Change in Blog Format

Hi All,

As busy as we all are these days, we likely do not have time to partipciate in a monthly illustration challenge. Also, we may want more than a month to work on a fully-realized illustration that is worthy of our portfolio. For these reasons, we are changing the format of the challenge on this blog.

We are now going to be illustration passages from well-known children's books. The challenge will take place every three months, starting this January. I'll post up the passage and illustrators will have three months to work on the peice. Email me at any time during those three months with your illustration, and I'll post it up on the blog.

I hope you all have fun with this new format! Feedback and suggestion for future story ideas are welcome. So, here goes... looking forward to seeing all your illustrations!
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January- March 30th, 2012 challenge:

Excerpt from Sleeping Beauty, Grimm's Fairy Tale version - translated by Margaret Hunt.

In a little room sat an old woman with a spindle, busily spinning her flax.  The old woman was so deaf that she had never heard the King's command that all spindles should be destroyed.
"Good morning, Granny," said the Princess, "what are you doing?"
"I am spinning," said the old woman.
"What is the thing that whirls round so merrily?" asked the Princess and she took the spindle and tried to spin too.
But she had scarcely touched the spindle when it pricked her finger.  At that moment she fell upon the bed which was standing near and lay still in a deep sleep.
The King, Queen and servants had all started their morning routines and right in the midst of them fell asleep too.  The horses fell asleep in the stable, the dogs in the yard, the doves on the roof and the flies on the wall.  Even the fire in the hearth grew still and went to sleep.  The kitchen maid, who sat with a chicken before her, ready to pluck its feathers, fell asleep.  The cook was in the midst of scolding the kitchen boy for a mess he'd made but they both fell fast asleep.  The wind died down and on the trees in front of the castle not a leaf stirred.
Round the castle a hedge of brier roses began to grow up.  Every year it grew higher until at last nothing could be seen of the sleeping castle.

January Meetup

This month, we are meeting this Saturday Jan. 21st at 1pm in Gastownat the Steamclock (305 water st.), do some sketching of old buildings, then go to Opus. If it's raining, we'll just meet at the waves coffee on Hastings and Richards and chat and then go to Opus.

January theme: Fish out of water

Hi All,

Happy New Year!

We'll be starting off 2012 with a challenge called: "Fish out of water". So go ahead, and see what you can do with this theme. Let me know if you have any questions about how the challenge works!

Best,

Shantala Robinson
Illustrator Coordinator
SCBWI Canada West