Yellow Bear

I draw bears all day at work, but not like this! I thought I'd try using pens on gouache, but the nibs scratch into the paint and get clogged up. I suppose a real artist would have told me that and I wouldn't have wasted my time! Anyway, the colours look great, gouache is so flat and bright. I've left paint off in some parts so you can see the cardboard underneath,,, On his mussel and tummy. I enjoy embellishing these latest paintings with swirls and patterns with my pens, so the next bear will be in acrylics I think.

Also, there's new embroidery designs over at Bunnycup. 10 Cute ponies!!!

Another Painting

Today I really must go and but some more paint because at the moment I quite obviously have a very limited palette! I've enjoyed painting all the swirls, curls and dots and dashes on this one. Very therapeutic. And making splodges with a paintbrush is very satisfying too, much more so than trying to do the same thing with a wacom tablet.
Also, Sarah from Real Illustrators showed me a link to an article featuring a panda plushie I made recently. Which you can read here:
http://softiescentral.typepad.com/blog/2007/06/whats_so_cool_a.html

Princess Painting

Still struggling with paint here! I used acrylics, but I think I wasn't liberal enough with the paint and I think it looks a bit thin in places. It was fun to do though which is why I do it. I like trying new things. I really enjoyed adding pattern to her dress and painting the green background.

Russian dolls

Aw! The weather is so cloudy. These photos do no justice to these little dolls. The biggest doll is 2.5 inches tall, so quite tiny! I decided on two girls and two birds as the smallest doll had to be really simple. I could have done with smaller brushes too!

New Bogg Girl Plushie

This is a new bogg girl plushie. Compared to my first attempt I have played around with the face details, made her legs longer so she sits more upright (rather than a bit slumped like the previous one) and extended her neck. The neck extension was a big mistake! Her head was really floppy so I knitted a little scarf to give her a bit of support. Her hair is still nice and big and I'm pleased with her. She is totally hand sewn and I did get a bit bored!

In the bathroom I have just gloss sprayed some Russian dolls. I bought the plain wooden dolls from ebay and painted them myself in a sort of Kokeshi style. They are so tiny! I'll post pictures when the gloss dries.

Jack's Birthday Card

This is the birthday card I drew for Jack. He loves Star Wars. We went to Lynton & Lynmouth this weekend in Devon for the Llama festival as his band was performing there. It was a beautiful town by the sea with very friendly people. We camped for 2 nights and it was so perfect. Now I feel a bit down, why do we have to come back to a dull little town?

Giant Machine Exhibition

Giant Machine, a collective of rather talented artists from Bedford, have an exhibition on at the very pretty and picturesque Bromham Mill. So those who are in and around Bedfordshire should come along and check it out. Its free and the mill is a great place for a picnic!

Cafe Kino Exhibition

I had some hand sewn cupcakes being exhibited at Cafe Kino in Bristol. There were folk from all over the world in this exhibition who craft very cool foodstuff like knitted donuts and crocheted fruit for example. Cool huh? It was curated by Amy Spencer who has written a book about modern craft culture. Trouble is, the exhibition is finished now (wah!) but if anyone stumbles upon this post and has photos of the cafe in full swing I would love to see 'em. Cheers!

Panda Plushie

This bank holiday it's been raining all bloomin' day and Jack is rehearsing so I've been in the flat all by myself listening to the Beirut album. Swirly accordions and ukuleles and sunny brass section. Makes my head swim its so gorgeous! Anyway, I decided to try something slightly different with the egg shaped things that I've been messing around with. A cute panda. I'm in the middle of another doll too. I hope she comes out as well as the last one. I'm planning on making her face bit bit more detailed this time. It takes so long! I wish I had a sewing machine sometimes, but I don't have the brains nor the space in the flat to use one!

Mermaids

After a roller-coaster of a week at the greeting cards studio, I think I can finally relax a bit. The studio is to be shut down in late June as they can't afford to keep it open, but my job as a cute illustrator is safe at least and I won't have to relocate, it is possible for me to do my regular day job from home. Phew! I am so relieved. It just would have been a real struggle if I was made redundant, but I feel such unhappiness because the designers at Poppy Hill Studio are just awesome folk and we are going to miss each other so much.

On a good note though, these black & white mermaid illustrations are new embroidery designs. I think these are great. I liked them so much I have added colour to my favourite one.

Little boggers Again!

I found an article that features my Little Boggers. Its true they are dead easy to make, but its the idea that counts right? I mean, surely we're tired of cuddly bears and kittens now. Don't the kids want something different these days? (maybe not huh?). the article is here at Design-Your-Life.

ballet

New ballet designs for Bunnycup Embroidery.

