I’ve stuck at this job for a long time and there have been ups and downs, but making books still makes me happy. 😊 A thing like this is a lovely surprise. Thanks so much, @scbwi.bsky.social, and all who voted for HAPPY ALL OVER in the Crystal Kite Awards. I feel honoured… and very happy! #kidlitart

Shame I only had one colour with me! 🌈🧦🧦 excited girl trying flavours at the ice cream stand. 🥄🍦 #sketchbook #💙📚#picturebookillustration #kidlitart

If sketchbooks had Photoshop… #kidlitart #💙📚#picturebookillustration #sketchingpeople

Quicksticks. (Does anyone say that any more?) ✍🏻 One of the speediest sketches I’ve done (not sure about the ‘third eye’ fringe line.) A boy at the park drawing in the sandpit. #emmaquaysketchbook #walktosee #kidlitart #illustrationart

Tiny sketch. How tiny? This tiny! ✏️ #💙📚 #kidlitart

A circle of sun on this rainy day: the paperbacks have arrived! MY SUNBEAM BABY in a new format, and I've always had a soft spot for a paperback. 💛 #kidlitart #💙📚 #PictureBook

My first ever #KidLitArtPostcard. 💙 I told myself I’d post it on the very next first Thursday after watching @brianlarossa.com’s entertaining and enlightening talk for @scbwi.bsky.social Mid-Atlantic last month (saved up for while I was on my solo residency). Fun to join in… at last! 😊 #PictureBooks

I'm back in my own studio in Sydney, with piles of pencil illustrations going on the scanner, one by one. ✏️✏️✏️ I’m finding rather a lot of tiny pen people in the margins (you'll see how tiny in the 2nd pic). Maybe they’re trying to sneak into the book… #💙📚 #picturebooks #KidLitArt #emmaquaysketchbook

I’m thrilled to discover "Happy All Over" has won the 2025 SCBWI Crystal Kite Award. They are voted on by our community, which makes it feel extra special. 😊 Thank you to all who voted for "Happy All Over" and to SCBWI HQ. 🙏🏻🙏🏻 www.scbwi.org/crystal-kite... #kidlitart #SCBWI25CK #CrystalKiteAward #💙📚

This little person is going in the May Gibbs Children’s Literature Trust journal, as I finish my month-long residency. 🧡 🌱 #💙📚 #kidlitart

A third baby has joined this little family — the paperback of MY SUNBEAM BABY. ☀️☀️☀️ I think there’ll be a few copies at home when I return, so I’ll look forward to taking some pics then. 💛 #💙📚 #kidlitart

Do you think someone spotted me drawing her? 👀 #emmaquaysketchbook #colouredpencilsketch #australianillustrator #walktosee #kidlitart

Look where you’re going, little doggy. #💙📚#kidlitart

Easter leftovers… 🐰 #emmaquaysketchbook #kidlitart #illustration #💙📚

Quieter days, post-Bologna, with my younger daughter. #💙📚 #emmaquaysketchbook #sketchillustration #kidlitart

I loved our first day at Bologna Children’s Book Fair! Wonderful company (old friends and new)… and so much to take in. I can’t wait for more, tomorrow. 📚📚📚📚📚📚📚 @crosby-fairall.bsky.social

Can you tell I’m happy to be in Bologna! 🎶 The children’s book fair starts tomorrow. ✏️✏️✏️🎉🎉🎉 #💙📚 #emmaquaysketchbook #illustrationart #kidlitart

Bye-bye, Florence. 🛤️ Heading to Bologna today, for the Children’s Book Fair next week. 🎉 #💙📚 #kidlitart #emmaquaysketchbook #illustration

You’ll have to take my word for it that there was something quite spectacular behind her, but I was more drawn to the baby. Sorry! #emmaquaysketchbook #walktosee #sketchbookpage #sketchillustration #💙📚

Worth the wait! #sketchinginthequeue #insidetheduomo #cattedraledisabtamariadelfiore #💙📚

Hope you soak up a little happiness, on its International Day today! 💦 💙📚 #internationaldayofhappiness #happyallover #kidlitart #picturebook #emmaquay

What’s on the trolley in my studio? Not just ✂️. Also, a ticket to something I’ve always wanted to attend… and it’s finally happening this month! 🇮🇹📚📚📚 Is anyone else going to the Bologna Children’s Book Fair this year? I know a couple of my brilliant friends are, and maybe we’ll see you there. #💙📚

Early childhood is very much where my heart sits, and to see HAPPY ALL OVER sharing the shelf with such beautifully child-centred picture books makes me, well… very happy. Congratulations, all! I’m thrilled and honoured to find my book amongst the CBCA Book of the Year Award Notables. #💙📚 #kidlitart

Happier sketching than swimming! The view from the shade, Clovelly Beach, Sydney. ✍🏻 Loved doing the Coastal Walk with our overseas visitors today. 🌊 #pensketch #sketchbook #illustration #emmaquaysketchbook

Oh my goodness. These images of play and picture books really filled my cup. Thank you, Emma from Pages and Paint: “Today we squished sundaes and read one of the sweetest books we own. Nothing fancy to say about it, just sharing a genuine play snippet that made us happy.” #kidlitart #happyallover

