Quote of the Day.

- Pablo Picasso.

Amelia's Magazine | Elizabeth Lau S/S 2012

An illustration created to accompany an interview with fashion designer Elizabeth Lau in Amelia's Magazine. Totally need that jumper in my life, it's a beaut!

Check out the full article here.

Notonthehighstreet.com

Today I have super exciting news. I have been secretly working away putting together my storefront for my new notonthehighstreet shop, and now it is finally LIVE!

My storefront!

I have had to take lots of new shiny photographs of my products too. These are a few of my favourites. You may have noticed that I have also updated my Etsy shop with new photos, so it's looking a bit brighter over there too. 

I'm A Little Bit Scared Of... Children's picture book

Happily Ever After Greetings card.

Dressing Up Illustration Print.

So please feel free to pop over and have a little look around, and let me know what you think! :]

Amelia's Magazine | Simeon Farrar S/S 2012.

An illustration created for Alia Gargum's interview with fashion designer and artist Simeon Farrar in Amelia's Magazine. I fell in love with this dress as soon as I saw it - it's such a pretty design, and I loved illustrating it.

Check out the full article about Simeon Farrar's S/S 2012 collection here.

Little Hedgehog tee!

This morning I received a very exciting package in the post - my copy of my Little Hedgehog t-shirt, which has been printed by All Tropical! 

You may remember that I won the All Tropical weekly design competition last month with my hedgehog design - well, this is the result! It's ace to see Mister Hedgehog looking all cute on a real t-shirt. :]

The tee will soon be available to buy for yourself from both Asos and the All Tropical shop.

On the twelfth day of Christmas...

...my true love sent to me; twelve drummers drumming!

An illustration created for Elaine Tang's special December artist spotlight on her blog. Check it out to see an illustrated version of the Twelve Days of Christmas, each day created by a different illustrator.

2011 | A round up of the year.

Almost a year ago, I started illustrating again after a break due to being ill, and at that moment I threw myself head-first into the world of freelance illustrating. For the most part, it's been a positive and productive year and I have learnt a great deal. I still don't consider myself a proper freelance illustrator, as I am yet to have my first proper paid commission, and this makes it very easy to dwell on the things I haven't yet achieved which, especially in a job where you're mostly working alone, can hugely affect your motivation and make you lose focus of the bigger picture. A year is a long time, and it's easy to forget the little things you actually HAVE achieved. So, as 2011 ends, it seems like an ideal time to have a little look back over the year, and see what I have achieved, as well as thinking about my creative goals for the year ahead.

During 2011, I have;

• re-designed and updated my website.
• opened my Etsy shop in February, and have now sold a total of 30 items.
• designed two winning t-shirt designs for All Tropical.
• self-published my children's book I'm A Little Bit Scared Of... which is now available to buy on Amazon.
• formed Pencil, Paper, Scissors Collective with three other illustrators, and been involved in a collaborative illustration project.
• created a number of illustrations for Amelia's Magazine, including my very first fashion illustrations.

I don't think I'll ever be really satisfied, as there's always that little voice in my head telling me I could have worked harder, could have achieved more, but all in all I don't think it's too bad a list!

My creative goals for 2012;

• Find a job (hopefully a creative one) to help support me alongside the freelance work.
• Teach myself how to use Illustrator (I learnt the basics at Uni, but have totally forgotten!) and become more proficient at Photoshop, so that I have the skills needed to apply for creative jobs.
• Be more motivated and pro-active when it comes to my illustrations; try not to let my mood or other things happening in my life affect my work.
• Work on developing my portfolio so I have more hope of finding an agent (fingers crossed!).
• Secure some commissions, and limit the unpaid commissions I chose to take on.
• Develop ideas for a new children's picture book.
• Set aside some time to create illustrations just for fun - if I focus purely on commissions and deadlines, then illustrating stops being enjoyable and becomes a chore.

Now I just need to get started! :]

There are a few exciting things to look forward already in the coming year, including an illustration which will be published in the second issue of Lionheart Magazine, and the opening of a new online shop which will be selling some of my work! Yay!

Finally, a massive thank you to all of you who have supported me this year; those of you on Twitter who have helped me through the "I'm never going to be a successful illustrator, I can't even DRAW!" moments, those of you who read and comment on my blog, those of you who have bought something from my shop. All of you, I hope you have a super 2012.  ♥