• My friend, the illustrator Kate Sheppard, came round a couple of weeks ago to show me the dummy of a picture book she’s working on. I was so impressed with the way she uses marker pens that I bought myself a few to play with.

    I tried marker pens many years ago. You used to be able to get a spray thing that attached to them so that you can use them like an airbrush. That was a total waste of time! I never got on with the smell either nor the way the inks bled into the paper.

    But these new Copic Ciao markers are wonderful. They have a hard square nib at one end and the wonderful soft pointy brush at the other. I was so impressed I bought a great big box of them. I have great plans for what I want to do with them. But first I need to learn how to use them!

    Have fun watching this video in which I unpacked my big box of Copic markers and have a first go at colouring in my One Direction Cartoon drawing.

    They did cost a lot, but you can get smaller sets. I think they are a great investment. You can replace the nibs and refill the pens too, which makes them much more economical over time.

  • I’ve been waiting weeks for Millie and Bombassa Dizzy DIY to be approved on the iTunes iBook Store and today it has gone live. And then, after just a few days, the second Millie and Bombassa book, Air Scare, has gone live to. My cup runneth over and I feel joy abounding!! Click the pictures to go to the iBooks store.

    Bombassa is a lazy but loveable rhino. Millie is a sensible but sweet bird. Together they make a great pair!

    These stories have consistently been at the top of my Library borrowing statistics as they are read again and again. I know they are much loved. I love Bombassa – He’s kind of my grumpy, don’t want to get out of bed side of me, while Millie is the side of me that sees me still working at quarter to 11 on a Friday night!

    Each story contains a drawing video and a quiz, and Dizzy DIY has a video showing you how to make an origami box.

    If you like these books, please leave a comment on iTunes. It really does help.

  • Getting the Jubilee off to a good start, here’s a lesson showing you how to draw he Imperial State Crown.

    It’s the Queen of England (and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland and the Commonwealth’s) 60th year on the throne this year and we are having bait of a jubilation here in the Britain, so I thought I do some royal drawings. I’m starting with the Imperial State Crown that the Queen wore when she was crowned and which she wears on State occasions like this week’s opening of Parliament.