Showing posts with label Hurricane Lane. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hurricane Lane. Show all posts
Wednesday, 29 July 2020
#Booky100Keepers Day 87: "Hurricane Lane" and "256 Postcards Ago" by Michelle Vinall (Self Published)
We'll probably be accused of some hideous bias in including two books by Michelle Vinall in our #Booky100Keepers list - after all this extremely talented artist illustrated our current blog header for us.
But there's something about Michelle's two self-published books that still has us waiting (hopefully not in vain) for her final book in the unconnected trilogy.
We used to regularly dip in to independently published titles from time to time, way back when we had so much more time - running a successful "Indie Pen-Dance" (terrible pun) Day, and delving into the huge sprawl of self published work available on digital platforms.
Michelle's "Hurricane Lane" is such a sublime piece of work. A young girl is tasked with a piece of homework - to think about the 7 ancient wonders of the world, then describe the seven wonders of her own modern world.
No easy task, even for a kid, but she embraces this project with gusto - and embarks on a journey of discovery, and a sense of wonder at just how amazing the world we live in can be.
Michelle uses her awesome illustrative skills and storytelling props to tell the story of how you are never really alone if you have an imagination, and your world can easily be shaped by the real and the surreal.
We also really loved "256 Postcards Ago" by Michelle...
Together the four friends whistle through the town exploring, and their story unfolds gently with a minimum word count - letting Michelle's excellent anime-like illustrations take over, and of course allowing your imagination to join in and make the story anything you want it to be.
Michelle has mostly turned her attention to videogame art over the last few years but we secretly hope that one day she'll pick up her pen or stylus and polish off her children's book trilogy. We'll be there to read it, no matter what!
Original review links:
Indie Pen-Dance Wednesday. Come with us on a journey through your imagination with "256 Postcards Ago" by Michelle Vinall (Amazon Self Publishing)
Indie Pen-Dance Thursday Part 2: Hurricane Lane by Michelle Vinall (Self-Published!)
Indie Pen-Dance Wednesday - An interview with super-talented Michelle Vinall, self-published author and illustrator of "Hurricane Lane" and "256 Postcards Ago"
Michelle Vinall's "Hurricane Lane" iPhone / iPad story app launches today!
Unveiling our awesome new Blog Header image courtesy of Michelle Vinall!
Friday, 4 April 2014
Michelle Vinall's "Hurricane Lane" iPhone / iPad story app launches today!
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| A journey through your imagination, take a trip down "Hurricane Lane" |
You can find the app on the iTunes store here, priced at a very reasonable 69p. BARGAIN!
While you're there, you can also check out the Story Panda app, and also the E-Book version of Hurricane Lane.
Collect the set and delve into Michelle Vinall's colourful and imaginative world.
Thursday, 27 March 2014
Indie Pen-Dance Thursday Part 2: Hurricane Lane by Michelle Vinall (Self-Published!)
Labels:
Hurricane Lane,
Michelle Vinall,
self published
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| The Seven Wonders of the Everyday World in "Hurricane Lane" (Image © Michelle Vinall) |
As you now know, we're doubling up our indie pen-dance days and rolling over into Thursday too!
We hope you've been keeping up with our guest features on Michelle Vinall's fantastic children's picture books. We're reviewing things slightly out of order (you know us, we're crazy like that) so "Hurricane Lane" was actually Michelle's first book, part of an intended trilogy (you've already seen our review of "256 Postcards Ago" and the third as-yet untitled book is well on the way too!)
"Hurricane Lane" features an inquisitive, curious little girl at its heart. Her homework from school is to think about the seven wonders of the ancient world, and describe the seven wonders of HER world. That's quite a tough piece of homework, but when your imagination is free and you see wonder in the ordinary and everyday, it's not such a tough assignment.
The girl describes her journey home with Dad and Little Brother - Michelle's rhymes are tightly woven here, and this is a joy to read aloud. Each scene in the book shows a different aspect of the girl's life. We're slightly envious because it's pretty far removed from our arrival home after a busy day at work and school. Kid brother plays in puddles (the mucky little scamp!) and Dad plays the piano, weaving a soundscape that the girl chooses as one of her wonders. Shadows are another as she makes a beautiful butterfly to entertain her brother, using just her hands.
Michelle's first book is a seriously nice piece of work. Her art is glorious and the story gives children scope to let their own imaginations run riot.
Available via Michelle's "Hurricane Lane" website, the book is about to go digital too - so watch out for a release date of 4th April for the e-book!
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| When you use your imagination, even the everyday and mundane world can be wondrous (Image © Michelle Vinall) |
Charlotte's best bit: Little brother sitting in a puddle in his cute little dino suit!
Daddy's Favourite bit: A great idea at its core, encouraging children to explore the wonders of their own world. Delicate rhymes and Michelle's trademark gorgeous artwork make this essential reading!
(Kindly sent to us for review by Michelle Vinall)
Wednesday, 26 March 2014
Indie Pen-Dance Wednesday - An interview with super-talented Michelle Vinall, self-published author and illustrator of "Hurricane Lane" and "256 Postcards Ago"
Labels:
256 Postcards Ago,
Hurricane Lane,
Michelle Vinall
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| Ludo, Ollie, Digit and Nicholas on the lookout! (Image © Michelle Vinall) |
We're very fortunate to be able to take a look at Michelle Vinall's amazing work this week, and we managed to nab a smidgeon of her time for a quick interview too. We massaged our brains and came up with a crop of questions between us to put to Michelle. So take it away...!
