Etsy store now open!

I opened up my new Etsy store today! I'm incredibly excited! I shall be selling my greetings cards first which showcase seasons and dragons (the usual). I was lucky enough to sell some of these cards at Camden Collective's pop up shop last year so i'm really happy to be able to offer them online :) You can check out my store here: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/IllustrationsofEmma?ref=l2-shopheader-name

Christmas Time: The Gift of Giving

So it's been quite a few months since my last post as I've been busy with work and the lead up to Christmas. I'm always excited for Christmas time and especially this year as I did decide to make my friends and loved ones gifts this year; not only to save money but to make them something special that was unique to them :)

For my friend's presents, I wanted to create a series of items that were fundamentally similar in structure but that showed the personalities of each of them. It was a fairly hard task, but I settled on unique framed canvases, each representing them and their interests. I won't explain exactly why I chose each theme as some are self explanatory, however I'll give a quick rundown of how I made them.

The materials and supplies I used were:

• 4 mini canvases with easels 
• A length of wooden moulding
• A cutting mat
• A hack saw
• Saw guide
• 2 clamps
• Acrylic Paint
• Black ink pens
• A sponge
• Craft Foam
• PVA glue 
• Paint brushes

And here is roughly how I made them:

1.  I started off with a rough idea as a couple of sketches (like the one above) to figure out what components I wanted in each and where I wanted to place them.
2.  After that I measured the width and length of the canvases and used that to cut out the separate pieces of my frame from the wooden moulding.
3. I used clamps and a hack saw with a guide to cut the frame pieces at a 45degree angle so that they would slot together.
4. Once all the frame pieces were done I stuck them down as complete frames on each canvas with PVA and once dried, covered them with several coats of white acrylic paint as a base.
5. From there I painted, with either a sponge or brush, the individual colours of each canvas.
6. I cut out craft foam pieces for things such as the signs, teapot, snowman etc. and painted them.
7. I attached the foam pieces on with PVA and once dry added the pen ink designs over them and the rest of the canvas.
8. The canvases are now done! :)

For my parents present I decided to make a compilation of all the videos we took when we went to New York back in 2012 and make a DVD of that.

For Ben's parents I used my new watercolours for the first time to make a painting of their wonderful pets; Kali and Dolly :)

And last but not least, for Ben's present I wanted to make something that was artistic but functional (as I know he has a lot of stuff!). He is a massive fan of Gravity Falls and it took a surprising amount of time for me to realise this and think of the idea. I got a pre-made book box from HobbyCraft and then painted a design of the fantasy characters that represent us, in the style of the Gravity Falls cartoon :)

Overall it was a fantastic Christmas! and I couldn't have asked for anything more :) I have much more to tell you all so stay tuned for my next Christmas blog: Fantastical Models!

Web Re-design

New Web Design! Click here!

Hello again! Just a quick update this time, i've re-designed my website again. When it needs to be done, it needs to be done so i've designed it now in a way that more content can be put in. A flaw with my old design with the cat in the boat was that it was an interesting layout, but it left me with little capacity for growth (not a good thing for design portfolios)

Another thing was colour, I missed colour! And even though in the last design I wanted to leave colour out to focus the attention on my image galleries, I wanted to inject some colour to draw the eye in.

I wanted a frame design that not only allowed me to scroll down and add more room for my work, but also so that it could be aligned better (and that it can now work properly on iPad/tablet devices, yay!)

Adding a personal touch to the frame design was another piece of the puzzle I wanted to solve, so I added in some creative tools here and there as well as myself resting by a tree sketching (as one does).

I'm much happier with it this time and hope you all like it too :)

Camden Collective Pop-Up

Hey guys! I'm back from Camden Collective's pop-up shop. I spent two weeks there viewing and selling my work, and it was an unforgettable experience. I was really happy to find people take an interest in my products and illustrations, it really made it worth while :) Not only that but the other stall holders were fantastic and awesome. I learnt so much from them and had so much fun while I was there.

Business wise it gave me a great insight into retail, it's something that I had previously dipped my toe in at the New Designers show, but this time was a lot more involved and I got a ton of feedback. From this experience, I've taken away a lot more knowledge on what people are looking for in illustration products as well as some sales tips.

I'm gonna take this and build on what I plan to do for the next phase of my illustration work. I also did loads of doodling while at the stand so I was able to get some ideas for new designs for the future.

Card Stand- C159

Card Stand- C159

My 'Falling Autumn/Spring' cards

My 'Flying/Sleeping with Dragon' cards

Main Print Stand- C159

Additional Display Space- C159

Pop-Up Shop!

As some of you may or may not know, i'll be having a pop-up space at Camden Collective this Autumn! I'll be there from the 8th-21st September and I'm super super excited. I'll be selling some more of my Jane's Just Dreaming collection that was at New Designers, as well as lots of new products such as greetings cards, a large print and bunting. I've had so much fun getting these products designed and ready for the shop so please come and pop by and say hi!

It will be at:

159

Camden High Street
London
NW1 7JE

Monday 10am - 7pm
Tuesday 10am - 7pm
Wednesday 10am - 7pm
Thursday 10am - 8pm
Friday 10am - 7pm
Saturday 10am - 7pm
Sunday 11am - 5pm

http://camdencollective.co.uk/159-2/

After One Year On 2014

It's been a rollercoaster these couple of weeks so I thought i'd take the time and tell you all a little bit about it.

I was so excited to see my name on the map

One Year On was amazing, to start off i'd like to say thank you to everyone who came and visited and supported me throughout, it was truely overwhelming. I shared the space with some amazing exhibitors who made it so much fun and I cannot wait to see what they do next. Unfortunatly I didn't have time to take photos of all the exhibits but I have a few to show. I remember telling people who passed my booth how astounding the diversity of the work was around one room, it was definitely a space for inspiration.

 

 

During the four days exhibiting I got the chance to attend some talks and meet some wonderful people. I sat in on a couple of talks back to back about illustration agencies by AOI and Illustration which were incredibly informative. All in all, it was worth exhibiting at New Designers, the contacts I made and the chance to sell some of my work to a wide audience was invaluable.

Here it comes- One Year On 2014

One Year On 2014 is fast approaching and I'm incredibly excited. Not only will I be launching my new illustrations but there will also be some amazing talented designers attending Part 2. Below are the websites where you can view more of their work so please show your support and come along to New Designers!

Adam Collins

Angie Parker

Andrew Berwick Illustration

Anna Gravelle

BertyB

Beth Watson Design

Charlie Mortley Design

Dome Studio 

Emilie Osborne

Head&Haft

Kai Venus Designs

 

mes.sou

Natalie Ratcliffe 

Rosie Moss

Sam Lloyd

Sarah Brown

sayoko_shibuya

sparklymouse illustration

Stephanie Tudor

Tom Hutchinson Design