Chris Haughton, Author at Chris Haughton

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So far Chris Haughton has created 182 blog entries.

Marion Vannett Ridgway Award

Little Owl Lost has just won the first prize in the Marion Vannett Ridgway Award in the US! The Ridgway award is given in honour of the artist’s representative Marion Vannett Ridgway and is awarded to debut illustrators and authors.

Im so proud that owl has been recognised especially as widely as it has in so many countries. I really never expected anything like this. Thank You!!!!

Visit their website here to see the past winners.. theres some really amazing books in there, wonder bear in particular is one of my favourite books of recent years.

By Chris Haughton|2020-05-13T12:50:04+00:00May 23rd, 2011|Tags: abitlost, amntibrilliant, littleowllost|0 Comments

Bisto Children’s Book of the Year 2011

A Bit Lost just won the Bisto Childrens Book of the Year yesterday AND the Eil??s Dillon Award for the best debut book. Its actually the first time in the history of the award that the same book has won both! Totally unbelievable!! (!!!!!)

as you can see from the video here… im totally speechless!!!! oops

What i meant to say is that im v v grateful to Borim Press and to Walker Books. Thank YOU!!!

Also i was on the TV this morning on TVAM here

On thursday 19th im going to do an event in EASONS at 6pm details here

By Chris Haughton|2020-05-13T12:50:04+00:00May 17th, 2011|Tags: abitlost, amntibrilliant, littleowllost|0 Comments

Mama Kwijt wins Dutch Picturebook of the year!! (Prentenboek van het Jaar)

Amazing news!!!!! in fact… its just totally unbelievable!!

Mama Kwijt won the Dutch Picture Book of the year Award!!!

im really in shock at all this.

You can see it announced on their website here

Its a particular honour because im a very big fan of Dutch design, in fact I was inspired to make this book by the exhibition by Dick Bruna i saw in the Museum of Childhood in 2007. It was perhaps the main thing that made me decide to finally get more organised and try to do a picture book myself. He had a nice story about how he came up with Miffy on a rainy beach holiday. If you havent seen Dick Bruna’s earlier work before Miffy take a look here or here. Its AMAZING. beautiful simple shapes and colour… really really amazing stuff.

Thank you very very much!!!

Dank Je!

By Chris Haughton|2020-05-13T12:50:04+00:00May 11th, 2011|0 Comments

I just got sent these images from Blue Manatee Childrens bookstore in Ohio. They have made these amazing owls based on Little Owl Lost in Brazee St Studios see more images on their facebook page here

They read the book and then made their own owl from fired glass. Apparently other glass studios are also doing the same project including one in Texas(!) …amazing!! So inspiring to see these amazing art projects. Thank you so much to everyone at Blue Manatee.

By Chris Haughton|2020-05-13T12:50:04+00:00May 5th, 2011|Tags: abitlost, activities, childrensbooks, littleowllost, mamakwijt, workshop|0 Comments

You have a new book out, called ‘Oh No GEORGE!’. What’s it about, and how did the idea start off?

Its about a dog who tries his best to be good, but falls a little short. I began by drawing all sorts of characters somehow messing up in different ways. It started really with an idea I had of a clown and his dog, clown dog, getting into trouble but it was funnier if there was just one comic character. I liked the idea of building up the tension over two pages. George has seen a cake, George said he would be good but he really likes cake, what will George do? and when you turn the page… OH NO, GEORGE!!! George has eaten the cake.

I love the concept of a ‘guilty dog’ – I have a dog at home that always looks very guilty, and consequently gets blamed for things he probably didn’t do. You also have a book about an owl that feels lost. This leads me to wonder – if you were a disaffected animal, what would you be?

I was asked that same question by my publisher when i finished my owl story. They asked me which animal I thought i was from the story A Bit Lost. I said I thought i was the lost owl but my art director smiled at my editor and they told me that no, i was definitely the (eager/harebrained) squirrel. I wasnt so sure myself but it seemed to be a strongly held opinion.