Hi Michelle and
thanks for stopping by ReadItDaddy for an email chat.
ReadItDaddy: So tell us a
little bit about yourself!
Michelle: Hi Phil and Charlotte, thanks for
wanting to interview me! I’m a 24 year-old artist from London, England and I’ve
been working in the games industry since leaving art college three years ago.
I’ve worked both as an artist and quality assurance tester at various companies
and I’m loving every minute of it! In my spare time I make childrens’ picture
books and just generally draw other random little ideas.
ReadItDaddy: Your artwork is
amazing! Tell us a little bit about how your process, favourite tools, how you
go about creating such magical work?
Michelle: Aw thanks, you’re too kind. I’ll start
by setting myself a brief and a deadline, then work to that. I favour digital
art tools like Photoshop, Illustrator and Flash, although I’ll occasionally
begin a sketch on paper and scan it in. Photoshop is my program of choice! The
rest is just imagination and hard work. For personal drawings – I mostly listen
to music, play videogames or watch a film/cartoon and get an idea that I want
to draw from those. With client work, they supply the idea and I and make it a
reality!
ReadItDaddy: "Hurricane
Lane" (which is your first children's book, and is soon to be available as
a story app) feels like a really nicely written slice of ordinary life - again
with gorgeous illustrations, what was the inspiration for the story?
Michelle: Hurricane Lane is very much based on my
hometown and memories of childhood. I thought up the story whilst visiting my
primary school and got an overwhelming sense of nostalgia that I wanted to
translate into art. I was also very interested in piano music at the time and
wanted to do a story based on a pianist whose daughter made up stories from his
music, so things just evolved from there!
ReadItDaddy: I see you're a
bit of a gamer - How do you feel that videogames influence your work? Are they
really as bad an influence as everyone makes out?
Michelle: I’m a huge gamer and I don’t think
they’re a bad influence at all! Games offer us the same sort of escapist
freedom that books and films do but to an even greater extent since you have
more influence on your experience with them. I love running/driving/flying
around the various worlds and experiencing things that could never happen in
real life. I think it widens people’s imaginations and games should be viewed
on the same level as other mainstream entertainment since they are living,
breathing portals into the creators’ minds. Can’t recommend them enough! (Hear hear - RID)
ReadItDaddy: Charlotte asks:
"What's the best way to get good at drawing and painting?"
Michelle: Just practice! Draw every day and as
often as you can. Find out what you like to and what you don’t and draw them
both anyway! But also, go outside - explore, experience. Your art will always
be very personal to you and you will create feelings and experiences you might
want to turn into something special later.
ReadItDaddy: Charlotte
really loves the characters in "256 Postcards Ago" (she keeps
switching between Ludo and Digit being her favourite) and the story is fab too. Are there any more
plans for the characters? They're so great, we'd love to see them in more
stories!
Michelle: Thank you so much! I don’t have any
current plans for further books but I did want to make a small game where you
walk around the 256 town, find your friends and play little mini-games with
them! My next book will have different characters but since the 256 cast have
been so popular I wouldn’t rule further adventures out.
ReadItDaddy: Describe an
average day when you're in your creative zone?
Michelle: I’ll normally start by doing various
sketches of the primary character until I’ve drawn one I’m happy with. I often
hit art blocks at this stage and so will simultaneously be browsing other
artists’ portfolios or google search poses when I’m stuck on them. The rest of
the process is just building everything up – neater lines, colour, shading and
then background. I draw what I like first and often jump around the piece
before it’s done but every picture varies! I also normally draw with films
(particularly animations) in the background and might pick up ideas or
inspiration from them as I work.
ReadItDaddy: Charlotte asks:
"Who's your favourite Ghibli character?" (She figures that you must
love Ghibli stuff because you're so cool!)
Michelle: Thank you Charlotte, I do love Ghibli! My favourite character
is probably Baron from The Cat Returns.
I always watch that film for his lines when I need some encouragement
art-related or otherwise, so he’s become quite an inspiration for me.
ReadItDaddy: Charlotte also
asks "Who's your favourite Disney Princess?" (ooh tough question!)
Michelle: That is tough! I think it’s Elsa and
Anna from Frozen because I love that the act of ‘true love’ at the end of their
film is sisterly affection and not a romantic kiss with the love interest. That
part really got to me :’)
ReadItDaddy: One more from Charlotte "What's the best way to start
writing and drawing stories when you're little?"
Start by
drawing the things you like! Since you are a Disney and Ghibli fan I would
recommend drawing those characters to get some good practice in! Then later you
can build up your own characters and stories, but for now just have fun and
don’t worry too much about what you’re drawing – you’ll naturally get better the
more you draw and experience. Good luck!
And a huge thank you to Michelle for stopping by for an email chat. Please take a look at "Hurricane Lane" (and watch out for our upcoming review) and "256 Postcards Ago" on Michelle's story website http://www.hurricane-lane.com
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