Waitress

I haven't painted digitally for a while and I've got a few sketches of characters that I've been wanting to develop, so here is the first. She's a waitress. I've been fishing around for a lot of different textures... Woods, marble and felt to use in this. It has no purpose. It's just personal development work.

The Merry Crone

The Merry Crone is my first listing on Etsy . I finally stuck my neck out. I'll try and add a new listing every day. If anyone is out there who also has an Etsy shop and would like me to heart them, then just leave a comment and I'll come and check out your store! ;)

Old Lady & Her Cat

I'm so excited because I have just set up a new shop to sell my handmade goods on Etsy. I haven't listed anything yet, but just getting an account has opened up a new world of discussion forums with DIY crafters from all over the world. It's huge! A bit daunting maybe, but a new challenge that I'm looking forward to.
I have been sketching characters in my sketchbook that I'm also very pleased about. I'm undecided if I want to paint them traditionally or digitally yet, but I'm happy that I'm happy with my work for a change! I've been having many periods of doubt about my illustrations, but I must be going through a positive stage now. I hope it lasts a long time.
There is also a new blog from the "Real Illustrators" discussion forum. Its still in it's fledgling stages with few posts, but hopefully it will grow and grow.
R.I Blog

Mazestock 2007

Ah, it's Mazestock time again. Its a huge private party we throw for all our friends every summer. This is the party invitation. As we have bands playing this year I've tried to combine a folky festival theme with the maze theme. Info is sketchy, but as the flyer is public we don't want a herd of unruly drunks crashing it and doing a "Racheal Bell" on us all. It's all done on photoshop. I scanned in a load of felt and used it as a texture on a design that was created in Illustrator.

Painting on cardboard

Just thought I'd post those gouache paintings I mentioned from the previous post. They turned out pretty well, I 'm quite pleased. Usually I make irreparable mistakes when I paint. At least when it's digital I can press "undo" over and over if I make massive blunders.
This weekend I'm really praying my felt cupcakes reach their destination for the foodstuff exhibition before the deadline on Tuesday. I posted the pesky things LAST THURSDAY and I got an email from the curator saying she still hasn't received them. I feel pretty frustrated, all that effort and nothing to show for it, but there isn't much I can do now is there? I just have to hope that those lazy-arsed postmen get their act together on time.

Girly Little Bogger

I've been posting the odd photo on Flickr recently and I got a comment saying that the Little Boggers are cute but scary too. So to balance that out I made a little girly one from a pink daisy sock. Its been cloudy today so the photo isn't great. I can retake it after I've created a friend for her.
I've been painting with real gouache paint too, but only on scrappy bits of cardboard. I remember at art college being really scared of paint. I think I'm over my fear now, I don't care I people tell me I'm doing it "wrong". Once I've had a few successful goes that I'm pleased with I'll post my efforts up here.

Cute Pixies

It has been a super summery day today. Its great that the time of picnics by the river with cold beer and frisbees has reached Bedford again, but where are the April showers? If we don't get some rain soon it'll all be dead and brown by the time we get to June.
Anyway, i felt the urge to draw something, so I decided on some pixies. I am very tempted to put paint to canvas some time soon, but until then i need to make an eflyer for a summer party we're organising for the summer.

Crafty Cakes

These 6 cupcakes are very small, only 2 inches tall and wide. They were made from felt, lace and bead details. Although their bottoms are flat, I wish I stuffed them with something more weighty to keep them stable. They are all hand stitched and I've submitted them to the Food Stuffs exhibition, but I don't fancy my chances as I'm just a beginner really. But I like them anyway. I think they are cute.

Little Boggers

I've been sewing again! I enjoy sitting around the flat on my own on Sundays when Jack is away rehearsing. Well, I thought I might call them Little Boggers. I think I can get away with that. Some chums of mine popped over for tea this afternoon and they really like the Bogger with the arms, so the next few in a set will have some limbs I think. They're so egg-shaped. It must be Easter time.

More Invitation stuff and Zombiegirl part 2

I didn't realise just how much wedding stationery there is out there that needs consideration. I looked at some stationery websites and companies offer all sorts of things! There's the invitation, a RSVP card, a thank you card, the place card at the meal. Some design the menu, some do gift tags and then these things are all different sizes too. Phew, I have much to learn. So I'll do it a step at a time. Tonight I played around with a thank you/ RSVP card design. I think it'll serve both purposes.

And from weddings to...

...Zombies!

