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I struggled to find my footing in this project, taking a while to really find the ‘My Scotland’ I wanted to explore, and being almost afraid to make is super personal. After talks I knew however this was the way I wanted to go. I tried to push myself with the character design, really finding something I liked and felt looking appealing and friendly. For backgrounds I studied buildings within my town, most of which holding person stories to me. I think my work towards the final project is strong and I have a good understanding of where I want to go with the project. Personal but celebratory. However due to health reasons I was left picking up then dropping the final piece which personally makes it look like 3 ideas put together. I hope in my next project this doesn’t happen again and my transition to final piece is stronger.

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This is the approach I ended up taking on the buildings, adding texture similar to the character and also just sharpening up shapes and adding more detailed. I think it does give off the more mature look I was hoping for while still being fun

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After some feedback and time to reflect on my roughs I made some changes to the character/pigeon. Adding texture similar to the other character design I had done. I just feel it is a fun addition and adds when lot sprinkled in

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This was a mixture of the winged character I had tried to develop and just a cartoon drawing of myself combined. These are aspects I used a lot in my character experiments but I feel similar to the background it just comes across as stale and not very imaginative. I feel like my first character rough is a much better mix of all the aspects I've explored through this project

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This background was me trying to explore the more sad/melancholy part of the my Scotland essay. My character reflecting on the town and how I've only lived here and haven't branched out in my life. Not only did I find I just didn't enjoy looking into this approach, it was a lot more fun (and made for a better illustration personally) to be celebratory but also I just felt I had drawn out a section of town. I just thought in comparison to my first rough it was a bit boring

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Similar to the background rough, I love how personal and playful this is. The shapes, the texture and just the general look and feel is something I was looking to do. I worry similar to the background it looks a little childish so in the finale I am going to make a few changes (making the pigeon a bit more realistically shaped but still fun/colourful)

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This is the background I took to my finale, I tried to combine all the places of importance to me throughout the project. While it is messy I think it gives a good idea what I'm looking forward to go with, a colourful town setting, celebrating buildings of importance to me. Keeping it colourful but still playful. The only thing I worry about is the age range, I feel it doesnt look as mature as it should, while I am taking this forward I want to slightly adjust the feeling/look of the building to make them playful but still more mature

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I much prefer my digital collage over anything paper ones, I think with the style (almost matches the digital collage character I made) and how textured it is - but it can also be very busy

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This was my second attempt at the character, I felt like it came out a lot stronger but it took me way longer than it probably should have. On top of that I was trying so hard to not to create those streaks but once it dried they dried even more visible

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This was first attempt at making a character from card. Similar to the backgrounds I found it difficult and just felt lazy with the outcome I had made

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Again, I found this to have a similar outcome as my previous paper craft. I just feel it comes across as lazy and not well put together

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Paper collage of part of the town building 

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Paper collage of part of the town building 

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The paper collage was probably my weakest work, I found it extremely difficult to work with and was never really found of the work I created

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This was a cleaned up thumbnail of my building/environment drawings. While the town in Denny is important to my story I don’t believe this has much of an impact. I didn’t consider the colours well enough and even if I added a character to this I think it would just looked forced

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This was the thumbnail I went forward with. I think it’s a good reflection of my Scotland, a lot of buildings that mean a lot to me and I like the blocked out/textured style.

I would fix some things however, for example going over the colours I used - specifically brightening some up and making sure they flow well. Cleaning up some buildings and adding more details. Taking out the Kelpies (just feel forced and aren’t referenced in my Scotland essay). And adding some pictured textures to match the character I went forward with

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This was inspired by my building and more melancholic part of the My Scotland essay. I tried to squeeze some of the town together to make the drawing a bit more interesting but I think it still narrows it down to two buildings too much. I just also thing my best character design and background work has been the celebratory work and I didn’t think that fit too well. I do also think the colours work well for the themes and feel I was going for however.

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This was a collage somewhat inspired by Sara Fanelli and a previous collage I had done. I wanted to keep this option open as I had enjoyed doing the character in this style.

While it means the colours came almost natural in this I don’t think it works for a couple reasons. The piece can become quick busy quick and I believe with the character added that wouldn’t help. I also focused on the Kelpies in this piece but reflecting on the my Scotland essay it didn’t reflect me well and then doesn’t really match me or the brief.

