May Draw A Day | Day Thirty-One.

A little collage illustration for today's theme, which is an acorn. Acorns are cute, they look like they're wearing little hats.

Today is the last day of May, which means the end of the May Draw A Day challenge. A massive thank you to the lovely Astrid for organising it; I will miss creating a little illustration each day. I decided to join in with the challenge in the hope that it would help ease me back into my illustration work after a break away from it, and also to push myself to show doodles and unpolished illustrations. The challenge has definitely kept me motivated - although some days it has been more of a struggle to get started, I have really enjoyed setting aside time every day to be creative. It has inspired me to spend more time on my illustration work again, whilst also allowing me to be more experimental in my work, using materials I hadn't used for years instead of always sticking to the same style. The reaction to my May Draw A Day illustrations has been pretty positive, which has made me feel more confident in showing less than perfect work, without the fear of being judged or criticised; this means I will be posting a lot more work in the future. Yay!

A little reminder that all the original illustrations I've created for May Draw A Day are currently for sale; it is very rare that I sell original work, so if you'd like to own a little signed illustration then this is your chance!

 Astrid, Jade and I are already planning to organise a collaborative Draw A Day challenge in August, so keep your eye out - I hope you'll all want to get involved!

Remember how it used to be?

This is a little illo I've been working on today - it was my first not busy day for ages, and I took full advantage of the time I had to chill out in my studio, wearing my pyjamas, and illustrating the day away. The typewriter was hand drawn using ink, and parts of the image were coloured digitally - very basic, but it's the first time I've coloured any of my work in this way. 

Quite happy with how this turned out, especially as it was a very spur of the moment "i feel like drawing a typewriter!" type of image. I think I might alter the caption, and turn it into a card design. 

May Draw A Day | Day Thirty.

The theme for day thirty is a heart made up of words; this made me think of loveheart sweets, and they were the inspiration behind today's cute little illustration.

May Draw A Day | Day Twenty-Nine.

Today's theme is a bicycle. I used my favourite coloured pencil for this little illo. 

Also, just a little reminder that all my original May Draw A Day illos are for sale; a handful have sold already so be sure to let me know if you'd like to get your hands on a little original, signed illustration.

May Draw A Day | Day Twenty-Eight.

The theme for day twenty-eight is a door. This illustration was inspired by a photograph that my friend Georgie sent me last week, which showed a door in one of the walls in the gardens of Christ Church College in Oxford; it was this door that inspired Alice in Wonderland, because Charles Dodgson - better known by the pen-name Lewis Carroll - thought the door looked too small for the wall. Curious and curiouser.

May Draw A Day | Day Twenty-Seven.

A little carton of strawberry milk for today's theme, which is milk carton. Pink milk is my favourite. ♥

May Draw A Day | Day Twenty-Six.

Today's theme is the word balance (three different ways). I'm always happy to have an excuse to play around creating hand-drawn typography, so I had fun with this theme. :]

May Draw A Day | Day Twenty-Five.

Today's theme is cereal box; this is the best granola in the world. Try it mixed with ice-cream for the best treat ever. Yum.

May Draw A Day | Day Twenty-Four.

Here are some cute little building blocks for today's May Draw A Day; the theme is ABC.

May Draw A Day | Day Twenty-Three.

Today's theme is patterned kite, so here is my little collaged kite, flying away in a sunny blue sky.

May Draw A Day | Day Twenty-Two

Just a quick doodle for today; the theme is your mobile phone. 

May Draw A Day | Day Twenty-One.

I really enjoyed creating the hand-drawn typography which featured in yesterday's May Draw A Day illo, so I decided to use some in today's illo too. Today's theme is ladder made up of words. I have drawn a ladder made up from an inspirational proverb; when you reach the top, keep climbing.

A Frog and a Snail

I'm really enjoying using ink at the moment, especially to draw intricately patterned animals and creatures. Today I drew a snail. I have named him Benjamin.

