Incredible Illustrators | Anna Walker

One of the best parts about working in a book shop is that I have the chance to sort out, and display, the picture books. Obviously that means I need to have a peek through them all - my method of arranging involves displaying the books which have awesome illustrations, in addition to a selection of classic picture books I remember from my childhood, and any others I'm not so keen on are put back in the picture book pile. This has caused me to discover a number of children's illustrators whom I wasn't previously aware of. On my very first day at work last autumn, I fell in love with a couple of children's picture books - both of which were illustrated by Anna Walker. A little bit of research when I got home taught me that Anna is an australian illustrator, with a BA in Graphic Design, who has illustrated many books for children. Despite the fact that the books were very reasonably priced, I somehow managed to talk myself out of buying them week after week - I don't really need them etc - but then they were added to our January sale and, at only £1 each, it really would have been silly not to buy them!

 The books I bought are entitled Yummy Ice-Cream and Let's Play House; both are from a series of books which feature three main characters - a panda, a sheep and an owl.

I was immediately drawn to these books due to the collaged aspects on the front cover - textures always seem to capture my eye, as they stand out against flat backgrounds. I had a quick peek inside the books, and totally fell in love with illustrations - a juxtaposition between the simplistic - and incredibly cute! - style of the characters and the collaged aspects, made up of a range of different fabrics. My work tends to be very intricately collaged, to the point where if you glance at a print of the original illustration, the textures and colours of the different papers used to create it are not always noticeable. In contrast, the illustrations in these book incorporate bold cut-out shapes of patterned fabric, and they stand out strongly against the subdued neutral colours of the ink characters and pale pastel-coloured backgrounds. Have a peek at some of the beautiful images for yourself;

 

I love how beautifully the textures of the fabrics are captured - the delicate weave of certain materials, and the individual frayed threads along the edges of the collaged shapes, are clearly visible - to the point that you want to reach out and brush away a stray thread, or feel the texture of the fabric beneath your fingertips. It gives the illustrations a certain depth and tactility that wouldn't exist in the otherwise flat, inked images.

 

The storylines of the books are simple, yet they both follow a narrative which sees the three characters playing together, sharing and having fun. Personally, I think the text inside the books would fit better with the style of the illustrations if it ... more hand-drawn style - perhaps similar to the style of text used on the first page of each book - but that might just be me and my love of hand-created lettering!

I'd actually quite like to buy myself a couple of the other books in the series, although I think I'm going to have to give one of these two books to my best friends' little girl. Pandas are her current favourite, so she will adore these books - I saw her yesterday, and she fell in love with my Topshop panda-face socks, so this seems like too much of an opportunity to miss! She can just about say panda-bear, and it's the cutest thing ever. ♥

Monster Plushie Designs.

I thought I'd share a few little designs I've been working on this week. I was asked to create a possible design for a monster plushie and since drawing monsters is like, my favourite thing ever, I jumped at the chance! Actually really enjoyed designing these little cuties! 

A few initial designs, experimenting with different colours and facial expressions;

I was then asked to make the monster a little smaller and a little cuter, and these were my ideas;

I'm actually a liiiiittle bit in love with the monster on the right and, as my designs aren't actually gonna be used, it's a shame I'm no good at sewing or I'd make it into a cute little plushie myself!

I'll leave you with a photo of me happily working away on the above designs - had to relocate to the bedroom, as my studio is currently super cold - proudly wearing my favourite illustrator clothes; pyjamas and my super awesome unicorn sweater! 

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!

Mister Hedgehog.

I'm really into hedgehogs at the moment, they're just so cute!

Christmas cards.

So today it is officially two months til Christmas. Although it feels far too early to even be thinking about Christmas at the moment, I have spent the last few weeks designing Christmas cards which will be available to buy in my shop very soon. It was hard to find inspiration at first, especially with the sun shining through the windows, but thanks to a few Christmas tunes, and the arrival of some much colder weather, I am now feeling totally ready for snow and gingerbread men and pretty wrapping paper. Eeeee. 

These are the final designs for my cards, which I will be getting printed soon. Any feedback - comments/suggestions etc - would be really appreciated before I send them off to the printers, so either leave me a comment or tweet at me. Also, if you think you might like to buy some cards once they're printed, then please let me know that too, as it will help me decide how many cards to order. :]

I have also designed a card for all those Christmas haters amongst you - perfect to send to the scrooges in your life. The card will be available to buy in my Etsy shop soon, and will of course come with a little bag of complimentary humbugs. :]

Illustration Friday: Remedy.

A hug cures everything. :]

All Tropical | Super Squirrel Tee.

Meet Mister Squirrel! He loves biscuits and he'd love to be printed on a tee! Mister Squirrel is the star of my new All Tropical t-shirt design, and now he really needs your help.

If you'd like to see this little cutie printed on a t-shirt, then we need your votes. Pleeease pop over to All Tropical, and rate my design (five palms would make us very happy). If you're feeling extra lovely, it would be ace if you could leave a little comment too. You will need to join the site to vote for my design, but it only takes a second and you don't get any annoying emails. :]

You can also vote for my design by liking it on Facebook, or tweeting about it on Twitter. The more of these you do, the more likely this little fella will win, so please be super lovely and vote. Thank you. :]

Etsy shop | NEW NEW NEW!

Hello! It's been a while since I last updated you about my Etsy shop, and since I listed some new items earlier today, it seemed like an ace time to tell you all about them. :]

Firstly, I finally have some greeting cards available to buy in my shop! Yay! I have been meaning to design some cards for a while, and recently had an ace opportunity to do so when I designed for the Hand-Drawn Tigerprint competition. I've chosen my favourite cards from the ones I designed, and had them printed on some lovely recycled card. There are three different designs available, so if you have a birthday coming up, or just feel like sending some cute snail mail to a friend, then I definitely recommend you check them out.

 Also, I have been experimenting with using shrink plastic as a way to transform my illustrations into actual tangible items. I have created a range of cute monster badges, which are available to buy here - there are three different monsters to chose from, and they're perfect for brightening up your jacket or bag.

I have also designed a pretty flamingo brooch, and these delicate flamingo earrings.

Whilst we're on the subject of flamingos, I just want to remind you to please please pop over and rate or comment (or both!) on my flamingo tee design. I'd totally LOVE to have it printed, but for that to happen I really need your votes. :]

Illustration Rally; Easter.

A little Easter illo for Illustration Rally's Easter Rally.

Happy Easter everyone!

Super squirrel.

Today, I decided that my four most favourite animals are tortoises, squirrels, zebras and snow leopards, although not neccassarily in that order. I also drew a squirrel.

What do you think about this background? I can't decide whether I like it or not, but I think it makes Mr Squirrel look like some kind of superhero.

Hello Creatures!

These little illustrations will soon be available as a set of three cute postcards in my Etsy shop. Perfect for sending cute messages, or just to make somebody smile.

A couple of these illustrations were also included as part of a Valentine's feature on Creature Mag yesterday.