Teacher’s book blog
A big part of my work with the Tower Hamlets Schools Library Services is recommending and evaluating books. My colleague started a …
The Mighty Thumbslurp returns…
…well, I hope it does. I was inspired to (finally) get around to finishing off the revised manuscript for You’re a pest …
A lovely email
Cheering me up on a grey, rainy day, ‘Wildings’ author, Nilanjana Roy emailed me asking if it would be okay if she …
SCBWI Undiscovered Voices Interview
https://www.wordsandpics.org/2019/03/undiscovered-voices-interviews-jacob.html Has it really been a year since the UV 2018 launch? This interview was actually completed last July but it’s only …
Creative writing workshops
The day job has recently involved an awful lot of work making sure that the annual creative writing competition goes off without …
Winding down at Christmas
That was rather a self-indulgent last post, but I guess I’d been having a duff few months. I’ve been indulging more in …
It’s been a long year
Sometimes time catches you out – 2018 has been like that. It seems like an age ago that I was getting my …
Another review
I recently attended another portfolio review at the House of Illustration arranced by the SCBWI – in attendance were representatives from the …
London Book Fair 2018
I’d never visited the LBF before, so it was an interesting experience taking part this year and having some of my art …
Dealing with ups and downs (and 2 unpleasant stories)
J K Rowling will most certainly go down in history, but when she does, I’m positive that it wont just be down …
Canvas prints
Wow – I must be doing something right, because I got a repeat customer! I also got a lesson in canvas printing …
Wow – I made it!
I reached the Undiscovered Voices 2018 final lineup! Well, firstly a big thank you to Working Partners Ltd and especially to Chris …
I’m on the longlist!
Now, firstly, the important stuff. Is ‘longlist’ even a real word? Every spellchecker I use says ‘no’ (but they also say spellchecker’ …
That December feeling
Well, it’s getting close to the close of 2017 and it’s been a rather interesting year. Aside from getting lots of extra …
2017 Booklists
I’m not sure where the geometric idea came from – probably just the requirement to differentiate the lists as much as possible …
2016 Booklists
These designs ended up looking really striking and allowed for the covers to be a decent size. The tidy design made them …
Going back to pixels
Well, I took part in a portfolio intensive critique earlier this year via my SCBWI membership, and it was an eye-opener for …
London Calling : Canvas Print
I was very kindly sent these pictures of my London Calling pixel city canvas print. I was – to be quite honest …
I’m entering Undiscovered Voices!
http://www.undiscoveredvoices.com/ Run by the SCBWI, this is a competition to showcase the work of unpublished and unagented authors and illustrators. I found …
First author/ illustrator visit!
Well, the Mighty Thumbslurp has been printed at last! To celebrate this momentous event, Janet and myself have just completed our first afternoon …
Once upon a time…
A mythical mash-up
My first interview!
Well, I’m rather chuffed that someone actually wanted to interview me! http://www.taletrove.com/blog/illustrator-interview-with-jacob-turner/ TaleTrove looks to be on it’s way to becoming a …
Wheelers eBook Platform
This term I was very pleased to finally be able to launch the Tower Hamlets Schools Library Services eBook platform, hosted by …
The mighty Thumbslurp!
WARNING! This book is full of YUCKS, GGRRRRAAHHHS and SNNOOSSEEFFUUPPs.(Not to mention a flying hippopotamus!)
Must Read Booklist 2014
The Must Read posters are the sister set to the Teen Booklist and generally follow the same visual teme. That meant another …
Tower Hamlets Teen Booklist 2014
So my manager decides that we need a different design to the last few years, which have been rather clean and tidy, …
Black skies
I wanted at least one opening line that could be worked into sci-fi. This is a bit of a John Wyndham apocalyptic …
Apples in suitcases
I’m not sure whether any entrants have interpreted the ‘apple’ as an iPhone. I like this design but it’s certainly the most …
Jumping from windows
Being totally unused to Adobe Illustrator, this was the toughest of the 4 posters given the amount going on, but the crisp …
Spinning heads and deep holes
This shamelessly riffed on Hitchcock film posters and was one of the earliest designs for this series of posters, it was also …
Ready to publish…
Janet chose this as the definitive picture of Coco, with her reaction to her newborn sister who supplants her as the centre …
THe List 2011: Spirit
The final poster in the 2011 series, and the one that didn’t quite survive being turned into CMYK colors.
THe List 2011: Water
I love this poster. The colours and composition just work. This was the first in the series that I created and it …
THe List 2011: Fire
Poster 3 in the 2011 series was Fire. The art was a deliberate reversal of composition from Water, but re-used some elements …
THe List 2011: Air
Poster 2 of the 2011 series was Air. The background is predominantly skyscrapers and other architecture from around Tower Hamlets.
Reading with your child
Reading with your child was a promotion for local parents encouraging them to make use of public libraries and bookshops.
Overdesigned Apple?
Hey Apple, give your users more control and we’ll all win http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/10/apple-iphone-announcement-give-users-more-control An interesting article, though I can’t see Apple surrendering control …
A chaos of Kindles and a new player in town
Autumn term, and another term of schools still using eBooks primarily as a means to provide yet another tick on the checklist …
The continuing adventures of Coco
Just putting the finishing touches on the artwork for “You’re a Pest, Betsy Thumbslurp” and I’ve managed to find another dozen things …
Introducing Coco
This is one of the draft illustrations for Janet Noble’s new series of books that I like to think of as comparable …
Where the blog have you been?
It’s been quite a while since my last post for a number of (good) reasons. I’ve been very busy at work what …
A variety of booklists
I’ve collected here a selection of the booklist poster sets that I’ve produced since 2010 for schools. The 2010 design was in …
!
Just got a surprise email returning from holiday telling me that 8 out of the 10 iPod touches on loan to a …
Wonder : The launch of the 2013 Tower Hamlets Book Award
I’d returned to PhotoShop for this poster because I knew I could use it to work up a highly detailed piece fairly …
When I was a lad…
…hand-me-down meant an Action Man with only one working ‘gripping hand’ and an ‘eagle eye’ that looked the wrong way, or a …
Digital Disruption
http://www.digidisruption.co.uk/ Somehow I managed to find myself representing the library at a workshop hosted by Bold Creative at a rather impressive Shoreditch …
Over the bridge and far away
Ah, the Dartford crossing in the grip of autumn fog after a day out at the Essex Schools Library services. It was …
Poster update: Wonder
Now it’s getting there. We changed the theme from “Promise” to “Wonder” – it fitted the artwork better, and feedback from schools is that …
Do your homework!
Have just been asked for some good places to get free e-books to put on tablets that a school have purchased. I …
Ebook lending review announced
Industry specialists will look at the benefits of libraries lending ebooks in a move publishers say will have ‘serious implications’ for the …