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For some reason when I scan it the pencil line is very light (it's not in person) so I had to add an edit to make it visible

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Drawing of pigeon I was watching walk around

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Drawing of pigeon I was watching walk around

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This is the design I went forward with. It's a bit of a mix of my favourite designs I've worked on through this project. Very cartoony but I still got to bring in the texture work I've enjoyed working with. The design looks like a mix of younger and current me, the pigeon ties so well into this project for me and leaves me room to play around with it for poses

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I was asked to take a look at Sara Fanelli' work which heavily inspired this piece. It was a lot of fun to do and I really dove straight into it without overthinking about aspects like what textures I was using or making the shapes too realistic. While I didn't take this forward for my final piece the texture work here was what inspired me to add it there instead.

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I wanted to keep it as close to me as possible while still being cartoon-y. It really just comes across and boring and flat. I much prefer my other approaches

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I really wanted to make the design in the top left work. I tried slightly different styles and poses but I couldn't get it to a place I was happy with. One thing I am working on is anatomy as I feel it isn't my strong point and I think this character really shows that off. I think if I was more confident in that my experiments and outcome with this design would've went better

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Explore a hand-picked collection of Pins about Childrens Illustration on Pinterest.

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Tried to combine a lot of the character stuff I enjoyed                                  

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Tried to combine a lot of the character stuff I enjoyed                                  

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Gesture Drawings to help with character poses

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Gesture Drawings to help with character poses

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Scotland to me is community and family. For my whole life I’ve grown up in Denny and it truly feels like home. My early education was here, I work here, and a lot of my family are also here. Every place in Denny has a story for me, my first-time driving, first job, learning how to ride a bike. Despite all this only a couple places make me feel truly happy.

My papa has had pigeons for my whole life, I’ve always known him to love pigeons and pigeon racing. As a kid he would take me down to stamp the pigeon wings, it was just a stamp with an address on it for people who can’t read the rings. While I don’t have the best memories of helping to clean out huts, playing with the dogs and hearing the birds coo in the background worked away is better. Him showing me his years of awards from racing, taking me to the club to meet the other older men who have the same hobby.

For years our town was disgusting, we even won an award for it! But within the past couple years it got a beautiful reword, and while it truly looks great now when I think back I kind of miss the old one. The old library I would spend countless hours in, running up the stairs to grab a cake from the bakery, seeing all the pigeons around as they lived in the abandoned flats above the town.

While I do love the town, I was raised in apart of me is feeling like the time to leave is coming soon. Sometimes I get this sense of happiness and connection to where I live. Other times I feel discounted, if I talk to the people on the streets do, I really fit in here? I don’t really have friends within Denny anymore too, all of use drifted apart or some just moved.

Like I said previously other times this feeling is overshadowed of how proud I am to live here, working in a busy shop within the town has really showed me I’m not an outcast. I’ve talked to people with similar interests within town, started attending gaming nights for table top games when I’m free. Started at a local gym just outside of Denny but they have been a welcoming presence I never thought a gym could provide. Despite getting comments on how all my interests don’t line up well, and often told my beliefs will be scoffed at in Scotland you do find a lot of people to really connect to. Even older people will stop and compliment my outfit or my hair when it was dyed. Scotland, but most importantly Denny is what makes where I live important to me

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Again this week I went very off plan. I ended up being sick and having to go into a&e this means I did get an extension to the 4th of May. Because of being sick though I found it hard to plan out my week and it slowly became 'work on the project when I feel well enough or am in the house'

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This was the only week I went off my plan, I ended up being sick and couldn't attend of Friday. This put me behind on life drawing but I tried to keep up with this project from my bed

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This was a simple trace of the google maps view of the town from above

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I used google maps and drew the town from above

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I wasn't sure why I picked the greens so after this was done I decided to edit it

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5 minutes town drawing + added something natural

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5 minutes town drawing + added something natural

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https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/13JCeJQdZlTl5v4N8BF9R6u_oVgVjfXdd?usp=sharing

Some of my own pictures I took for this project

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Get access to files anywhere through secure cloud storage and file backup for your photos, videos, files and more with Google Drive.