A cute zombie character I drew a while back is up on the Zombie dollars website. Its just a bit of fun...

...Fun if you like zombies that is.

Zombrella is in the 3rd square down, 3rd square across. She was originally from an old post of mine called Zombiegirl.

More Plush Toys

Here are some more creatures made from my old socks. The candy coloured ones have turned out really well, but as the socks used to be ankle length I only had enough material for two! The chap with the arms, I have a future adventure planned for him...
Also, Bunnycup Embroidery have finished the full set of cheerleader designs. They look so cute!

Cheerleader & A Wedding 2

Another cheerleader design in all her embroidered detail!
And here is how the wedding invitations are shaping up:

I've also been busy with sewing more little egg-shaped critters. These guys need to be photographed in some decent light though, so I'll post pictures of the new members of the family over the weekend. My desk is getting over run by the things.

Cheerleader & A Wedding

Here's how the cheerleader designs will turn out once they've had the embroidery treatment. Ain't she just so cute!

Also, Jack's brother, Tom is getting married in the summer. The reception will be at Maggie's farm (!) So the I've sent him and his fiancee, Karen some roughs of how I thought I could tie in the wedding, summer and farm themes together into a rough design. Here's just a few of the sketches, thankfully they were pretty pleased with them.

Plush Toy Experiments

These little critters are made from my old socks. At Christmas I got loads. Its common knowledge I like stripy colourful long socks. Now I have so many I've decided to transform the holey ones that I don't wear anymore. The middle one needs stitches around his mitts. And of course I washed them first!! I'm toying with the idea of making some more. Maybe I could sell them somewhere? For the moment, I quite like the little trio sitting on my desk.

This is my attempt at a plush doll bogg-girl style! Her eyes looked really wrong, so I wussed out and just used some little dots of felt. She was time consuming for me to make, I'm not a fast sewer without the luxury of a machine, but she looks sweet enough. She now lives in my bedroom, next to the ewok and a pile of books.

Hide

A little girl hiding in the woods, then a bunny with waistcoat, spectacles and cane spots her. Only thing missing is a pocket watch huh? And possibly a tea party? I'm still trying out new digital painterly techniques. I had a good go with the woodland background, but I've neglected the focus of the painting which is suppose to be the girl, she needs way more detail. Oh well, must try harder next time...

Messing Around with Paint

I bought a copy of ImagineFX magazine on Saturday. it had loads of tips on painting in Photoshop and Painter. A lot of the art is sci-fi and fantasy and its all done digitally. Anyway, I thought I'd give it a go and the results aren't too bad. Her lips look a bit stuck on. She's modeled on a black and white portrait of a ballerina (hence the haughtiness!). The texture is a polaroid I took out camping in the Lake District one Spring when I was at university. Maybe I'll try some more fantasy style art. I'm one of the nerdiest people I know, so I suppose its only natural for me to like pixies.

Ferret Friend

Now I've drawn a ferret to go with the badger. I'm enjoying this, messing around with my new watercolour technique on photoshop.

Freedom magazine

Here are some pages from an article I was in from Freedom magazine, which is published in Taiwan. Its about working in the design industry and where I live in the UK. In it I talk about working as an in-house greeting cards illustrator and my personal work I do when I'm not at work, which has been published! I also talk about Bedford and what I enjoy doing in my free time.

Badgers are great

I love badgers. Unfortunately since Thursday there's been a poor little deceased one on the main road to work. I've never seen a live badger (wah!), I see plenty of poor little squished ones though. Makes me a bit sad.

Also feeling a bit blue about other stuff in general. Mostly to do with my drawing abilities (or lack of). I always have my greatest ideas when I'm really tired and I'm drifting off to sleep. All sorts of colourful characters before my eyelids in excellent detail and vibrant poses, but I'm too tired to scribble in my sketchbook, since I have to get up for work at 6:30 every morning.

When I came home from work to do something creative all I could think of is this badger.

Valentines Day Card

That I made for Jack, the wolf man.

bunny toy

Just a hand sewn red bunny I made from some scrap bits of felt. I knitted his little scarf too. I'm planning on making a bogg girl like this too for a little chimp society project, but I thought I'd start with a bunny to practice some basics. I used to make a lot of toys like this, but don't have the time anymore. I think he's kind of cute.

Softer side

Working as an in-house cute illustrator for greeting cards means that the illustrations I produce have to keep up with trends. When I joined 2 years ago bears were getting tired, now bears are back (thanks to Forever Friends... grrr). Working digitally enables me to try a whole range of different media in Photoshop and Painter, but they operate differently. For example, colours don't interact and blend the same way when you layer then up, you end up faking it. Watercolour is fashionable at the moment in cutes and I've been playing with different brushes to get the look and fool people into thinking they're seeing a traditional painting.
This image was made digitally at home using the similar techniques and brushes I'm also using at work. Its good to see a bogg-girl in a softer style.

