How’s it going? I’m chuffed to have been asked over to play in the IGI sandpit – and a little nervous.

Kicking off with an old favourite, Quentin Blake and his signature line drawings – they became the stuff of legend in Roald Dahl’s books and influenced generations:

What was so wonderful to me was that so many of Roald’s stories were fantastical, unrealistic, so I was free to do what I wanted. I could let my style develop. Think of The Twits or the BFG – they don’t really take place in a realistic world. They come from my head. – Quentin Blake, the Guardian.

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‘Book with a view’ is, hopefully, a series (every Tuesday) on children’s book illustrators – from Sendak, Benson, Shepard and Blake right through to the next generation of Dunbar, Haughton, Jeffers, Child and Sharkey.

I’m no expert and I’m open to any/all recommendations – I’d love to find books that I’ve never come across – so if you have a suggestion, send it on.

Smashing Magazine writes an extensive post on the legacy of Polish Poster design. You can find more on the likes of Stasys and others here.

If your a fan of both Madmen and illustration this set on Flickr is a fantastic collection that captures a key scene from each episode beautifully illustrated by Dyna Moe.

At the NY Times Christoph Niemann illustrates his personal weather predictions for the coming year. Also, Maira Kalman finishes up her Pursuit of Happiness series with George Washington. The series will be collected in a book to be published later this year.

The UK Times has started a sketch travel blog of illustrator George Butler‘s six month journey through Africa. Check it out here.

Escape from Illustration Island has posted a series of handy articles recently including Sample Contract for Illustrators and Graphic Designers, How to Protect Yourself with a Solid Contract, Things to Consider When Pricing Your Work, How To Work With A Client’s Tight Budget, How to Educate Your Clients.

Illustrator’s Ireland member Adrienne Geoghegan continues with her Illustration Boot Camp this spring. It runs for 12 weeks from January 23rd. Read on for full details…

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Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard has been living in fear since he drew his notorious Muhammad cartoon. But even that could not prepare him for being attacked in his own home by a Muslim seeking revenge…Full story at the Guardian.

The NYTimes has compiled a great selection of Op-Ed illustrations from ’09. Check them out here.

The American caricaturist David Levine, whose work regularly featured in the New York Review of Books, passed away last week. Steven Heller writes on his legacy.  You can view a gallery of his work here. He was also a keen watercolour artist.