Week 30 - Ed Vere

And so the journey has come full circle and had arrived at its finally destination. The final week finds us in London once again, at the studio of the brilliant Ed Vere.

Ed studied fine art at Camberwell College of Art and has been writing and illustrating children's books since 1999. He is published in both England and the US. Ed is also a painter, working from his studio in East London and is represented by galleries in London and Los Angeles. After a year and a half living in Barcelona, Ed now lives and works in London.

Thank you, Ed for a fantastic spread. If you want to see more of Ed's work check out his website, and if you want to follow him on twitter you can so by clicking here. 

So that's it, all 30 illustrators have made their mark, drawn their bear and created a story for our hero to abide to. But that's not the end from us, we have many things planned for the red bear so don't forget about us yet! For the latest news on what we're doing you can carry on reading this blog, Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, love our photos on Instagram and pin us on Pinterest. Thank you for all your support so far, the journey isn't over quite yet...

Week 29 - Chris Riddell

We're nearing the end with the book taking a trip to Brighton to visit the legendary Chris Riddell.

Chris is an accomplished artist and political cartoonist for the Observer. He is well known for his collaborations with the author Paul Stewart on books such as Muddle Earth, and has also illustrated several picture books for younger children. He writes and illustrates Macmillan's awardwinning and captivating OTTOLINE young fiction series.

He has won many awards for his work, including the Nestlé Gold Award and the rare honour of two Kate Greenaway Medals. Chris lives in Brighton.

A huge thanks to Chris for taking part in the project! If you want to see more of Chris' work you can visit his website or follow his antics on twitter.

Week 27 - Jason Ruddy

It's illustrator 27, only 3 more to go and the book will be complete! This week we are at the home of writer/illustrator Jason Ruddy.

Jason graduated in 2006 with a degree in Animation. Since then he has worked in the digital industry and done the odd bit of illustrating, animating and designing for a number of things. In 2010 he started up a collaborative project called Monster Riot with his wife Catherine McDaid. Through Monster Riot he has painted a 5ft Gromit for Gromit Unleashed, illustrated greetings card ranges and his designs have adorned everything from t-shirts to biscuit tins. He works from his home studio in Buckinghamshire and is currently working on his first authored books. Check out Jason's week with the book below...

If you want to see more of Jason's work you can do by visiting his website and if you want to follow his tweets you can follow him @jasonruddy. Time for the book to make a move again, this time its off to Sheffield to see the lovely Lydia Monks. See you soon!

Week 22 - Benji Davies

We travel back to London for week 22 with the next three illustrators all residing there. This week the book is with the animation director turned illustrator, Benji Davies.


Benji studied animation at university, and his career so far has juggled illustrating children's books alongside directing animated commercials, music promos and short films. His books have been co-editioned in many languages and countries, across Europe and around the world.
He is proud to now be working on his own texts, with his first self-penned picture book, The Storm Whale, due for release August 2013.

Benji is the illustrator of Nosy Crow's start-up list favourite Bizzy Bear. The series, which continues to expand, is now being rolled out as a series of apps to compliment the books.

He currently lives in East London with his recently appointed wife.

Thanks for a great spread, Benji! If you'd like to get to know Mister Davies a bit better check out his wonderful work on his website, be a fan on his Facebook page and follow him on his twitter. So week 23 lurks around the corner with the book staying in London to visit the brilliant Sarah Horne. Until the next post...

Week 21 - Sam McCullen

It's Week 21 of the Bear With Me Project and this week finds the book travelling to a creaky cottage in Camberley in Surrey. The owner of this creaky cottage is pastel maestro, Sam McCullen, an illustrator who isn't a stranger to drawing a bear or two.

Sam's first picturebook 'Billy Back-To-Front' was produced for his final Masters project at Cambridge School of Art and was published by Hodder Children's Books after he graduated. Since then, Sam has illustrated children's books by Julia Donaldson and Ian Whybrow, and he's worked on a series of books for a publisher in Korea. Alongside the books, Sam has illustrated for magazines, multimedia and advertising campaigns in the UK and China.

Sam was shortlisted for the Booktrust Big Picture Best New Illustrators Award and he was an illustration finalist in the London International Awards. Sam's work is currently included in 'The Illustrators', a touring exhibition of contemporary children’s book illustration, curated by Julia Donaldson. The exhibition is visiting art galleries, libraries and public spaces throughout the UK.

This Autumn, Sam's second picturebook 'Hairy Bear' will be published. You can see its trailer here and pre-order it here.

Hat's off to Sam for a brilliant spread. If you'd like to see more of Sam's work check out his fantastic website. You can also keep up to date with his comings and goings on his blog and twitter. Now back to London town to visit the animator turned illustrator, Benji Davies. See you again in 7 days!