Illustration Commission - Ice Hockey!

 Just popping in to share a recent commission with you. This was a personal commission from a friend to give as a gift and although it was completely out of my comfort zone, it was really fun to illustrate and I am very thankful to be given the opportunity to work on something so different! (I loved all the detail that needed to be included). I've been told the recipient was really happy with it which is always wonderful to hear. I hope you like it too!

Let me know what you think...

  

New Cat Illustration - Ozzy

I just wanted to pop in and share this latest illustration with you! I illustrated this gorgeous little guy for a Secret Santa present. The recipient loved it and I was so happy to be able to give her something a little bit special.

I'm working on a couple of Christmas commissions at the moment and will share them when I can. If I don't post beforehand, have a wonderful Christmas!!

And don't forget, it's not too late to buy a Personalised Letter From Santa that I illustrated for Megan Claire. You can buy yours here!

Personalised Letter From Santa

I'm very excited and happy to reveal an illustration I recently produced for Megan Claire. I've been a big fan of her cards and prints for some time and was thrilled when she commissioned me to illustrate Santa Claus himself to be sent out as Personalised Santa Letters! I had so much fun putting this piece together, challenging myself and working with unfamiliar subject matter (that tree was certainly out of my comfort zone but the feeling when I completed it, to a standard I felt proud of, was amazing). I even had Mr Nicolini posing for me for this special piece!

And below is how you will receive your personalised letter from Santa! Megan has designed the piece beautifully and I know children will absolutely love it. I can only imagine how exciting it must be for them! (I know I'd have adored it as a child!) If you'd like to purchase this piece, head over to the Megan Claire website.

Portrait Illustration - Margaret Thatcher

Hi everybody! I wanted to get some personal portrait work fitted in between jobs, mostly in order to challenge and keep myself motivated, but partly because I thought it was about time I had something new to show! It can be painful waiting to reveal new work that is yet to be live.

One thing I really love about portrait illustration is creating that likeness and I know, for me, this improves over time and the more I do the better I feel the outcome is. This is why I like to keep illustrating and creating pieces for myself when I have no commissions to work on. Practise really does make perfect. I love private and family portrait commissions because creating something completely personal to them and hearing of their delight is such a wonderful feeling. At the same time, I enjoy illustrating famous figures and attempting to capture a likeness that audiences can recognise.

So I decided, for my latest personal piece, to illustrate somebody particularly topical, Margaret Thatcher. I haven't illustrated her as a way to show my thoughts and opinions on her or the subject, but merely to keep my work current and a challenge to myself. 

Let me know what you think! And take a look at my other blog, contribution blog Mr Nicolini. I've been so impressed with the work I have received so far; if you would like to take part, please do not hesitate to get in contact! 

Next week I'm going to get back to work on this illustration that has been put aside for some time now. Excited to continue!

Etsy - Abby's Illustrations

Hello everybody! Sorry I've been a little quiet for a while, I'm busy working on new projects which I should be able to share with you soon (I get very impatient waiting for illustrations to go live!)

I just wanted to let you know that I've reopened my Etsy shop, stocked with a number of custom portrait and pet portrait commission options. Perfect birthday, Father's Day, everyday or (for the extremely well prepared) Christmas presents! If you are interested and have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask!

I'll be back soon with more updates! I hope you're all enjoying this (finally) sunny weather!

Abby x

New Baby Illustration

Good morning! Just wanted to share an illustration with you this morning!

This adorable baby has been printed and is on it's on the way to Holland this morning. How exciting! I've just finished the draft illustration for my biggest client yet. I've loved it and can't wait to work on the final illustration! Will of course share it with you when it's live (which won't be long!) Have a lovely week and I'll be back with more soon :)

Drawing Mr Nicolini!

Hello! I'm here to share an idea for a new
blog with you all and hope some of you will be able to help me make this little dream a reality!

Mr Nicolini, or Nick as he's known to most, came to live with my parents more than thirty years ago. He's been a lodger with my family since then and is still living with my mum and feeding the cats to this day. He soon become another Grandad, and an extremely important member of our immediate family. Whenever I go home he spoils me as much as ever and proudly tells those we meet I'm his granddaughter. Hearing him speak so fondly of me, my sisters and brother fills me with happiness. He's a giant part of our lives and I love him dearly.

