Comic Book Day 2017 at Dagenham Library - Autobiographical Comic Workshop

How to book a free ticket for Comic Book Day at Dagenham Library (there is a link at the end of this post).

On September 23, from 2-5pm, I will be running a drop-in autobiographical comic workshop at Dagenham Library. It will be suitable for all ages and all abilities. The comic can take any form but my suggestion would be to make it about something that has happened that day - like an entry in a diary.

Part of a 24 hour comic I made a couple of years ago, it was created during the course of a day.

If you are interested in comics, zines or graphic novels it's fine to just drop by for a chat.

A couple of my zines will be on sale. I will also have information about the workshops I'll be running at Barking or Dagenham Library starting February 3 next year - 6 sessions that will lead to participant comics being published together in a book. Plus the lady in the photo, Catherine, will be with me - she is a character in a zine I'm working on at the moment.

Besides my workshop there will be a poet, comic book retailers, publishers and more.

For free tickets to Comic Book Day and more information please register on EventBrite or phone 020 8724 3942 or email LBBD. You can email me via the contact form on this blog if you have any questions.

Comic Book Day is part of LBBD's ReadFest 2017. Information about other ReadFest events is on EventBrite and available at LBBD libraries.

Non-fiction graphic novel "Tottenham's Trojan Horse? A Tale of Stadium-led Regeneration in North London"

About the book:

In 2010 Haringey Council in London granted planning permission to Tottenham Hotspur Football Club for a new stadium and other linked developments. In 2012 Haringey unveiled regeneration plans for the borough that included demolition of homes and businesses to make way for a proposed fan’s walkway from a relocated train station to the site of the new stadium. A process that was already challenging for the football club, the council and the local community now became tortuous. Those most affected by the proposals felt left out of the decision making and had to find a voice.

The floor of my workroom.

In the next week or so we'll have a draft of "Tottenham's Trojan Horse?" ready. All text will be in place and will have been edited several times but the drawings are either rough pencil sketches or photos that I'm using as placeholders. Before going any further we're going to show it to others for their input. This is to make sure the book will be factually correct and easy to understand. The story is taken from one of Dr Mark Panton's case studies in his doctoral thesis, rewritten so as to be accessible to academics and non-academics 14-years-old upwards.

A rough sketch of Boris Johnson.

We have started up a blog and a Facebook page to post further progress of the book but please contact me if you have any questions. The book will be published in early 2018.

Rovertown Dynamos vs. Mogford Juniors - a story about the camaraderie of football

The title page for the story. The main character's name is Bernie.

Rovertown Dynamos vs. Mogford Juniors is one of three illustrated stories I wrote and illustrated for a children's book published by The Neuro Foundation - a charity that supports people of all ages with Neurofibromatosis.

The Neuro Foundation wanted the book to be warm and life affirming and for one of the stories to be about bullying (they had requests about the other stories but I will talk about them another time).

At first I was worried about how I could write about bullying in a positive context and then I thought about setting the story in a football team.

I should point out that I know very little about the game of football, although I have been around football fans all my life somehow the game itself washes over me. However, my partner Mark Panton and our daughter have shown me something I can relate to - the positive side of the culture of football. They are both fans of Dulwich Hamlet FC in South London, a non-league club that goes out of its way to be inclusive and supportive of all kinds of people. Our daughter is autistic and has mild learning difficulties. She has been watching Dulwich Hamlet matches with Mark since she was very small and has been able to have a level of independence and interaction during the games that is difficult to achieve elsewhere. Both on and off the pitch there is warmth and camaraderie; my daughter is safe to wander around during matches and no one judges her.

It occurred to me that if a football player was insulted during a match their team would immediately rally round to support them. This was the starting point for Rovertown Dynamos vs. Mogford Juniors.

The teams in my story are both made up of girls. There are lots of stories about boys playing football and I feel that girls are too often overlooked. I know from experience with my daughter that girls can be passionate about the game and that there aren't enough opportunities for them to play. In my small way I am trying redress the balance a little by showing girls being good at football and being taken seriously.

The moments of emotion that are in any game of football helped drive my story along.

I won't give away the plot except to say that the main character has Neurofibromatosis and she is teased by an opponent because of one of the outward signs of the condition. But she is a great goalkeeper, her team help her see that it doesn't matter what others say about her and there is a happy ending.

The book is called Friends and it is available on The Neuro Foundation website.

You can find out about Dulwich Hamlet Football Club on their website and go to the FA website to find out about women's and girl's football.

