Xiong Liang

The writer and illustrator channels the spirit of traditional Chinese watercolors into picture books for children

Xiong Liang is an illustrator from China’s Zhejiang province (south of Shanghai) and is now one of the most established picture book artists of the capital. Yet he never really thought of drawing as a career; it was always more of a passion—albeit one he’s had since his childhood. “I never had a professional art training, but I remember myself as a kid, spending entire …

Professor Astro Cat

London-based illustrator Ben Newman creates a playful character to teach kids about space

For the last 30 years, if you wanted to know about space, the universe and its many wonders, Professor Stephen Hawking has pretty much been the go-to guy. However that’s about to change because there’s a new space brainiac with all the answers: Professor Astro Cat. Astro Cat is the illustrated star of a beautiful new book aimed at space-interested youngsters entitled “Professor Astro Cat’s …

“Colouring Book” by Deirdre Dyson

The London-based carpet designer embarks on a playful marketing approach

This finely crafted coloring book is the work of carpet designer Deirdre Dyson and we’re big fans of her playful, but sophisticated, approach to marketing. Because sketching and coloring carpet and textile design is intrinsic to the preliminary product development, Dyson has extended the fruits of the process into a byproduct for a younger audience. Though the coloring book doesn’t capture her knack for fusions …