The Best of 2011

Well this year has been rather wonderful - the launch of Amelia's Compendium of Fashion Illustration, an illustration for the V&A, final show, graduation, mural work, brother's wedding, winning Company's High Street Edit fashion illustration competition, Shipshape Studio opening and stocking my work, first issue of Lionheart Magazine out (and amazing), Digital Arts tutorial, the arrival baby Crayonette and ahh. I'm really excited for the year ahead and my one resolution is to get myself more organised. This means I need to purchase an inspiring diary, too. Win! I hope your year has been wonderful and here's hoping the next will be amazing.

Company Pages

I now have the images of the pages my illustrations can be seen on in Company High Street Edit. I was really pleased with the way they look on the pages, I hope you will like how they look too!

 

In other news, I had a meeting with a very lovely lady about a new ethical fashion venture today. Sounds very exciting, I will tell you more at a later date.

Company Illustrations!

When I have images (proper ones, not my attempts!) of the magazine pages my illustrations are on, I will share them with you. For now, here are the illustrations! I hope you like them!

Fan Di Fendi - the brief for the fragrance story piece was to draw the girl that embodies the fragrance.

 Victoriana at Pucci A/W11. Company's Fashion Editor says, "I'm also lusting after Victorian lace and ruffle-neck shirts."

Sheepskin at Isabel Marani A/W11. Fashion Director, Oonagh Brennan says: "It has to be the hottest trend in coats this season - the stylish, super-practical sheepskin! From belted feminine styles to give you shape to the cool oversized 'Bel Boy'"

This colour blocking piece was not used in the end, but I'm very pleased with it, so wanted to share! :)

Big brows at Stella McCartney A/W11.

C is for Colour Blocking (by Blugirl)

M is for Mod. "Think tartan, checks, studs and leopard print."

H is for Homespun. (Henry Holland) "Yes, that really is the blanket that used to be on the back of your granny's sofa. But thanks to Henry Holland, it's cool with a capital C.

Fellow Tea & Crayons members Fritha and Natasha also have illustrations in the fragrance feature! :) I hope you like them, thank you for your support everybody and a big thank you to Company Magazine and Art Director, Tanita Montgomery for allowing me to do this! :)

High Street Edit: Out Now!!

In July, I entered Company's High Street Edit fashion illustration competition to be the sole illustrator for their next issue. I worked hard, made it to the final five but was not chosen as the winner. I was ecstatic when the beauty assistant contacted me and asked me to take part in a 'fragrance story' within the issue, and even further so when, on seeing my finished piece, I was contacted by the Art Director and asked if I would like to illustrate the whole issue after all!

I am so happy with the work I have produced and hope it will lead to some more exciting opportunities. Seeing the issue this morning was one of my proudest moments and tomorrow I will share the illustrations with you! I hope you get a chance to see it for yourself - I think they look best in print.

Are you the next big thing in fashion illustration?

This week I entered the Company High Street Edit competition to illustrate for their A/W issue. I produced two illustrations as well as sending three examples of my work. I'm really happy with them, especially since I found out late and illustrated them in just one night and day. I chose to illustrate some of Burberry's collection from their latest show. I love the colour of the coats in particular. Hope you like my illustrations and wish me luck!

Happy New Year

At the beginning of 2010, I was in my second year of university and completely unsure of the direction I wanted to take. The only thing that really struck my interest was editorial illustration, but I also loved print and collage. I felt uneasy about my future as I had no recognisable style and worried I just wasn't strong enough to make it into such a huge industry as illustration.

However, as my summer holidays took underway, I received an email from an online magazine I'd subscribed to. It was all about a wonderful opportunity to be in Amelia's Compendium of Fashion Illustration. The open brief looked fun and exciting, so I decided I'd enter, I thought if nothing else it would keep me illustrating over the summer. I'd never done fashion illustrations before, so thought I had no chance. 

It was at this point that I joined twitter and a little later I set up a blog (Amelia insisted that participants be on twitter - so thankful for that, at the time I didn't think it was important, but it's brought so much to me). Each of these decisions were some of the best things I ever did. After entering, I kept answering calls for illustrators for Amelia's Magazine and worked hard all summer. I was on holiday in Venice when I got an email saying I'd been chosen for the book, and I'd never been so excited or happy! I've produced quite a lot of illustrations for them now, and am so grateful because without this, I'd still be lost. Thank goodness for that email, eh?

I have since contributed to Cellardoor Magazine, Craft Guerrilla, been featured on numerous blogs, been a finalist in a Company Magazine fashion illustration competition and jointly set up Tea & Crayons Collective with five of the loveliest girls I could ask to meet. This year has changed me so much and I am now more confident, happy and excited for my future than ever before! This year, I think, is going to be great! 

:)
 

I just want to share some of my New Years Eve photos before I leave. For years, I have been so disappointed by New Years, so decided to do something completely different - stay in with my lovely boyfriend!

We made mulled wine, lit candles, had nibbles, danced around, drank winter pimms and were just generally very silly - perfect night in! :) Happy New Year everybody! xx