Many thanks to Mark Panton for advising me on the detail of football games.

Friends – three illustrated stories for children with Neurofibromatosis

Friends by Amanda Lillywhite

I loved working on this book.

The charity I created it for, Nerve Tumours UK, was supportive and positive all the way through. They help to improve the lives of those affected by Neurofibromatosis and helped me understand the condition by introducing me to a specialist and to children with Neurofibromatosis. The children and their families spoke to me about their lives and experiences, I am grateful to them for their time and honesty - they were inspirational. 

I was commissioned to write and illustrate three life affirming stories that featured main characters with Neurofibromatosis. The Neuro Foundation wanted the stories to be fun, fully illustrated and easily accessible.

In the first story, The Windiest Playground in the World, Isaac wonders if he'll be able to make friends after moving to a new area.

Part of an illustration for The Windiest Playground in the World by Amanda Lillywhite.

The second story is Rovertown Dynamos vs. Mogford Juniors. Goalkeeper Bernie needs help from her team when an opponent says something mean about her.

Part of an illustration for Rovertown Dynamos vs. Mogford Juniors by Amanda Lillywhite.

The final story is The Missing Fish. Chandra is worried about a fish that seems to be missing from the waiting room tank when she goes for her regular check up at a clinic.

An illustration for The Missing Fish by Amanda Lillywhite.

Friends is available on The Neuro Foundation website, along with information about Neurofibromatosis and support for those with the condition.

One Hundred Thousand Jumpers - illustrations for a children's book about adoption

One Hundred Thousand Jumpers: written by Rachel Braverman and designed by Erik Christopher. Front cover typography, and all illustrations by Amanda Lillywhite. A book for children about an adopted girl.

When Rachel Braverman told me that she was looking for an illustrator for her story about an adopted girl I was immediately interested, especially when she said it was based on the real experience of adoption. I have an adopted daughter who came to live with us at 27 months old (she is now 14) so I am aware of the unique challenges that many adopted children face and I know that it is hard to find books that show the difficulties and joys of their experiences in an easy to read format*.

When I read the story I was impressed, Rachel has explored the fears of a newly adopted child but it is an uplifting read. Becca (that's her on the cover) has just arrived at her adoptive home. She immediately builds a rapport with her ready-made older sister, Fallon, and the family cat, Oscar. However her relationship with her new mother, Mummy Mo, is more difficult. The story is about how Becca learns to trust that this will be her forever family. It's also about knitted jumpers, Mummy Mo is a keen knitter, hence the title.

One Hundred Thousand Jumpers was designed by Erik Christopher. It is available in Kindle and print versions on Amazon.

If you have any comments or questions about the book please feel free to contact me via this blog, Facebook or Twitter.

*I am aware of the Tracey Beaker stories of course and I think they are brilliant but they are a bit too long and complex for some readers. This book has twenty four story pages split into five chapters and each chapter has an illustration.

Halloween craft session - a step by step guide to making and decorating a witch's hat

My daughter's hairstyling doll wearing a finished witch's hat. The doll's head is probably similar in size to that of an 8-9 year old child but, because it ties on, the hat can be worn by older ages including adults.

A few days before Halloween I will be leading a craft session for a group of children and teenagers and have made witches hats for them to decorate. I'm writing this blog post because, though I found a lot of information about making a witch's hat online, I couldn't find a quick and cheap way of producing them - important when you need to make twelve and are on a budget. Also, because I made the hats in advance I needed a design that would fit everyone up to and including those with adult sized heads. So I came up with my own version of a witch's hat based on what I saw in various blogs.

Making a witch's hat 

Materials used to make each witch's hat:
2 sheets of A3 (297mm x 420mm) 220gsm (reasonably sturdy) matte black card
Double sided tape
PVA glue
Two lengths of 500mm ribbon (for ties)
Plus an HB pencil, a craft knife, a stapler, scissors, a compass and a ruler

The template for the cone of the witch's hat sitting on a sheet of A3 card waiting to be traced. It would be possible to make a taller hat but bear in mind this would have an impact on the circumference of the base if you are trying to fit within an A3 sheet.

The radius of my cone template is 215mm. To create a similar cone place the point of your compass on the bottom edge of the sheet 215mm in from the left edge, start your line on the lower left corner and keep going until you hit the right side of the sheet, then draw a straight line between that point and where the compass point had been.

Cut out your cone using a craft knife or scissors.

To make a brim for the hat use a radius of 88mm for the inner circle, the radius of the outer circle is around 148mm to fit within the width of an A3 sheet (297mm). To find the centre of your sheet of card draw diagonals from the corners that cross in the middle.