What a lovely surprise! If you browse the Books Merit Awards of the just-announced 2024 iJungle Illustration Awards, you’ll spot some of my Happy All Over children amongst the throng. Thank you, iJungle 2024! I really enjoyed looking at the winner galleries: www.ijungleawards.com/c%C3%B3pia-2... 💙📚

I wish Christmas lights stayed up all year. I think that might be why I put them in my books!✨✨✨ #HappyAllOver 💙📚#picturebook #kidlitart #australianillustrator #picturebookillustration

A dad at the park this morning. It looks really like him… apart from one or two things! 💙💙 #draweveryday #pensketch #illustrationart

“Cheese!” 🧀 The second of my two new A4 limited edition prints — both illustrations from “Happy All Over”. Hope you like them! emmaquay.com/prints-shop/... 💙📚 #kidlitart #illustration

"Sticky-tape heaven" (a little girl lost in the art of making). Introducing no. 1 of my 2 new A4 limited edition prints — illustrations from "Happy All Over". I'll show you the 2nd tomorrow... but there might be a sneak peek (literally) in the last pic! emmaquay.com/prints-shop/... #kidlitart 💙📚

Picture books in the paper! Bravo, Angie Schiavone, for this wonderful piece in today’s @australia.theguardian.com, and thank you for including ‘Happy All Over’ in your lists. amp.theguardian.com/books/2024/d... 💙📚 #kidlit #picturebooks

Adding the finishing touches to my end-of-year newsletter. 💌 If you’d like to be added to the mailbag, I’ll pop a link below. 📮 There’s a code for free shipping within Australia, and a 1st look at my new A4 prints. ❤️Emma x emmaquay.com/news-subscri... #illustrationsky #kidlitart #kidlitsky

Sunday sketching by a stream. The locals are checking out the boy’s find and my drawing! 🍃 #illustrationsky #sketchbook #kidlitart

Spot the difference! 🔍 This girl changed a bit between paper and page in HAPPY ALL OVER. My ‘Nitpicker’ critique/friend group suggested the edit, and pic 4 is a screenshot from one of our Zoom sessions. My expression — ha ha. ❤️📚 #kidlitart #illustrationsky

I’ve just stocked up on my favourite paper & sketchbooks. Half price — woo! Art supply sales are on. 🎨 I’ll be all set to not get too precious about making the first mark on a sheet of paper, as there’ll be plenty again. 🤍 My favourite art materials: emmaquay.com/illustrating... ❤️🎨 #kidlitart

OK, #kidlit #yalit #childrensbook people, I made a starter pack. It’s far from perfect but it might kick things off a bit. Very Aus-US centric at the moment so please nominate yourself to be added to it! go.bsky.app/JRd4zpq

Hanging out in my sketchbook. #illustration #KidLitSky #kidlitart #picturebooks

I'm talking about the way I capture movement in my illustrations over at Joy Lawn’s wonderful children’s books blog, Paperbark Words. paperbarkwords.blog/2024/11/11/s... I get questions about this subject every week, so I hope this response is helpful. 😊

Mum pointing to her favourite little person in ‘Happy All Over’. She doesn’t know why, but he makes her smile. 🧡 I waved bye-bye to Mum today, as my sister drove me down the lane to head back to Sydney. 🥲 On a happier note, I’ll see my elder daughter and little dog very soon. 💕 #kidlitart

Making the most of a splodge! ⚫️ #kidlitart #illustration

"Swing". One little girl and her origami bird. 🤍 I'm not sure he'd last long in that bird bath! 💦 The 4th limited edition print in my series from HAPPY ALL OVER — emmaquay.com/prints-shop/... — I hope you like them! #kidlitart #illustration

‘My Sunbeam Baby’ is big again (in size!), and the chunky little board book is still around to keep it company on bookshelves. ☀️☀️ emmaquay.com/books#/my-su... #kidlitart #picturebook

I‘m getting a little better at drawing with my left hand... but only a little! 〰️ #kidlitart #illustration

I seem to have taken over Mum’s kitchen table! #homeagain✏️✏️✏️✏️ #emmaquaysketchbook #kidlitart #illustration

Signing and editioning my new HAPPY ALL OVER prints, and trying not to run my fingers over them too much! I’m thrilled with how the colours have come out. 🌈 #kidlitart #illustration #limitededitionprints

Note to self: don’t sit on your foot, Emma! #circulation #reminder #studiowall #illustration #kidlitart

HAPPY ALL OVER prints are on the press. I’m excited to see them! Here’s a little preview of ‘Swing’. 🤍 #kidlitart #illustration

Not a picnic blanket! It’s my colour palette for HAPPY ALL OVER. 🎨 I made an extended palette from just a few cups of colour, and have shared the process here. I love hearing how other illustrators do things. 😊 emmaquay.com/blog/harmoni... #kidlitart #illustration #picturebookillustration #kidlit

She might have 13+ fingers, but I promise I drew this with my own hand, and not AI! ✏️ #illustration #kidlitart #pencilsketch

Stories were shared… and there was painting, too. 📚🎨 Thank you to all the children who listened and created along with me this morning, at the State Library of New South Wales Storytime. 🙏🏻 Find about the next one, at www.sl.nsw.gov.au/whats-on