Freya Blackwood facts for kids
Freya Blackwood, born in 1975, is a talented Australian artist. She is famous for illustrating children's books. She also worked on special effects for movies. You might know her work from The Lord of the Rings films! In 2010, she won a big award, the Kate Greenaway Medal, for her amazing book illustrations.
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Growing Up and Early Work
Freya Blackwood was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. This happened while her parents were traveling in the UK. She spent her childhood in Orange, New South Wales, Australia.
Before becoming a full-time illustrator, Freya lived in New Zealand. There, she worked on The Lord of the Rings movies. She helped create special effects, especially for the hobbits' feet! She also earned a degree in design. This was from the University of Technology, Sydney. While working in the Sydney film industry, she even made two short films.
Film Career Highlights
Freya worked in the film industry from 2001 to 2008. She helped produce a film called Blackspot in 2008. She also appeared as an extra in a short film, Zombie Movie.
Her most famous film work was as a special effects artist. She worked on all three The Lord of the Rings films:
Illustrating Children's Books
By June 2010, Freya Blackwood had illustrated eleven books. Three of these were published in the United Kingdom. As of June 2013, she had illustrated more than fifteen books. She worked with many different authors. Some of these authors include Margaret Wild and Libby Gleeson.
Ivy Loves to Give
Freya both wrote and illustrated a book called Ivy Loves to Give. She used watercolor and pencil for the pictures. This 24-page picture book is about a young child. It shows the funny mistakes a toddler makes. The story is about learning where things belong.
Winning the Kate Greenaway Medal
Freya Blackwood won a major award for her illustrations. It was the annual Kate Greenaway Medal. This award is given by professional librarians. She won it for her work on the picture book Harry & Hopper. Margaret Wild wrote this book. It was published in 2009.
The Kate Greenaway Medal celebrates the best-illustrated children's book. It must be published in the U.K. Freya's drawings of Hopper were inspired by a dog she had as a child. The story is about a boy and his puppy. They are best friends. But then the puppy dies while the boy is at school. Freya's beautiful illustrations add a sad feeling to the story. She used laser print with watercolour, gouache, and charcoal.