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I wanted to play with a mix of things I did within the original character design tasks, looking at the bird/pigeon look but trying to mix it with my own clothes + ones I thought fit.

With the character having wings I thought the poses could take advantage of that, having them fly above the scene or flying through it

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In my piece I talk very highly about my Scotland, so the first row is the very happy expressions, my second then being sad, annoyed ect. From then I just decided to add a different range, any expression that came to mind I tried out

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https://www.instagram.com/_katiesmith_illustration_/?hl=en

-Use social media even if you think it’s embarrassing, it’s a way to push out your work and you never know who’s looking

-Try to apply yourself, if you get a chance to work on something seriously consider taking it

-Even if it’s something you haven’t done before being honest with them, learn from them and take the opportunity as that is how you’ll learn these skills outside college.

-Projects might start a certain way but they might turn out so different and you might have to adapt to a lot of changes.

-Don’t feel locked down by one style and try to push yourself in many ways/styles

-Nike seem quite difficult to work with

-Working with colours will always develop, sometimes starting with colours you personally like and building it up from them

-https://theaoi.com/ is always a helpful tool with a good community

-Keeping track of receipts, finances and invoices (etsy does this for you which makes it easier to work on). You can also just contact HMRC to ask what steps to take. Business gateway also do workshops on similar stuff (not artist based but still helpful). Cultural enterprise drop-in sessions (artist focused)

-Email linked to their Instagram so they can contact you. If you want to work with someone, they often have links on their website to contact them

-‘you’ll never see perfection in your own work’, you have to learn what works and what doesn’t. Often instead of working towards perfection you should try do something you like and so later on when you look back on it you’ll like it more

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Drawing myself as simple as possible, based on some other illustrators from the research

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Drawing myself with a pigeon, with pigeon wings and as a springer spaniels

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Older Picture of me - scary looking

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Floris Books is an independent publishing company based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Originally it was the publish Christian books, in 1980’s the Kelpies was launched which were a series of Scottish Children’s book. Floris Books publish books for non-fiction for adults and children’s book. They are the largest children’s book publisher in Scotland. They publish board and picture books for children 0-7, their ‘picture kelpies’ range for 6-10 and the kelpie range for 1–15-year-olds. Along side this they also do craft activity books for all these ages. One book series they have published under the ‘kelpies’ range is Fabled Beast Chronicles; this series has 4 books written by Lari Don and illustrated by Francesca Greenwood.

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Kelpies Book Project

Book entitled ‘My Scotland’ based on personal thought of what Scotland means to me.

Main character will be the narrator, loosely based on myself.

Main character illustration and background illustration will make a double page spread

Target Audience 12+

Deadline for both character and background (50-100 word evaluation) due 18TH April.

Final Submission 29 th April

Must Include:

·    Illustration then and now research

·     Primary + Secondary research / reference work for Kelpies project

·    Development Work: Annotated thumbnail sketches, preliminary drawings, finished pencil drawings for main character/background illustration

·   A full colour illustration of a main character and a full colour illustration background scene

·   A 150 word evaluation of the suitability of your illustrative4 style and technique in relation to your research, brief, client and audience.

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https://www.debbiebiboagency.com/anna-pirolli

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https://www.debbiebiboagency.com/katyadenisevich

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https://www.debbiebiboagency.com/claudia-boldt

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Debbie Bibo is an Agency based in Milan (Italy), while they originally opened up to support Italian illustrators, they have been so successful they have been able to take artists from all over the world. They aren’t as large as Bright Rising and have just under 40 artists working with them.

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Debbie Bibo Agency - Drawn to Books We are a small picture book Agency with big ideas. We specialize in picture books for children and illustrated books for all ages, representing an eclectic selection of debut and award-winning authors and illustrators.

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https://thebrightagency.com/uk/childrens-illustration/artists/fatima-anaya

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https://thebrightagency.com/uk/childrens-illustration/artists/maxine-hammen

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https://thebrightagency.com/uk/childrens-illustration/artists/felia-hanakata

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The Bright Agency are based in the UK and the US, due to their size they represent a number of artists, author, animators, ect. They have hundreds of illustrators in their agencies, all with very different styles. Their UK building is based in St John's Hill, London.