There’s something very old-school about the comedy of calamity in ‘Oh No GEORGE!’, yet the design and approach to the subject feels very modern. What sources did you look at for inspiration?

I actually used to live with a professional clown and she introduced me to physical comedy which i found really inspiring, there is something lovely about that silent visual humour. Their timing and expression is very important and i try to imitate that if i can. I also studied graphic design so i have a soft spot for nice flat colours and graphics so i suppose its a mix of those two. I love Leo Lionni’s artwork and Dr. Suess and I try to look at the classic picture books for inspiration if i am trying to figure out a scene, especially for the layout and pacing.

How have your book-production skills developed over the course of your two creations? Any important lessons you’ve learnt?

I still find myself underestimating the time it will take. It looks quite a straightforward thing to do but there is so many dead-ends and so much backtracking you would not believe, especially at the start. I have lots of ideas but only a few can really tie themselves up as stories. I think its important to rely on character too for very young children, and keep it as simple as possible.

You’ve been working for the fair trade clothing company People Tree. Are ethical considerations something you consider to be important to good design?

Yes i think ethical considerations are crucial to good design. I think in trying to design something as well as possible its helpful to go right back and try to think about it from every angle to try and figure out how can it be better. If you think about that question long enough it all comes back to ethical considerations. I got a bit disillusioned in my own design when i was doing advertising and branding for large companies so i wanted to do something that was more rewarding. I think design has a great potential for positive change and i would love to be involved in that part of it. Its the exciting part!

Are you going to be back for Offset? If so, who are you looking forward to seeing talk?

Yeah!.. I really like the work of KesselsKramer so i will be definitely watching that one, but seymour chwast/sagmeister as well as irish johnny kelly and kevin waldron.. theres too many to name.

What other projects are in the pipelines?

Im very excited about my third book, its called DONT WORRY, I HAVE A PLAN… Im very proud of the story in that one but who knows when i will finish it. Maybe by the end of the year. I am also working on an interactive animated app called ‘Hat Monkey’, and I have a few non-fiction ideas…

the full magazine is online on issuu here theres some great interviews and bits on bobs from dublin’s exploding design scene.

By Chris Haughton|2020-05-13T12:50:04+00:00April 3rd, 2011|Tags: childrensbooks, fairtrade, interview|0 Comments

Booktrust Best New Illustrators Award

I have been nominated as one of Booktrust’s 10 ‘Best New Illustrators’!!!!

There is some really really amazing illustrators on the list and i’m extremely proud to be in there. Take a look at the site at all the amazing work …Salvatore Rubino / Sara Ogilvie / Kevin Waldron/ Levi Pinfold… some really amazing books. Really gutted i wasnt at the award ceremony. Im here in Nepal … currently looking for electricity.

Also take a look at the excellent Guardian audio slideshow of Children’s Laureate Antony Browne who was one of the judges of the award. (my images are fuzzy though!!! argh!!)

Image by Claudia Bolt

By Chris Haughton|2020-05-13T12:50:04+00:00March 23rd, 2011|Tags: abitlost, amntibrilliant, childrensbooks|2 Comments

Pecha Kucha Night Kathmandu

Im helping to set up a Pecha Kucha Night here in Kathmandu. ‘Pecha Kucha Night’ if you have not heard of it is a format that was devised in Japan as an event for people to meet, network, and show their work and ideas in public. It is a rapid slide-show of 20 slides x 20 seconds usually in a bar or informal environment. Im setting it up with my very good friend here Sujan Chitrakar (sujan is doing pretty much all of the organising it should be said). We met when I was doing an illustration workshop at Kathmandu University here last year. Sujan is the programme co-ordinator of KU and after the workshop over a few beers we had the idea of setting up events and talks outside the University structure as a way of engaging more people and creating an interesting event and environment. We started telling people about our great idea until it snowballed and then we couldnt really back out. We want to welcome people from diverse disciplines to participate and create a unique forum for Kathmandu.

