New things

Today I have been trying to capture the iridescent quality that some beetles and insects have. To achieve this I have used a foiling technique that is usually used on fabrics but I've been using it today on paper and the results are pretty cool and iI'm happy with the outcome.

Starting collage

Starting to collage and finger paint onto some different types of paper for the inside covers I think I am going to try graph paper after this as I have seen some proper scientific drawings onto these and it looks really unusual but cool at the same time. If I mix this new style I've found with something very straight like the lines o the paper it just juxtaposes it really nicely. 

Book ideas update.

Following on from the previous post on hand book binding... I believe that I will be using fabric for my cover as I feel that it will make the product look a lot more at home in Liberty. After a discussion with Amy also, I must consider the type of paper I use, as it will most likely have to be non toxic if the product is intended for children. I am also considering making the edges rounded, as a child could seriously bash someones head with a hard corner. Another outcome of the talk with Amy is that instead of creating a box for the sketchbooks to be packaged in, a bag of some sort could work better. By using a bag, it will make the product more special as the owner could carry their products with them everywhere without hassle and fuss. I will obviously decorate the book bag in an exciting and colourful way, whilst still remaining true to the style that liberty promotes.  

something to keep in the memory bank...

On one of the few nights I wasn't doing something for this brief, I just trawled Pinterest and a came across this really cool illustrator. 

Maria Herreros is an illustrator and comic book artist based in Valencia, Spain. I've seen more and more stuff in this style recently but this is some of the best in my opinion.
I love everything about it, and how she still captures the person so perfectly without drawing in hyper realism. 

http://www.mariaherreros.es

Today

Today I tried to focus my drawing on colour and shape rather than the pin point detail style I have been creating my images in thus far. As the day went on the illustrations became more and more free and organic. 

With these next illustrations I tried using finger painting a little bit to practise on my shape and overall I was trying to move closer to making my work more stylised for this project. 

Looking into hand book binding

Although I have done this before I cannot remember for the life of me what the process goes like because I have the memory of a goldfish. So... after a quick google:

After reading through the tutorial on how to do this, it has actually come back to me a bit and once I find my feet properly again I can probably produce quite a few in one day. The only difference between how I did this process the first time and the one I have just read up on is the method of holding all the pages together. We used a needle and fishing wire rather than staples and I think I may employ the former method as there is no danger of any staples coming loose and stabbing a child.  Now the dilemma is whether I use fabric or paper as my backing on the sketchbooks... 

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-bind-your-own-Hardback-Book/?ALLSTEPS

Music

Although not a huge revelation, but music really helps me with the drawing process. This album is really working for me on this project because it's fun and makes me think of happy things... Perfect for creating illustrations for kids. So yeah...

Today's outcome

I have been trying more today to use colour and texture to give a nice effect, I'm taking more time on my pieces and I think it shows. I also think that the colours work really well and with a bit more touching up I've sort of achieved the style I wanted to. It's a different way of drawing but I like that you can still tell It's my style somehow. 

The top two bugs on this page were my first experiments with ink and I'm actually pretty pleased with them, more so the yellow bug. I'm also quite happy that I have captured the detail I wanted but theres still a nice simplistic feel to it that I think the children I am aiming this product at will appreciate. 

Finally starting to create imagery!

Over the weekend I thought it was high time I started on my illustrations. I have all of the research I need for now so I don't really know what was stopping me, maybe it's because the illustrations I am creating now may end up being some of the most important work I have done to date... which is extremely intimidating! But here's what I've done and they'll be plenty more coming this week. 

I tried going out of my comfort zone of black fine liner, although its still present in the illustrations there are other medias. I've tried to alter my style but there is still a long way to go. For these drawings I have used a mixture of watercolour, gouache, a little nail varnish and fine liner.

overall I'm happy with my first attempt and there's only better outcomes to follow hopefully. 

Matt Sewell

A lot like Oliver Jeffers matt Sewell's work is really appealing due to its simplicity an use of beautiful natural watercolour tones. 

I especially love his books and posters for the birds as it is a lot of visual information presented in a fun way which will make it easy to absorb the actual information that comes with them as you're not just sat reading a book on birds, it's the illustrations that are bringing it all to life and making it a magical thing. 

This piece is also awesome just for the detail and amount of drawing on the two pages. I really lil the mismatched/ higglety pigglety layout as it creates a really interesting overall effect. 

http://mattsewell.co.uk

Oliver Jeffers

Another two artists who have expanded their style to encapsulate the Kids market also. 

In terms of Oliver Jeffers work, the simple style he employs for most projects is not all that he can do, his work varies from realistic fine art paintings to simple shapes and colour he uses in his work for children. The next images are taken from a selection of children's books he has up on his website.  

His use of colour and shape is just lovely and would really appeal to a child as it is both easy to look at but not boring in any way. 

I'm really into the whole idea of making these books vaguely educational because then I can almost make it into a funny little sketchbook of my own. This painting is really cool in how it connects all of the things together in little thought bubbles, as it creates a kind of organised fun. 

Another idea that really appeals to me is having my illustrations on cool little scraps of paper as it adds texture and such to a piece and I think it may improve the whole feel of my work. 

The main thing I like about Jeffers work is the fact that even though he employs quite a loose style there is still a definite structure and sophistication to his mark making. His style works in  simple way that could appeal, and does, to a younger audience. 

http://www.oliverjeffers.com/picture-books/once-upon-an-alphabet

Some more printmakers and artists to take into consideration...

Janice Earley:

A lino printmaker from the Lake District, she has been printing for over 25 years and takes a lot of inspiration from the outdoors and has a massive love for the North Yorkshire countryside (which makes her awesome anyway in my opinion ;) ).

http://www.janice-earley.co.uk

Moira McTague :

A painter and printmaker working just outside of Harrogate, she uses etching alongside countless other techniques that give her work a lovely soft, dreamy quality. 

http://www.nyos.org.uk/Artist.aspx?id=382

Kelly Stewart:

Originally from Sydney, she studied Illustration for her degree then went on to do another year of printmaking. She also mixes medias with her main focus being silkscreen, another added over the top. 

http://www.skellydesigns.com/gallery.htm

Edward Bawden artist

I found this book whilst just scanning the artist section in library and felt he could definitely be put on my blog because he bridges the gap nicely between what I like doing now and how I want my drawing to be like for this brief. He still keeps quite a graphic edge with his colour prints which I like as it gives it a bolder quality in my opinion.  

Like Hearld he also employs collage despite it being mixed media with photography and illustration but the overall effect is still rather lovely. 

Obviously I wold like these prints as the contain a lot of line detail and look like old victorian etchings which is something I still wish to include... Not like I'm setting myself a massive task here or anything! 

Angie Lewin artist

The main thing that interested me about Lewin's work is her colour palette, she spends a lot of time collecting images to base her prints on and it is very apparent that she pays attention to the original colour of the objects she photographs. He work is mainly lithograph ( which I have no way of doing ) but she also incorporates quite a bit of lino and hand colour in with this style. 

Her shapes are also quite interesting, they are very organic and free which is something I need to work on being able to achieve as I love my precise detailing and structure but I really want to try this new style as I know that this sort of mark making will look right at home in Liberty. 

Mark Hearld artist

Mark Hearld's work is something I have loved since about 4 years ago, His organic way of creating his images is something I really want to focus on as I feel this style is something that would fit right in at the Liberty Kids Dpt. He works in a variety of different medias including: Lino, Lithograph, bog standard paint and collage. I feel that employing some of these method would be beneficial to this project as I feel that this really built up textured style is something that Children would respond to. 

I really like the idea of cutting out shapes and having small sections of cut out in my illustrations.