I've also been working on the little frog that I initially drew for day nineteen of May Draw A Day. I've cleaned him up a little, and here is the final illustration;

Both of these illos are now available through my Society6 shop. If you could spare a minute to pop over and promote them, I'd really appreciate it. :]

May Draw A Day | Day Twenty.

The theme for day twenty is lunch, so here is a little diagram explaining the food I ate this lunchtime. Yum.

The Button Project.

Today I have been drawing buttons. Jules Young is currently asking creatives to draw a button and submit it to her Button Project - next month she will have 30 of the designs tattooed onto her arm in celebration of her 30th birthday. I love buttons, and happily spent the afternoon drawing a whole range of different patterned ones, but now I can't decide which one to submit! It would be awesome if you could let me know which is your favourite. :]

May Draw A Day | Day Nineteen.

The theme for day nineteen of the May Draw A Day challenge is anything in a square. I was really in the mood to draw a frog this morning, so I cracked open my inks and here is the result. A little froggie;

If you're on Society6, could you do me a little favour and pop over and promote my little frog illo - I'd really appreciate it! :]

May Draw A Day | Day Eighteen.

Today's theme is a street sign, so here are a couple. I'd really like to see a toad crossing sign in real life!

May Draw A Day | Day Seventeen.

The theme for day seventeen of May Draw A Day is a memory. We all know that certain scents can evoke memories, in fact research has shown that 'the initial association of a smell with an experience will somehow leave a unique and lasting impression in the brain.' My illustration today is based on a little bottle of vanilla perfume - my mama used to wear this perfume too, and the scent will always bring back memories of her. ♥

Business Card Designs

A couple of initial business card designs for my cousin's new massage business. She asked for a very simple design - a logo with her name and a basic image - and I incorporated colours which conveyed a sense of relaxation.

If anyone needs business cards designing, then I would love to create some for you! Have a little peek at some of the other business cards I've designed here.

May Draw A Day | Day Sixteen.

Today's theme is cupcake with red icing, which made me think of cute Valentine's cupcakes and hearts. Aww.

Little tortoise

My latest illustration! Initially created for day twelve of the May Draw A Day challenge, I have cleaned up the original illo, and here is the final result. This illustration is now available to buy as a print in my Society6 shop, and is also available printed onto other items such as iphone cases, laptop skins and t-shirts. If you're active on Society6 yourself, it would be ace if you could pop over and hit promote  - I'd really appreciate it. :]

Also, just to let you know, the original tortoise illustration is currently for sale, along with all my May Draw A Day illos, so if you're interested in owning a little original, signed drawing then just leave me a comment!

May Draw A Day | Day Fifteen.

Just a quick sketch for today's theme, which was your shoes. My well-loved old converse. ♥ To be honest, I'm not very happy with how this illo turned out, but unfortunately I'm far too tired to redo it. Tomorrow's attempt will be much better, I promise.

May Draw A Day | Day Fourteen.

The theme for day fourteen of the May Draw A Day challenge is a tree made up of words. I wasn't quite sure how to tackle this theme at first; initially I planned to do some hand-drawn typography, but I couldn't decide which words to write. I considered using sing lyrics, or a poem, but in the end I resorted to a collage approach, and I think the image has turned out quite effectively. Some of the words are totally random - words I liked the look or sound of - whereas other are more meaningful, relating to myself and my life at the moment.

May Draw A Day | Day Thirteen.

Today I decided to get my acrylics out and do a little painting. I used to use paint a lot in my work when I was younger, but my style changed drastically when I went to uni, and it's been years since I sat down and did a painting. I love how this challenge is encouraging me to use such a wide range of materials again. Today's theme for May Draw A Day is a flower; this is especially relevant as it is Mother's Day in both the US and Australia. This is the reason I decided to paint an iris - they were my mama's favourite flower. ♥

May Draw A Day | Day Twelve.

