She worked on special effects for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy from 2001 to 2003 and won the Kate Greenaway Medal for British children's book illustration in 2010.
Before becoming a full-time illustrator, she lived in New Zealand and worked on The Lord of the Rings films, specifically the special effects for the hobbits' feet.
[clarification needed] As of June 2013, WorldCat libraries report holding more than fifteen titles in 2003 to 2012 editions, written by Blackwood herself, Alan Bagnall, Nick Bland, Chardi Christian, Rosie Dickins, Roddy Doyle, Libby Gleeson, John Heffernan, Heiwari Johnson, Cecily Matthews, Kyle Mewburn, Jan Ormerod, A.
[8] Half a World Away by Libby Gleeson is held by the greatest number of libraries[8] Blackwood both wrote and illustrated (in watercolour and pencil) Ivy Loves to Give (US edition: Scholastic, 2010), a 24-page picture book about a toddler, for ages two and up.
[9] Blackwood won the annual Kate Greenaway Medal from the professional librarians for her part in the picture book Harry & Hopper, written by Margaret Wild and published by Scholastic in 2009.