Tauriel

"She walks in starlight in another world."

The new Hobbit movie will be hitting our screens soon (yay!) so in honor of that I decided to create an illustration inspired by Tauriel. I was a little dubious of her at first, but she quickly became one of my favourites - she's just great! I'm really glad they decided to create her character for the franchise.

So anyway, for my illustration I took inspiration from Kili's quote "She walks in starlight in another world" but I also wanted it to be a little different and unexpected. I've used a limited palette (I'll stop talking about this soon, I promise!) and lots of space/galaxy elements. 

Are you a Hobbit/Tauriel fan too?

C xxx

New Baby Greeting Card

So, this idea popped into my head a couple of days ago, and seeing as I've not really done anything like it before I thought it would be good practice! It's based on one of the most iconic scenes from The Lion King (of course!) and it's my take on a new baby greetings card. The baby looks like a pretty cool dude in my opinion. 

I'd love to know what you think. Would you buy this if you saw it in a shop? I think the text and decal would look nice if they were embossed maybe!

C xxx

Jim Noir Commemorative Album Art

A couple of days ago Jim asked me if I could make a little poster to celebrate the release of his new album 'Finnish Line' which was released on Monday. I based my illustration on the original album art and it features most of the same characters with a similar colour palette! I'm really happy with how this turned out in the end. It reminds me of a family that might appear in a vintage childrens book. 

Did you all have a nice Bonfire Night? There was an international market in town, so my boyfriend and I had a wander around and bought some Italian chocolate (not very traditional of us!). 

C xxx

Retro Zoella

Another illustration in my new portrait series. It occurred to me the other day that I've never drawn Zoella before which seems very strange to me! It's been so much fun working with such a limited colour palette, you start to realise that you don't need so many hues to create an interesting piece. 

Also, make sure you take a look at my Kickstarter post! It'd mean so much if you did. 

C xxx

Amelia's Magazine Kickstarter Campaign: 'That Which We Do Not Understand'

If you follow me on Twitter you may have seen me posting some sneak peeks of the illustration I created as part of Amelia's open illustration & creative writing brief 'That Which We Do Not Understand'. If you're not familiar with Amelia's Magazine, then please do check it out! If you love art, music, illustration and all sorts of creative endeavours then it's a site I'm sure you'll adore. 

If you're already a fan, then you'll know that this year is Amelia's Magazines 10th anniversary. Amelia has already released two stunning anthologies of illustration and art, and to celebrate this special anniversary she is trying to create a brand new volume. In addition to the book, Amelia will also be offering some stunning limited edition prints - how exciting! There's still a little time to contribute work if you're an artist or a writer, click here to find out more about the brief. 

'Moon Rabbits'

I'm really excited that my submission has been chosen to feature in the book! The inspiration for my piece is based on the folklore tale of the 'Moon Rabbit'. There's quite a few versions of the story as it's popular in a couple of cultures - I've put my own sort of spin on it though. My idea represents a rabbit who wants to journey to visit the moon goddess and as it gets closer to her, it becomes part of a constellation so that it can always be with her. 

This project really means a lot to me, as it's the first time I've had the chance to be published in an anthology! I've been working really hard lately on refining my style, so it'd be great if more people got the chance to see my work. I've followed Amelia's Magazine for quite some time and it's always been a source of inspiration to me so it's incredibly exciting to get a chance to be part of it! 

Anyway, I suppose I should explain a little more about the Kickstarter project and all of the goodies you can receive if you decide to pledge. You can pledge as little as £5 or as much as £1000 - so there really is something for everyone! The main goodies are the limited edition art book and prints - these are very special as the book will have gold spot printing on every page and the prints will have details of real gold leaf. If you'd like an example of how it will work, all of the gold portions of my illustration above will be made with gold spot printing; I think that it will look so unusual and pretty.

In addition to the new art book and prints, you can also pledge for limited edition art postcards, rare copies of Amelia's Magazine, lovely t-shirts as well as some of Amelia's other illustration books. By pledging for prints, you're really helping these artists out as they will receive 50% of the profits which I think is fantastic.

If you're a fan of my work and are looking for some amazing Christmas gifts for art lovers, then please do take a look at the Kickstarter campaign page here. If you pledge early you can pick up a copy of the limited edition book for just £15! 

I think that's pretty much it! Please do let me know if you decide to purchase the book/prints, and I usually hate to ask for favours, but if you could tweet with a link to this post then I'd be super grateful. 

C xxx

#makemeadesigner Art Competition with Direct Blinds

I was recently contacted about a fantastic competition Direct Blinds are currently running to find a new up-and-coming designer. The prize is amazing because you can win the chance to design your own product range with the brand - how cool is that! I think this would be a particularly brilliant opportunity for students/peeps who have just graduated. The brief is very open, you can create any type of artwork you'd like (although remember, it has to work on blinds!). I came up with a theme based around 'Winter Birds' and decided to make one of my images into a repeating pattern. I'd love to know what you think! I was thinking they could work well in a kitchen or conservatory (or orangery as my mum would say). 

There are a couple of ways to enter; you can check out the Direct Blinds competition page here, or you can enter via Twitter, Instagram and Facebook using the hashtag #makemeadesigner - remember to tweet to @DirectBlinds! 

I know quite a few of my followers are arty/creative types so please do let me know if you decide to enter. 

C xxx

* I was invited to take part in this competition and received a box of art goodies to help me create my entry! 

Mid-Century Portrait of In The Frow

Continuing on from my last post, I thought I'd keep with the mid-century theme and decided to create a portrait of In The Frow's Victoria. I've kept the colour palette very minimal as I think that works well with this sort of style and provides a good challenge. I'd love to know if you like this type of style too? 

I don't have any Halloween illustrations planned for this year as I've just let myself get behind but I'm trying to think up some cool Christmas designs. Let me know if you have any ideas!

C xxx