When I return home, I always take photographs of him (he's quite the character!). After posting an image on Instagram and saying how much I'd love to illustrate him, it was suggested that I start a blog, sharing illustrations of him by myself and lots of other wonderful illustrators. I think it's a great idea! Of course, if you're not an illustrator but a creative who would still like to join in, I would love to hear your ideas! He's battling illness at the moment and getting frail, and, as you can imagine, this terrifies me. I think this is a great way to not only honour his fantastic nature, but to make sure he is always remembered and never forgotten. Who knows, maybe we can make him a little bit famous.

It would be great to have a mix of different styles! I think he'd love it! I know illustrating the elderly has always been a favourite of mine and if you'd like to get involved in this little venture please get in contact! I'm not sure of the exact details, but I think 'Drawing Mr Nicolini' (the name may change, suggestions are welcome!) could be a fun way of getting lots of fantastic illustrators together, both new and more established illustrators in the same place. I love seeing participation blogs! You can leave a message here, tweet me, facebook me or send me an email to drawingmrnicolini@gmail.com.

And here are a few photos!!

 

And don't worry, if I struggle to find participants, I'll do an illustration a week myself! To honour him and have something to keep, if nothing else :) I would also like to thank Scarlett Tierney for suggesting this! I look forward to seeing her contribution once it's up and running!

Keeping Busy...

Hello everybody! I'm really busy at the moment - mostly with some lovely custom portrait illustrations. I can't wait to share them once I've finished. In case you are curious about commissioning your own custom illustration, you can purchase one here! As well as the illustrating, I've been attending interviews (I will soon be starting a part time job at Paperchase - perfect!) and have started working for Megan Claire. You can see my previous post about their wonderful work here. I'll be helping out in the busy run up to Christmas. Things are going very well work wise! I feel very lucky.

 As well as this, I've always got time for a little photography! And Instagram is making me want to take more and more. I've been taking pictures of things that inspire me and make me happy. Quite simple really.

As you can see, this week, I've been posting a lot of books. Books I love, covers that I love and pictures of my shelves. I'm enjoying myself if nothing else! And to finish, a picture of me & Mat. Because, well, he makes everyday brilliant.

Portrait Illustration

Hello! I just wanted to come and show you the illustration I'm working on at the moment. I've been wanting to do some self-initiated portrait work for some time and so have finally began!

One thing I really love is jewellery and intricately detailed illustration, so this piece has been an absolute dream, combining my love of fashion and portrait illustration. It's taking some time but I'm enjoying it.

Below is some of the detail when the line work is taken away. I actually really like how this looks; I may remove the lines when I'm done! I'll keep you updated. You can follow me on twitter, I'll be posting work in progress pictures on there! Have a lovely weekend!

An Illustrated Gift

Hello everybody! Sorry it's been a bit slow here recently!

I've just finished my latest custom portrait illustration. I was commissioned by the lovely Emma for a second time, this time to illustrate her best friends to give as a wedding present.

 What an amazing task and responsibility! I loved illustrating this piece, especially that dress! There's a close up of some of the detail below. I actually really love more intricate work like this. As always, I think I prefer this piece in print form. I'll try to update this with a printed picture soon! I'll be back with more work very soon! Have a lovely week in the meantime!

Rare Bird Interning

 Well my time at Rare Bird has come to an end. It's been such a wonderful experience, seeing behind the scenes and learning what goes on day to day in an illustration agency. The second week consisted of blogging, organising and uploading images, making homepage amendments, portfolio building and creating PDF pages.

I loved my time here and would return in an instance. I think working part time in an agency would be the perfect sideline as an illustrator. Not only was I surrounded by incredible illustration that has inspired me to produce some self initiated portraits, but interning here has given me real insight into how an agency works. Maybe I will be back soon... Here is some of my work from the week (including front page editing and blogging)

I really enjoyed (yes, I'm sad...) cropping and organising images to go on the front page and be used as thumbnails throughout the illustrators' pages. I guess attention to detail is an important part of life as an illustrator!

