What a year!

 

Our little feathered nugget has landed back on The NY Times bestseller list this week so I thought I would take a moment to celebrate.

With the closing of a year, I usually I take the good with the bad and just move on into January. With my eye on summer of course.

But this past year has been unbelievable, I’ve so much to be grateful for, and I admit, that I am a little sad to see it go!

2023 is sure to bring challenges but also opportunities. So here is my belated cheers.

Happy New Year and thanks to everyone that has celebrated our little Owl!

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#knightowlbook #christopherdeniseillustrator #christyottavianobooks #foliojr #nytimesbestseller #npr #christopherdenise #knightowl #owl #kirkus #kirkusreviews #owlsofinstagram #childrensbook #kidlit #kidlitart #Illustratorsofinstagram #washingtonpost #amazon #barnesandnoble #indienext #booksellers #indienextpick #juniorlibraryguild #fuse8 #bookpage

Wow!

 

Link to this article in my bio.

Wow!

I am blown away that Knight Owl was included in this feature. Thank you Horn Book!

It was fascinating to be able to listen in on former Caldecott Committee members talking about books.

Check out the article in the Horn Book link in my bio.

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#caldecottcalling #knightowlbook #chistyottavianobooks #christopherdeniseillustrator #kidlit #picturebooks #kidlitillustrator #caldecott #hornbook #notesfromtheHornBook #HBfanfare22 #knightowl #HBfanfare #littlebrownbooksforyoungreaders 

A Knight Owl behind-the-scenes note.

From Knight Owl by Christopher Denise

From Knight Owl by Christopher Denise

From Knight Owl by Christopher Denise

Many people are surprised when I tell them that I work on my compositions and the individual elements of the illustration only in grey scale (black and white) before I take the step of adding color and lighting.

I love this part of the process! 

I’ve developed a few custom #adobe photoshop brushes that feel and act like charcoal pencils.

Old school/art school!

Happy Friday!

(sketches from ‘Knight Owl”-more info in my bio)

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#characterdeisgn #christopherdeniseillustrator #knightowlbook #drawing #adobeartist #digitalpainting #newyorktimesbestseller #kidlitart #drawing #sketching #childrensbook #christopherdenise #christyottavianobooks #littlebrownbooksforyoungreaders #owl #artprocess

From the drawing board to the book

From Knight Owl by Christopher Denise

Happy Friday!

Another “from the drawing board to the book” post.

This one did not change very much at all from thumbnail to finish.

Even the text was pretty direct. From the get-go I knew that I wanted a page pause/punch line with something simple like “He was very good at his job”

Images from Knight Owl.

Links in my bio.

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#christopherdeniseillustrator #knightowlbook #chistyottavianobooks #picturebook #artprocess #digitalart #wacom #owl #owlsofinstagram #kidlitart #childrensbook #kidlit #sketch #processart #barnesandnoble #halloweenbooks

Knight Owl Plushy and Sweepstakes

 

This is so cool!

We partnered with the incredible designers at The Manhattan Toy Company to produce a fantastic, huggable size, Knight Owl plush!

The toy will not be available at Barnes & Noble until October but you can enter their Knight Owl Sweepstakes for a chance to win a plushy, an art print, a virtual school visit from me while enjoying a pizza party!

Click on the B&N Sweepstakes link in my bio for your chance to win!

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#nytimesbestseller #barnesandnoble #christopherdeniseillustrator #knightowlbook #kidlit #childrensbook #christyottavianobooks #owl #toy #manhattantoy #knightowl #plushiesofinstagram littlebrownbooksforyoungreaders #christopherdenise #bnbookawards #giveaway

Two versions of the same

 

From Knight Owl

A quick look behind the scenes of Knight Owl.

These are two versions of the same moment in the story.

The top painting was created quickly to flesh out our proposal when my agent pitched the concept.

The bottom painting was created at the 11th hour as I submitted the final art for the book.

I did like the original painting but found that the characters and the environment had changed enough over the course of developing and drawing out the entire book that it warranted another pass. Still time well spent I think.

I couldn’t help but think of my years creating similar environments for Redwall!

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#childrensbook #productionart #kidlit #christopherdeniseillustrator #knightowl #christyottavianobooks #digitalpainting #redwall #redwallabbey #brianjacques #nytimesbestseller #owl #illustration #fantasy #dragon #dragonsofinstagram #christopherdenise #littlebrownbooksforyoungreaders

Childhood toys and inspiration

 

From Knight Owl

I was remembering a beloved childhood toy while creating the castle environment for Knight Owl. This image (found on eBay) is the toy that I played with for hours on end as a kid. 