Our first Pecha Kucha Night is the 27th March 2011 at the Attic Bar Lazimpat.

For more information see the facebook event or visit the map and details here.
EVERYONE WELCOME
See you there!

To stay in touch about PKN Kathmandu events please join our facebook group

http://pechakucha-kathmandu.com/

By Chris Haughton|2020-05-13T12:50:04+00:00March 23rd, 2011|Tags: nepal, pechakucha|2 Comments

Kathmandu: World’s No. 1 earthquake danger zone

As I watch the horrific aftermath of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, and the scale of the rescue effort needed, I cant believe the turmoil that has struck Japan. It is so alarming and distressing to see a developed country that is prepared for the danger of an earthquake be so totally overwhelmed. I am also becoming more and more alarmed of the scale of the disaster if an earthquake were to strike Kathmandu. I met a seismologist who was working here last year and he told me some extremely frightening statistics, my girlfriend has actually also been working on an article about it for the last few weeks. The verdict is that when an earthquake strikes here it may well be more lethal than Haiti.

GeoHazards International rate Kathmandu as the number one danger spot world-wide. There are several reasons for this… all of them very very alarming.

It is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. Mazes of medium-high rise masonry building, virtually none of which are EQ proofed, tiny streets, no green spaces, and no-where to run. The country has been at war up until a few years ago and any regulation that was in place has since been ignored. There was a huge influx of migration into the city during the war and many poorly built buildings went up. The entire valley floor is densely packed with poorly built 3-4 story buildings.

The entire city is built on a sandy former-lakebed which acts like an amplifier for any shaking in the region.

There is only one airport, with one runway. But the route into and out of the airport will likely be blocked. And in fact it is believed to be in the worst area in the city for damage.

There are only 3 roads into and out of Kathmandu. All of them are tiny and cross huge mountains. All 3 are certain to be entirely cut-off due to landslides. Perhaps for many weeks. Considering there are very regularly landslides simply after heavy rainfall i dont find this very surprising. This means that the city is entirely cut off from the world, when the earthquake does hit there may be no way of getting into or out of the city.

As one of the worlds poorest countries it has very few resources. There are 8 working fire-engines in a city of 2.5 million people. The mobile phone building headquarters are not even proofed. Even right now before the earthquake it has only 10 hrs of electricity per day.

A very large earthquake is overdue. The last one was in 1934. They are expected roughy every 75 years. It would likely be a 8+ scale earthquake. The area to the west of Kathmandu is even more overdue.

It is inspiring to see the outpouring of funds and help going to Japan and Haiti and New Zealand. Japan certainly needs all the help it can get right now, but i cant help thinking that funds may be better spent on prevention in areas where lack of money is the number one issue. The frustrating thing is that most of this destruction can be entirely avoided. Experts had been screaming about the potential disaster waiting to happen before Haiti and there was very little done except after the event. Experts are now screaming about the dangers in Kathmandu, Istanbul, Tehran and elsewhere but we dont hear about these until after they happen. And when it does happen to Kathmandu no amount of funds can help because of the problem of getting into the city. I cant help thinking that the media is failing us. As soon as it happens they are all over it with TV cameras and helicopters but right now many people in Kathmandu i have spoken to seem to be completely unaware of the dangers. Some are not even aware they are in an earthquake zone.

Articles

Agence France Presse

Kunda Dixit HIMAL

Facebook

You can donate money to GEOHAZARDS. They seem to be doing a direly needed job. they target the worlds most vulnerable areas and focus on prevention.

http://www.geohaz.org/

www.nset.org.np

By Chris Haughton|2020-05-13T12:50:04+00:00March 17th, 2011|Tags: nepal, thingsthatkeepmeawakeatnight|2 Comments

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