Healthy Eating

As a little side project for uni, just to show I can do more than draw fashion, I decided to produce some pieces for a healthy eating campaign. I've really wanted to work with food and text so this seemed a perfect excuse to combine both.

Basically my idea was to use children's quotes to promote eating 'five a day'. By working with the idea that children say the cutest things and the fact they don't know unless you teach them, I placed sweet things that children may say alongside images of the fruit. For instance, the first one says: "I love strawberry cheesecake. Is that one of my five a day?" and is placed next to strawberries. I think this campaign could be successful, because most people know a child so can relate to their sweet questions and it drives home that unless you teach people about healthy eating, they will never learn.

Anyway, take a look and see what you think! :) (p.s. I've used a logo from an existing campaign - it is not my own!)

Working Practice

As part of my professional practice unit at uni, I have to show my working practice and discuss how I go about creating my illustrations. I have put together some stages for this so thought I'd show them here too! :) this illustration was for a competition to have your image accompany an article by Lady Gaga. I wanted to use a head-shot image and have her looking smart in her role as a writer.

To begin with I draw a simple outline picture, allowing me to see all parts of the illustration come together and imagine the final outcome. I find I work most comfortably using photographs, which I try to take myself where possible (obviously, with someone like Gaga this is unlikely!)

The next stage is adding in finer detail. I enjoy zooming in to put these details together. After some of the detail has been refined, I will wok out the background.

Once the background texture is in place I can add even more detail and bring in those highlights and whites of the eyes that I think bring my illustrations alive and make them what they are. I loved adding in the glasses detail here as it made the image a lot more powerful.

Colour experimentation. I decided with this illustration that I wanted to use more colour in the background. Usually I stay with my style of using neutral tomes and textural backgrounds. This time around I wanted to add more colour but continue using the textures.

After adding the colour, I placed the original textured background over the colours and was happy with this compromise between my usual style and trying to experiment! Also in this stage I added colour and texture (texture from a tweed jacket scan) to her jacket, as well as colouring of the lips.

Again, I tried something new with the cheeks. Rather than my usual subtle and tonal colouring, I choose to use obvious and bright colours. I'm really happy with how it's turned out! These are my two final illustrations. 

I hope you enjoyed this little run through! :)

For Sale: Raising money for my final exhibition

So, last night, me and my fellow third year illustration students opened our exhibition at the local bar where we have painting the ladies toilets. The toilets were open for viewing, we have framed pieces displayed throughout the bar and we had a stall selling our merchandise. All this was to raise money for our final exhibition and the D&AD show in London. 

 Abi Nottingham and Rosie Wheeldon tending to our stall! It looks great doesn't it? I think it's a pretty amazing year group!

My final wall images. One of my walls actually crumbled after the plaster went bad. Our solution was for me to paint a board with a drawn on frame to cover over the wall. I think it worked rather well! I hope you like them too.

I have stock left to sell and wanted to offer my lovely followers the chance to buy them here on my blog. These first prints are window mounted 10 by 8 inch. There are two of each, on sale for £6 each.

The next items are 9 by 7 inch, window mounted prints. They are on sale for £5 each.

 The following are 8 by 6 inch window mounted prints. They are on sale for £4 each.

SOLD

Finally these limited edition illustrated tote bags are only £5 so if you fancy something different and like my work why not buy one? :)

SOLD

SOLD

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SOLD

SOLD

If you are interested in buying any of these items or have any questions please either leave a comment on here or email me directly at: yodalpip at hotmail.co.uk

I hope you are all well! Abby x

Loo-urve - Part Two!

Today has been another busy one spent painting the ladies toilets! :)

There's only two days left. Tomorrow will be spent finishing all the line work and adding details and splashes of colour here and there. Here are some more photographs!

I hope you like them, I will keep you updated! Please forgive the terribly cheesy photos of me! It's been so fun, all of our course being together, listening to wonderful music, eating biscuits, dancing in our cubicles (or is that just me?!) and having a change of scenery! :)

I came home yesterday to find my mac attached to the scanner.. when I opened it up, I found this super cute drawing my boyfriend had drawn. He's a little bit cute that one!

Loo-urve

So, me and my uni friends have been commissioned to paint the ladies toilets of a local bar. It's all very exciting and on the 23rd we will be having an exhibition to reveal the toilets to the public. As well as the toilets being open to view, we will have framed works for sale. It's all to raise money for our end of year shows! So wish us look :)

For my toilet, I wanted to play to my strengths (although I am completely out of sync when it comes to drawing without my mac and drawing on walls in general - scary!) and create a dressing/cloak room with hats, coats and beautiful jewellery placed throughout. I am keeping it as a line drawing with lots of details and finishing touches/shading. I hope you will like it when I share the finished walls! Here are some progress shots from my first days.