months to see more of the children's book and educational work.

What is Pass It On?
Pass It On is a weekly, interactive, networking e-zine for all those involved with or interested in the children's writing & illustrating industry. (Australian focus)




Meanwhile here is a monkey eating an iceblock. It's a detail from a spread in my Monkey Match books.

http://jackiehoskingpio.wordpress.com/