Once you've cut out your brim(s) bend your cone(s) into shape.

Some of the witch's hat cones I made.

Overlap the two straight edges of your cone by about 10mm at the base (because of the shape it won't overlap at the point but the overlap will gradually widen to the base). Secure the cones with double sided tape and a line of tape on the inside. If you are using thick card I recommend bending it into a tight cone a few times before taping it together so that it holds the shape well.

Next use a stapler to add ribbon ties either side of the hat to secure it to the wearers head.

I used pink ribbon because I happened to have a roll of it but you can use any colour you like. Attach a 500mm length on either side of the inside of each hat, with the smooth side of the staples facing inwards (to avoid catching on the wearer's hair) and at least 15mm up from the bottom edge.

Make scissor cuts all the way round the bottom edge of the cone roughly 15mm deep and 15mm apart.

The cutting measurements are for guidance, it's fine if the tabs are uneven - they'll be hidden by the brim.

After cutting the tabs on the bottom edge of the brim fold them outwards. Test that the brim fits the cone. Some of my hats were a tight fit but once the edge of the brim was softened with glue I was able to squidge them together. However you can enlarge the inner circle if necessary. Don't worry if there is a gap because the inner circle of the brim is a bit too big, it will be covered by a hat band later. The most important thing is that there is enough of an overlap between the tabs and the brim to be able to glue them together.

Next tuck the ribbon ties inside the hat and secure them out of the way with tape so they don't get covered in glue.

Run a line of glue along the top side of the tabs at the base of the cone.

Slide the brim over the cone on to the line of glue and leave to dry.

A witch's hat on a drying rack made out of a storage box and two rulers. I found that I needed to keep pressing the tabs down as the hat dried, you can see here that they had a tendency to pop up.

When the hat is dry unstick the ribbons so they hang down and you are ready to decorate.

The staples and any rough edges on the join between the cone and the brim will be covered later by decoration.

Halloween workshop - decorating a witch's hat

Materials used:
White pencil or crayon
Black card left over from the construction of the witch's hat
Wool
Crepe paper
Scrap fabric
Halloween stickers
Also scissors or a craft knife, a hole punch, glue and double sided tape

I used an ordinary white pencil to draw on the brim of the hat, I doodled little Halloween themed drawings such as spider webs and skulls but creating textures or writing would also look good. It is possible to draw on the cone as long as you support it from the inside with your hand as you draw.

The card I used for the witches hats had a matte surface that took white pencil very well.

Using scrap left over from the construction of the hat I cut out a little bat to dangle from the brim.

Here is a bat but spiders and skulls would also look good.

I made a hole in the brim and the bat using a hole punch and hung the the bat from the hat on a length of wool.

Then I made some hair.

I bought a packet of crepe paper that had nine different colours.

The easiest way I found to make the crepe paper hair was to use fairly small segments (120mm - 150mm wide) and to build up the hair bit by bit starting from one of the ribbon ties and ending at the other. Each crepe paper segment was cut into strips that ended around 30mm from the top edge and a strip of double sided tape to attach it to the hat.

Crepe paper hair in a variety of colours.

I plaited some segments together and tied them with lengths of wool. Then I created a hat band out of scrap material (crepe paper could be used instead) and stuck it to the hat with a couple of pieces of double sided tape. A final touch was a Halloween spider sticker.

Illustrated poster / cartoon abstract for a PhD thesis about stakeholder influence

For a summary of Mark Panton's research go to
www.sportbusinesscentre.com/news/birkbeck-sport-business-centres-mark-panton-on-stadium-led-regeneration

Mark Panton asked me to create a cartoon abstract for his PhD thesis "How do stakeholders influence stadium-led regeneration?" for use online and as printed hand-outs. Comics and cartoons are increasingly being used in academia to support and/or impart information. In this case the cartoon is a small taste of the research, a lead in to the thesis.

The cartoon format allowed me to pack in a lot of information via the conversations between the characters. Using two different colour ways was a means of giving a flavour of the differences between the case studies relating to football stadiums in East Manchester (Manchester City Football Club) and Tottenham (Tottenham Hotspur Football Club) that Mark used in his research.

For a summary of the research go to the Birkbeck College, University of London, Sports Business Centre website  www.sportbusinesscentre.com/news/birkbeck-sport-business-centres-mark-panton-on-stadium-led-regeneration. Mark can be found on Twitter at @MarkLPanton.