Insights into an Illustrator
October 3, 2021
Well what a year! As an illustrator, I am fortunate that Covid has not really affected my work. In fact, it has probably had the opposite effect! I have never been so busy! I guess lockdown has afforded many aspiring authors the time to finally put pen to paper and are searching for illustrators. Fortunately for me, I have been engaged by some of these authors to illustrate their fantastic stories!
I have illustrated for stories about a rooster, ravens, Christmas, dinosaurs, dogs, penguins and iguanas! I love the challenge of applying different illustrating styles to suit the stories and the author's requests. I'm not sure if an illustrator is supposed to have "A Style" but I find being adaptable ensures that I can illustrate for a wide variety of stories. Maybe I just haven't settled into my "Style" yet.
At the beginning of this second wave of Covid, the Delta strain, I reluctantly resigned from my day job as a graphic designer. I say reluctantly because I loved my job as well as the people I worked with. However, I was becoming so busy with my illustrating work, that it was not possible to continue working at both. Illustrating has always been my dream career. It has taken many years to get here and I wished I'd put my mind to making illustrating my career earlier in my life but I don't regret the journey at all. I have learnt much along the way that is helpful to me now as an illustrator. An example would be that my career as a graphic designer allows me to offer the extra service of book design and set up to my author's.
Our journey in life is a learning curve and sets us up for success by making mistakes along the way. I am still learning and I love that! I love learning new things and if I'm stuck or have a question, Youtube is my go to. I get such a sense of achievement when I have mastered a new technique or how to use new brushes.
I hope my readers stay safe and well and let's hope that vaccination will end this dreaded pandemic. In the meantime, get out into your backyard and just sit and observe nature. Enjoy the sun on your face, the smell of spring flowers on the breeze and watch the bees busy at work. It's nice to have the time to just stop and literally take the time to smell the roses.
Until next month.
Well what a year! As an illustrator, I am fortunate that Covid has not really affected my work. In fact, it has probably had the opposite effect! I have never been so busy! I guess lockdown has afforded many aspiring authors the time to finally put pen to paper and are searching for illustrators. Fortunately for me, I have been engaged by some of these authors to illustrate their fantastic stories!
I have illustrated for stories about a rooster, ravens, Christmas, dinosaurs, dogs, penguins and iguanas! I love the challenge of applying different illustrating styles to suit the stories and the author's requests. I'm not sure if an illustrator is supposed to have "A Style" but I find being adaptable ensures that I can illustrate for a wide variety of stories. Maybe I just haven't settled into my "Style" yet.
At the beginning of this second wave of Covid, the Delta strain, I reluctantly resigned from my day job as a graphic designer. I say reluctantly because I loved my job as well as the people I worked with. However, I was becoming so busy with my illustrating work, that it was not possible to continue working at both. Illustrating has always been my dream career. It has taken many years to get here and I wished I'd put my mind to making illustrating my career earlier in my life but I don't regret the journey at all. I have learnt much along the way that is helpful to me now as an illustrator. An example would be that my career as a graphic designer allows me to offer the extra service of book design and set up to my author's.
Our journey in life is a learning curve and sets us up for success by making mistakes along the way. I am still learning and I love that! I love learning new things and if I'm stuck or have a question, Youtube is my go to. I get such a sense of achievement when I have mastered a new technique or how to use new brushes.
I hope my readers stay safe and well and let's hope that vaccination will end this dreaded pandemic. In the meantime, get out into your backyard and just sit and observe nature. Enjoy the sun on your face, the smell of spring flowers on the breeze and watch the bees busy at work. It's nice to have the time to just stop and literally take the time to smell the roses.
Until next month.
December 10, 2020
It's the downhill run to Christmas and I, along with everyone else is busy, busy, busy!
I have just wrapped(excuse the pun!) two more books! Yay! Several more to complete but loving every minute of illustrating them. Look below to see a sneak peek at what to expect from the two books just finished. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a safe New Year.
I have just wrapped(excuse the pun!) two more books! Yay! Several more to complete but loving every minute of illustrating them. Look below to see a sneak peek at what to expect from the two books just finished. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a safe New Year.
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November 8, 2020
Finally my website is passable enough to publish. I'm sure I have more work to do to it to get it up to scratch and so it will be an ongoing process and a huge learning curve for me.
Latest news! I have just completed 25 large illustrations(Illo's) and 25 smaller illustrations for a children's book about a satin bowerbird. The author, Barb Cromie, is yet to publish so the title and an explanation of the story will have to wait as I respect my author/illustrator confidentiality agreement. However, with Barb's permission, I have posted some illo's from the story. See my portfolio pages.
As most of my friends and family are aware, I was published for the first time in May 2020. The book, Watching Through The Day, by Julie Thorndyke and published by ipoz Publishing, features illustrations undertaken during a year of personal turmoil. Soon after I was engaged to create the illustrations for Watching Through The Day, I was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer.
However, I was not going to let cancer stop me from seeing my lifelong dream of becoming a children's book illustrator come to fruition. And so while I recovered from surgery, I sat with my computer in my hospital bed and illustrated. I illustrated all through my chemo treatment and my radiation treatment and my recovery at home. To be honest, having the distraction of illustrating and a deadline to meet, stopped me from worrying about myself and helped me to have a positive attitude throughout this personal saga.
You can see some of the illustrations from Watching Through The Day, on my portfolio pages and if you click the image, it will open the ipoz Publishing page where you can purchase the book, alternatively, you can click the following link
https://www.ipoz.biz/portfolio-single/watching-through-the-day/
With these two books now complete, it's back to the "drawing board" for me. I am currently illustrating three new books with more to come so watch this space .....
Finally my website is passable enough to publish. I'm sure I have more work to do to it to get it up to scratch and so it will be an ongoing process and a huge learning curve for me.
Latest news! I have just completed 25 large illustrations(Illo's) and 25 smaller illustrations for a children's book about a satin bowerbird. The author, Barb Cromie, is yet to publish so the title and an explanation of the story will have to wait as I respect my author/illustrator confidentiality agreement. However, with Barb's permission, I have posted some illo's from the story. See my portfolio pages.
As most of my friends and family are aware, I was published for the first time in May 2020. The book, Watching Through The Day, by Julie Thorndyke and published by ipoz Publishing, features illustrations undertaken during a year of personal turmoil. Soon after I was engaged to create the illustrations for Watching Through The Day, I was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer.
However, I was not going to let cancer stop me from seeing my lifelong dream of becoming a children's book illustrator come to fruition. And so while I recovered from surgery, I sat with my computer in my hospital bed and illustrated. I illustrated all through my chemo treatment and my radiation treatment and my recovery at home. To be honest, having the distraction of illustrating and a deadline to meet, stopped me from worrying about myself and helped me to have a positive attitude throughout this personal saga.
You can see some of the illustrations from Watching Through The Day, on my portfolio pages and if you click the image, it will open the ipoz Publishing page where you can purchase the book, alternatively, you can click the following link
https://www.ipoz.biz/portfolio-single/watching-through-the-day/
With these two books now complete, it's back to the "drawing board" for me. I am currently illustrating three new books with more to come so watch this space .....
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