Cheerleader

I've finished outlining 10 different cheerleader designs. This evening I've had a go at adding colour and backgrounds to one of the characters. After my previous rant about folk wearing too many bright colours 1980s style, I don't know what I was I thinking here. I suppose I have a secret love affair with the fluorescent and I'm actually in denial. Next time I colour a cheerleader I'll calm the colour palette down. It is a tad bright.

I stumbled across a poll on an illustration site asking if the changing of the seasons affected my work. Here is proof that it doesn't! Anyway, I usually have to draw Christmas cards in August, so I can't let things like that take influence or santa would be wearing speedos.

6 Weird Things

Penny from Natural Attrill has recently tagged me to list 6 weird things about myself, and then "tag" another six to do the same.

Here are the instructions (which I've just copied from Penny's blog!):
"The Rules: Each player of this game starts with "6 weird things about you". Each person who gets tagged needs to write a blog post of their own 6 weird things as well as clearly state this rule. After you state your 6 weird things, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says "you're tagged" in their comments and tell them to read your blog for information as to what it means."

So here we go!
1. I am totally deaf in my left ear. So if you try to converse with me on my left side, forget it, I can't hear you. So now you know why I sometimes switch sides as we're walking down the street or why I always have to sit in a particular seat in a bus, train, pub, resturant etc. It really bugs me if I have to rotate my head 180 degrees at a social gathering.

2. When I get worried or bored I chew the inside of my mouth. Its disgusting and I know its not good for me. I'm really trying to give up.

3. I eat ALL burgers and hot sandwiches with a knife and fork. No exceptions.

4. I am a grade 6 trumpeter.

5. I will judge you on how you wear your hair and clothes. I can't help it, there must be something wrong with me. I consider it a type of discrimination, so honestly I'm not proud. If I meet you for the first time and you are victim to wearing something like elecro-punk fluorescent colours, mirrored aviator sunglasses, asymmetrical messed up hair with expensive highlights that took you 12 hours to straighten/ back comb, leg warmers, 2 belts, skinny jeans, etc etc, do you like The Towers of London and The Horrors? OH NO! Then too late, I have already considered you to be a total pillock. (Oh, apart from Vince Noir and Russell Brand.)

I'm 27 years old and I shouldn't care how the youngsters dress these days. But for some reason it does and it really offends me!

6. I love blankets. If I'm at home, I'll have one around me. I've tried a poncho, but its not the same. Snuggling under a blanket is the best.

Here are the six who I've tagged. I don't know many people who blog very regularly, so I do hope they don't mind so much!
Jeff Woodall
Jamie Brindle
Garreth F Hirons
The Midnight Orchestra
David's Drawings
Kristian Purcell 

Red Work

Last week before the mac disaster (which thankfully seems to be resolved now) I completed some embroidery designs. They have been worked on in a style called redwork which is an outline stitch. I think the characters look really striking like this and I'm pleased with how the whole set have turned out. Pretty cute, but not too corny! All 9 characters can be seen at Bunnycup Embroidery. I was just really pleased with the results and wanted to share it!

Dead Mac!

Yup, that's right. My mac is dead. Its currently being revived by magical computer wizards who know all about that type of technical mumbo jumbo. Here are some embroidery designs that I did recently before disaster struck. Stupid computers. I hope he gets well soon though.

Buzz

Buzzy bees flying around a bouquet of posies. Don't fret though, they are friendly bees and they're only interested in gathering pollen to make tasty honey for honey monsters like me. They won't sting the cute little girl. Its only nasty wasps that do that. Boy, I hate wasps, they're pretty horrible.

Girl in snow

And now she has a pretty wintry scene too. I also added some textures to her face and hat but its hard to tell on the picture as the resolution knocks out the detail.

Work In progress

Here is a work in progress of a little festive picture I've been doing. It needs a nice wintry background next, with pretty snowflakes too!
Last night the xmas tree went up along with the home-made decorations. Next is the repetitive task of wrapping up all those pressies.

Merry Christmas!

Hello out there! Merry Christmas and I hope y'all have a very wonderful new year. I haven't been updating my blog like I should, but it has been a very busy time for me recently. Lots of work to do and Christmassy things to organise. Anyways, I'll make it a resolution to try and update this blog more regularly in 2007!