Today's theme is doodle anything. I love tortoises, and when I grow up I plan to buy one as a pet (I will name him Sparky and we'll have lots of adventures together). I really enjoyed using my inks to create this image - I love the simplicity of a detailed line drawing.

Just a little reminder that all my May Draw A Day illustrations are for sale, so if you fancy owning a little original, signed doodle then leave me a comment to let me know! :]

May Draw A Day | Day Eleven.

A little doodle for today's theme; a tea or coffee cup. Thought I'd whack the felt tips out for this one. This is my very favourite mug - it's perfect for hot chocolate. :]

May Draw A Day | Day Ten.

My little doodle for today's May Draw A Day theme; an ampersand. Ssssssssss.

May Draw A Day | Day Nine

Today's May Draw A Day theme is stickgirl with an umbrella; perfect for such a rainy day!

May Draw A Day | Day Eight.

The theme today is stickman with blue balloon. I think this little fella looks a little sad...

Also, just to let you all know that all the illos I create as part of the May Draw A Day challenge are now FOR SALE. I've never sold any original illustrations before, so if any of the drawings take your fancy, and you'd like to own a little original, signed doodle, just leave me a comment to let me know :]

Monster Sports Day.

This is a monster-themed colouring in page which I designed for a competition in Anorak Magazine. The theme was favourite sports, and if I was a monster, a three-legged race would definitely be my favourite, especially if I had three legs!

Unfortunately, my page wasn't selected to be printed in the magazine, but I wanted to share it anyway. As with my previous monster colouring in page, please feel free to download this image and attack it with your crayons - I'd love to see it all coloured in, so if you or your little ones have a go, please send me a photo of your work and I'll post them on my blog. I'm thinking of creating a mini monster-themed colouring in book at some point too, so watch this space!

May Draw A Day | Day Seven.

Today's May Draw A Day theme is chair. Thought I'd just use a pencil today, as I very rarely do. I am so used to creating images in collage that it made a nice change to do some quick, simple line drawings. A couple of chairs;

May Draw A Day | Day Six.

Day six; pattern in a circle.

Quote of the day.

May Draw A Day | Day Five.

I created a little collage for today's May Draw A Day Challenge; the theme was window. Let's hope we see less gloomy skies outside for the rest of May, and that we get some sunshine peeking through our curtains soon. 

May Draw A Day | Day Four.

Day four; Bird. Robins are my favourite. ♥

May Draw A Day | Day Three.

Day three! Today's theme is your name. I really enjoyed creating this image as I got to play around with typography which I love. I hope you like the colour pink, I got a little carried away;

May Draw A Day | Day Two.

Day two! Today's word is tree, and here's my image;

May Draw A Day | Day One.

Earlier today, I was having a little read of Jade's blog, and I came across this; the May Draw A Day Challenge created by Schwarzie by Astrid. The idea behind the challenge is interpret the theme assigned to each day in May and create a little drawing or doodle, photograph it, and share it on your blog, Facebook or Twitter. These are the themes for each day;

You may have noticed that my blog has been a little quiet recently, and that's because I've been taking a little break from my illustration work to focus on getting my eating disorder under control. Now things are getting better I want to get back into my illustration work, but I have been struggling to find the motivation. This challenge seems like the perfect opportunity to ease myself back into illustrating, so every day this month I will be posting a new little illo onto my blog. 

The illustrations I create will not be similar to my usual work; they will be doodles, they won't be polished and perfect. Some days I will draw, some days I will use collage. I am also going to only allow myself half an hour each day to create my drawings, as I tend to get too precious about my work, and I want to challenge myself to create images that aren't completely perfect, but still have the confidence to show them on my blog - this is something I would never usually do. I also just really want to have fun with this - I really want to enjoy creating illustrations again!

So here goes! Today's theme was bunting, and here is my image;

You can find out more about the May Draw a Day challenge here. Happy first of May everyone, I hope you all have a month filled with sunshine. :]