hello friends. how was your weekend? did you celebrate Father’s Day? I will be sharing more about our Father’s day later today. Until then, I am really excited to introduce you to Aleks Patrovitch.
Aleks and I met via a virtual-mutual contact this year, and it’s been amazing to learn of his artistic talents. Last week i downloaded an app that Aleks designed called, Gnomie Farmland Adventure.
this app is geared towards younger children, I would say ages 3-6, and it is so unique because mom and dad can record their voices for the child to hear his or her parents when playing the app. I tested it out on Sela this last week and she loves it! plus, the app intrigued all my kids, everyone wanted to try recording their voices for the animals to hear themselves. it became a family event!
Check out some of the illustrations —
Aleks created all of the illustrations himself, and he also works for Peek children’s clothing, where he uses his talent to design store sets, and images for the clothing. His dog Merle is often by his side, and you will spot him in the app too!
Here he is, working right along side Aleks:
This app is perfect timing for summer! When your little ones are feeling a little restless, and could use some mom-or-dad-app-education, try Gnomie Farmland. it’s darling! A few words about the artist Aleks, from Aleks…
I started drawing when I was quite young. I grew up all over the place–the San Juan Islands, California, and Oahu–and I’ve definitely been influenced by the art and design of the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii. I was fascinated by the drawings and sculptures of these cultures, and the tales and traditions that they told. I realized that the best way that I could communicate my own feelings and imagination was through drawing. I made my first illustrated book at age 7, using only a couple pieces of cardboard and paper, and I have been telling stories through drawing ever since.
Since I drew my first book may years ago, I have illustrated and designed award-winning projects for the National Park Service, and co-authored a children’s book with one of my heroes, the environmentalist David Brower. I think we’ve all seen how intuitive children are with new technology, especially touch screens, and I’ve been thinking about creating illustrated e-books since 2008. I created the Gnomie publishing platform in 2009 as a venue for exploring digital children’s books, and my goals with the company are simple: I want to create delightful and well-designed e-books and applications for children.
I realize that not everyone loves e-books. Another one of my heroes, illustrator Maurice Sendak, has stated that he absolutely hates e-book for kids. I’ve always respected the work of Sendak, and wondered why such an esteemed illustrator would distrust the new, digital medium. This is something I’ve thought about for a long time, and I think it comes down to a matter of design. I think printed books are the pinnacle of design for kids. They are tactile, and come with beautiful pictures that can be carried around by kids, to be treasured and collected for a lifetime.
I realized that Sendak’s problem was mostly in the design of e-books, not necessarily in the storytelling. Not many were taking the time to consider how to properly, and powerfully, implement children’s stories for this format. With the Gnomie apps, I hope to have succeeded in creating a children’s e-book that everyone can love.
With all my projects, I bring strong design concepts, a hand-drawn aesthetic, and imaginative and humorous content. The first Gnomie app is Gnomie Farmland Adventure, and we currently have 3 more apps in development. Gnomie Farmland Adventure is designed with young attention spans and active fingers in mind. The simple story can be started at any point. Kids can explore the farm at day or at night, learn animal names in several different languages, and even rock themselves to sleep with an original lullaby about sleepy farm animals by the San Francisco band Lucky Cloud. Best of all, all Gnomie apps come with a “Read Me A Story” function, which allows parents to record and personalize the narration as they see it fit for their loved ones, because I think the most important storyteller to a child is their own parents.
I am an illustrator. I am at my happiest when I’m communicating to others through hand-drawn pictures. After 4 years of brainstorming and work, I am excited to share my stories with the digital world through interactive devices to create children’s e-books that will make everyone happy: kids, parents, and even some of my mentors and inspirations like the late Maurice Sendak.
Thank you Jane-Gnomie (Aleks Petrovitch)
Definitely buying this app! My niece and nephew seem to have low attention spans and apps are a lifesaver when the line-ups are long at the store, traffic jams, etc. Thanks!