And yes, I was tempted…..

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#childhood #artisticinfluences #toys #childhood #knightowlbook #christopherdenise #kidlitart #childrensbook #christyottavianobooks #littlebrownbooksforyoungreaders #illustratorsoninstagram #newchildrensbook

 

A fantastic way to start the week!

Thank you Barnes & Noble Booksellers!

Check out all the award winners by clicking the link in my bio.

#bnbookawards #barnesandnoble #christopherdeniseillustrator #knightowlbook #christopherdenise #bookaward #newchildrensbook #thankyou

Independant Bookstore Day!

 Do you love bookstores?

Saturday is Independant bookstore day! 

It is the perfect day to stop in and browse all of the new titles out this spring!

I will be at Barrington Books reading from “Knight Owl”, signing books and chatting, hopefully with you, if you drop by any time between 11:00 am and 12:30 pm.

Joining me at the bookstore is the talented and fun Josh Funk. His books include the “Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast” series.

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#IBD2022 #independentbookstoreday #joshfunk #christopherdenise #kidlit #kidlitillustration #barringtonbooks #kidlitlist #christopherdeniseillustrator #newchildrensbook #christyottavianobooks #littlebrownbooksforyoungreaders #childrensbooks #reading #knightowlbook

It's all in the details...

Images from Knight Owl

When creating a scene for a picture book I take a good amount of time developing convincing and well-thought-out environments. 

In many ways, I see the “world” that my characters live in as playing a supporting role. The illustration here is doing a good amount of the storytelling through the signage put up on the castle's bulletin board. There are flyers warning of Dragon sightings, the call to arms poster, and of course, many flyers for Squires Pizza. All of these things play an important part in the story. Less obvious, and perhaps not as effective as it could have been, was the looming porticos at the top of the frame. I wanted to build in an underlying tension and possible danger to what seems to be a sunny day. I thought it might also be fun to foreshadow the massive teeth of the dragon.

I understand that most of this sort of thing will be missed by many readers but it makes it fun for me!

Have a great Monday!

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#christopherdenise #worldbuilding #kidlitart #conceptart #childrensbooks #owlsofinstagram #newchildrensbook #illustratorsoninstagram #sketch #knightowlbook #christopherdeniseillustrator #kidlitlist #instaart #wacom #christyottavianobooks #picturebook #owl

Great News!

Knight Owl by Christopher Denise

Great news this week!

Knight Owl debuted in the #3 position on the Indie Next Best seller List!

Thank you #indiebookstores !

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#childrensbooks #christopherdeniseillustrator #newchildrensbook #indienext #knightowlbook #owlsofinstagram #kidlitlist #illustratorsoninstagram #kidillustration #owl #littlebrownbooksforyoungreaders #christopherdenise #instaart #reading #christyottavianobooks #kidlitart  

Knight Owl book signing!

Click here to register!

I will be doing my first in-person book event in a VERY long time at An Unlikely Story in Plainville Massachusetts this weekend!

We will be there to celebrate the launch of my new book Knight Owl.

Saturday, March 26th, 6pm

111 South Street, Plainville MA 

There is a link in bio to register.

Hope to see you there!

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#booksigning #storytime #christopherdeniseillustrator #kidlit #kidlitauthor #picturebook #knightowl #childrensbooks #kidltart #newchildrensbook #bookevent #knightowlbook

Knight Owl sneak peek & Kirkus review

Detail from Knight Owl by Christopher Denise 

KNIGHTS!
Coming soon…..
Knight Owl, March 2022.
Message me for info on getting signed bookplates.

"A charming blend of whimsy and medieval heroism highlighting the triumph of brains over brawn"-Kikus

Click here to read the full review--------> https://covers.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/christopher-denise/knight-owl/
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Illustrator challenge

"Knight Owl" by Christopher Denise

 Illustrator question: What do you do when your character lives in a medievalesque time of “Yore” and you need to show his hopes and dreams?

I love playing with different visual languages!
From “Knight Owl” written and illustrated by Christopher Denise. Hey @netflixanimation , the book comes out in March 2022!
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#illustrator #illustratorchallenge #dreams #christopherdenise #owl #owlsofinstagram #kidlit #kidlitart #childrensbooks #childrensbookillustration #childrensillustration #kidillustration #childrenspicturebooks #childrenspicturebookillustration #kidsbooks #kidsbookstagram #illustratorsoninstagram #medieval #wacomintuos #artstagram #knightsofinstagram #instaart #characterdeisgn #christyottavianobooks #littlebrownbooksforyoungreaders #littlebrownyoungreaders #christopherdeniseillustrator