Hi! I’m Cathy Hamilton and my interest in art and computers spans decades. After completing a few years of computer stuff, art courses, and a Multimedia Productions course at the local community college, I combined my two loves and authored/illustrated/animated The Itsy Bitsy Spider On The Farm.
My Humorous Side
Embedded within the multimedia book’s whimsical style of animation is my own off-beat, dry sense of humor. The simple, yet realistic illustrations were aimed at keeping a view of the world through children’s eyes.
Catching the Sounds
Seeking out and creating the myriad of sound effects used in the multimedia version was an enjoyable part of the process. My significant other and I went on bike rides to local trails and parks to find many of the sounds, although one was captured at the county fair in a pig pen. The chickens at the petting zoo cooperated grandly. Capturing the bee was probably the most difficult. Sound seekers really can’t keep up with a buzzing bee before falling into a ditch or thicket of weeds and without getting stung by an annoyed bee. The birds along the trail seemed to know I was coming to capture their song and provided a fine audition. They say “timing is everything” and that definitely was the case in capturing the thunder roll. Capturing the sounds was an incredible experience that I must do again someday. Nature is a wondrous thing!
The Ultimate Test
Of course, no children’s book is a success until it has been given the golden seal of approval by a child. My glory day came when I witnessed my grandson of four years, who is extremely curious, mobile, and intelligent, watch the .mp4 version, still as a statue and quiet as a mouse in church, four times in succession without blinking an eye. Now isn’t that just finer than a frog’s hair?!? If he would sit through my creation and ask to “see it again, Grandma!”, (Pardon my ADD, but where DO you put that last set of quotation marks!! before the comma or after???!!) I knew he and others like him would enjoy it!