• Thanks to everyone who voted for me. Yes, I won the competition and I am thrilled, thrilled, thrilled! here is my celebratory video and most of my press release is below.

    Press Release – for immediate publication

    Shoo Rayner wins YouTube NextUp competition

    Children’s author and illustrator Shoo Rayner, from the Royal Forest of Dean, has been chosen as one of eight winners from the UK in the YouTube NextUp Europe Competition to find the best new channels on YouTube. See more at http://www.youtube.com/youtubenextup

    Shoo’s YouTube channel – www.youtube.com/shooraynerdrawing – has had over a million views of his 240 videos, and well over three thousand subscribers from all around the world. “It’s amazing,” says Shoo. “I have built up relationships all over the world, including Sweden, Brazil, Egypt, Singapore, India and the USA!”

    All winners receive €20,000 to spend developing their YouTube channels and a week at Creator Camp in London, for intensive training and mentoring to make their channels even better.

    Shoo made his first video on YouTube in September 2008, showing how to draw his popular book characters. A year later he committed himself to his drawing channel, after receiving encouraging comments and requests from viewers. Shoo increasingly interacts with his audience, who now span all ages, and whose comments and suggestions have shaped the channel ever since.

    “It’s been a bit like an apprenticeship,” says Shoo. “I’m learning all the time. Winning this competition is a validation of all the hundreds, if not thousands of hours I’ve spent working on my channel.”

    Shoo’s videos teach viewers how to draw all manner of things, in a step by step fashion, while he chats about his day to day life as an artist and author.

    “I also make videos with advice for artists, in answer to questions I receive. My mail from those videos is amazing. There are a lot of shy, frustrated and lonely artists out there who are thrilled to find out that someone else thinks the same way they do.”

    “This prize will give me the opportunity to set up an online school with more structured courses for all ages and experience. I love doing this – if I can make a website so that I can earn a living from teaching people how to draw, I will be a very happy man!”

    Again, a million thanks and bless you all who have voted for me and believed in this project and have encouraged me to continue through the difficult bits. I hope I can continue and make it even better.

  • I’ve been on holiday for the past week, with my lovely wife and some old friends (known them a long time – they’re not pensioners!)

    We’ve been on a cruise! Never done that before and not sure what I think about it yet. I got so woozy from the rocking of the ship, I had to see the doctor to get some pills. It was the calmest sea voyage you can imagine, so I don’t know what I’d be like in a storm!

    We left Southampton on the P&O Ventura, which is like Las Vegas on water! It’s huge and glitzy and very comfortable and the staff were all incredibly kind and helpful. Our room was terrific and we had our own balcony to watch all the comings and goings in port.

    We visited le Havre and Saint Rochelle in France and Bibao and La Coruna in Spain. I’ll mention aboout Our shore trips later, when I’ve had time to draw breath. A week away and everything has piled up around me, so I’d better get to work!

  • Here are three videos which explain lots and lots about the golden ratio and the the fibonacci sequence for artists _ it’s really interesting actually!