Raven Howell's Blog - Posts Tagged "picturebooks"
April showers bring May flowers!
This month of April is a good time to take stock, get to repairs and revisions and just in general, re-do and re-check things. Come May and June, you'll be in good shape to feel as if you're moving forward in great strides.
For me, I thought things were coming to me in "doubles" as far as good news, but I broke the spell this year when I received a third (!) picture book manuscript acceptance from a book publisher! I'm absolutely thrilled and super busy as you can imagine. At least two of those books are slated for a spring 2019 release. The third may be sooner. Stay tuned!
I also just accepted a wonderful position as "Creative and Publishing Advisor" with RedClover, a kid lit organization passionate about joining together authors, illustrators, parents, children and the whole community for everyone's benefit. It's super fulfilling and fun, too!
Happy "springing"!
For me, I thought things were coming to me in "doubles" as far as good news, but I broke the spell this year when I received a third (!) picture book manuscript acceptance from a book publisher! I'm absolutely thrilled and super busy as you can imagine. At least two of those books are slated for a spring 2019 release. The third may be sooner. Stay tuned!
I also just accepted a wonderful position as "Creative and Publishing Advisor" with RedClover, a kid lit organization passionate about joining together authors, illustrators, parents, children and the whole community for everyone's benefit. It's super fulfilling and fun, too!
Happy "springing"!
Font Fun!
Although fonts may not be the most popular literary-themed subject to share, I can’t help but find it fascinating how the variety of lettering designs, called fonts, came about. Guess how many fonts exist in the world today? Over 200,000! That’s a lot of typeface fun!
The Old English font, called BLACKLETTER was the first invented font in the world. It has dramatically thick and thin strokes, think “Gothic”. This font evolved from the mid-12th century, Europe.
Pioneer, Johannes Gutenberg, through his mechanical moving type printer, produced the bible in the TEXTURA font. The Declaration of Independence? That was printed in a British font, CASLON. And I had no idea there was a “most hated” font! Even its creator, Vincent Connare doesn’t like it. Ha! COMIC SANS.
Beyond font history, the first question other fellow writers and book lovers ask me is what is the most often used typeface? Most of the signage you see, and the typeface on business forms, receipts, and invoices is the world-wide popular HELVETICA.
I also love the psychological aspect of fonts. As you may guess, different fonts communicate different messages. Most people are likely to believe the text written in BASKERVILLE rather than say, COMIC SANS. Diners reading a fancy font on their menus assume the chef more posh. Simple fonts on menus? Blah – no special kitchen skill, the mind tells us. Should you pick up a vibe of assertiveness, you are probably reading either GEORGIA, ROCKWELL BOLD or IMPACT fonts.
CASLON continues to be one of the most popular fonts today with lots of versions and interpretations. Some say this font conveys an inviting feeling. It gives a feeling of warmth and familiarity. Choose CASLON for historical novels and if a dependable feeling is desired.
Finally, ideally, online text should never be less than 10 pt in size, and keep it easy to read by using a font such as ARIAL, GEORGIA, VERDANA or TIMES NEW ROMAN.
Got a favorite font? Share it! The font used in my picture poetry book, SPIN A CIRCLE! uses a DYSLEXIE font. You can check out my book here. Spin a Circle!
The Old English font, called BLACKLETTER was the first invented font in the world. It has dramatically thick and thin strokes, think “Gothic”. This font evolved from the mid-12th century, Europe.
Pioneer, Johannes Gutenberg, through his mechanical moving type printer, produced the bible in the TEXTURA font. The Declaration of Independence? That was printed in a British font, CASLON. And I had no idea there was a “most hated” font! Even its creator, Vincent Connare doesn’t like it. Ha! COMIC SANS.
Beyond font history, the first question other fellow writers and book lovers ask me is what is the most often used typeface? Most of the signage you see, and the typeface on business forms, receipts, and invoices is the world-wide popular HELVETICA.
I also love the psychological aspect of fonts. As you may guess, different fonts communicate different messages. Most people are likely to believe the text written in BASKERVILLE rather than say, COMIC SANS. Diners reading a fancy font on their menus assume the chef more posh. Simple fonts on menus? Blah – no special kitchen skill, the mind tells us. Should you pick up a vibe of assertiveness, you are probably reading either GEORGIA, ROCKWELL BOLD or IMPACT fonts.
CASLON continues to be one of the most popular fonts today with lots of versions and interpretations. Some say this font conveys an inviting feeling. It gives a feeling of warmth and familiarity. Choose CASLON for historical novels and if a dependable feeling is desired.
Finally, ideally, online text should never be less than 10 pt in size, and keep it easy to read by using a font such as ARIAL, GEORGIA, VERDANA or TIMES NEW ROMAN.
Got a favorite font? Share it! The font used in my picture poetry book, SPIN A CIRCLE! uses a DYSLEXIE font. You can check out my book here. Spin a Circle!