 

I absolutely love the above image from illustrator Paul X. Johnson. Working at Rare Bird has allowed me to familiarise myself with the other illustrators' work and Paul is a definite favourite. His work is both striking and inspiring. I especially love this cover for Little White Lies.

Blogging about my own new work was a little bizarre, but it was great to get my hands on a copy of the recently published magazine. Below is a post about the promotional work we undertook in the previous week.

What do you think of my illustration in context? (Below) It's one of the most exciting parts of a commission, seeing the work published and owning a copy!

Well, as I quickly mentioned earlier, next week I will be working on a new project. It will be portraits based on some familiar faces. I'm excited & can't wait to share them with you! Have a lovely weekend, we're hoping to make a spontaneous camping trip. Yay!

Midwives Magazine Cover

I'm really excited to be able to share my latest piece of work, a commercial commission brought to me by my agent, Rare Bird. I was asked to illustrate the front cover (yes, front cover!) of the latest issue of Midwives Magazine, the magazine for The Royal College of Midwives. The illustration was based on an article looking at the issue of women not being able to give birth in the way they chose and feeling "locked out" of natural home births. I loved the brief, creating a beautiful home birth scene of a new family. It was a little scary, but perfect for my style. I was helped greatly and given great freedom with the piece. I hope you like my illustration!

I started with the central illustration but loved bringing it all together with the door and detailed features, such as the screws. I wanted to add colour to the illustration, so decided to do this using the baby's blanket. I found the most perfect blanket on Little Woollie's blog. This beautifully crocheted blanket was the inspiration for my illustrated version. I love the colour and patterns and really enjoyed reading about the process and seeing the initial sketches too. Thank you Julie for allowing me to use your blanket in my work!

And below is how the piece looks in context. I should be receiving my own copy soon, so I'll take some pictures when that arrives. I still can't quite believe that my illustration is on the cover of a magazine for all to see. I love that it's being used for such an important topic too. Midwives do such an amazing job, I'm so proud to be in this magazine!

I'll be back with more work soon. Enjoy the rest of your week in the meantime! :)

Rare Bird London

Well, as you may know, I have been with my new illustration agency, Rare Bird, for a few months now. Kelly Fysh, an illustration agent with 11 years experience, started up the agency on her own and so far I am very happy to be involved in her new venture. She's wonderful to work with and my first job was fantastic. (It isn't live yet, but I will blog about it when it is!) 

I've been very lucky to intern with Kelly this week and have loved seeing behind the scenes. So far I've helped with the first big postal promotion campaign, sending out limited edition postcard and magazine packs to editorial, advertising and marketing agencies and compiling the artist portfolios. It's been great seeing how it all works and especially wonderful to see so much beautiful artwork and hear about ongoing projects. I will be back fro a second week the week after next, this time I will be working on the website, blog, newsletters and more portfolio work. Exciting! I will also take some more photographs that we can share on Rare Bird's twitter feed.

Here's some photos form the week...

Magazine cover illustration by Bożka.

And I just want to share some of my favourite illustrations from some of the other illustrators also on Rare Birds' books. I think you'll like them too!

The first (above) llustration is by Melbs. I love the energy and colour in his work.

The two illustrations above are by Ellie Tzoni. I love the subtlety, colour and shape in her work.

 I love the humour and character in Clayton Junior's illustrations, as well as his bold use of colour.

 I really like the use of colour in this piece by Imeus. I love the range of illustrations in his portfolio. Beautiful work!

I'm sure you'll agree Laura Oakes' work is absolutely stunning. I love the colour and line work. Amazing!

Gal Shkedi's work is full of humour and beautiful character work. I especially love this piece!

Love this illustration by Miss Swanne. Colourful, bold and fun!

Beautiful floral and decorative illustrations by Bożka. She has a really unique style which I love.

I love how dark and striking Paul X. Johnson's illustrations are. They create such a dramatic, powerful mood which fascinates and draws in the viewer.

The final illustration is by Patrick O'Leary. His work is bright, exciting, colourful and fun. I love it!

Definitely go and take a look at the Rare Bird London website. It's full of inspirational illustrators and exciting and beautiful illustrations. I'll let you know how the second week goes and bring you more work updates soon!