While I couldn't find anything about how much they earn from their illustrations I found a lot of articles about the agency trying to push the UK Government to increase legal protection for freelance illustrators!

https://thebrightagency.com/uk
increase legal protection for freelance illustrators

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Bright is a global agency that nurtures passionate, gifted artists and authors. You'll see their work everywhere: children's books, billboards, greetings cards, films... They're here to make a mark on the world, and our mission is to make it happen.

But enough about us. How can we help you? Maybe you want to commission a new piece of work; perhaps an animation or an advertising campaign? Perhaps you'd like to license something from our artists' portfolios? It's all here. We're ready when you are.

Animation

Whether you're looking to create a full-scale film, a short punchy gif, or just some fun characters, we'll get your brief moving whether it's in advertising, branding or whatever you have in mind.

We're always taking artists into new areas, which also means working with big names on screen. When we see characters and styles with real potential, we look for every way we can to bring them to life.

Discover more

Wouldn't the world be dull without creative people? That's what we believe. So our mission is simple: make their lives easier as they make the world a brighter place.

How we work

We go further for clients, so the work can too

Your agent will give your project everything. Sales matter. Awards matter. Success matters. They're experts in editorial, design and illustration, and are used to dealing with large, complex projects.

What we do

Working with The Bright Agency does not feel like working. Everything feels easy and always goes smoothly. Their team is extremely responsive and helpful, making sure that they understand our needs.

Marion Wegmueller - Swatch

Rocket Ahead

Empowering children for a brighter future

Discover more

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Bright is a global agency that nurtures passionate, gifted artists and authors. You'll see their work everywhere: children's books, billboards, greetings cards, films... They're here to make a mark on the world, and our mission is to make it happen. But enough about us. How can we help you?

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The rates of pay have changed throughout time for multiple reasons business' are legally required to pay a minimum amount, the price of living goes up and the artist has to take work that accommodates this and also as you grow as an artist business' should recognise this and pay more for your work.

This AOI breaks down the rate of pay including things like budget, expenses how to do invoices, ect.

https://theaoi.com/resources/pricing/price-it-right-pricing-basics/

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To quote an illustration fee accurately, you need to get the following information from your client. You can ask them directly - they should be able to provide you with most of the details.

Here are some essentials for pricing commissions...

Usage

Are you creating promotional postcards for a small business, or a nationwide advertising campaign on 48 sheet billboards and bus sides for a fashion chain?

It's essential to know specifically how the image is to be used. What the image is being used for will have an impact on your fee. Generally speaking, the more important and visible the work is, the higher the fee.

Re-uses of the artwork can be negotiated with the client later if required.

If you're asked for an All Media usage licence, bear in mind this is very broad and allows for use of the image across any media. As this type of licence is so extensive, it has a high value and this should be reflected in the fee.

Area of Use or Territory

One city only, UK only, Worldwide? The larger the territory, the more significant the fee will be as your work will reach more potential customers. As such, the fee for a USA wide advertising campaign will be a lot more than one solely for the UK.

Duration

How long does the client require the licence for?

Is it three years for a food/drink packaging illustration, one month for an online retailer's special offer or for 'the period of copyright' for a children's book?

The longer the licence period, the higher the fee.

Client Profile

Is the client a multinational organisation or local shop? Larger clients will have more sizeable budgets (although they won't always admit it) and this will have an impact on the fee.

Budget

Does the client have a budget they are willing to tell you, or do they want you to quote?

Budgets may be negotiable - if the budget offered feels too small, then you know you need to start the negotiation process.

Expenses

From couriers and travel, to time spent on research - any expenses must be agreed with the client up front.

Why you want this information

Don't quote without the necessary information, or provide 'ball-park' figures. Approaching your client/commissioner for the information they've not already provided does the following:

- Demonstrates professionalism

- Demonstrates accuracy and actual market value

- Makes the client consider actual usage as opposed to potential usage

- Allows for additional negotiations and fees for additional usages

Composing a Licence

The object of a written licence is to define the usage rights a client has bought:
Territory - Duration - Usage E.g: UK Licence, 1 Year, illustration for Printed Postcard ONLY Worldwide Licence, 5 years, full coverage illustration for whiskey label ONLY
Invoice

If the commission goes ahead, don't forget to invoice the client promptly on completion!

This resource has been made available as part of the Price It Right campaign which enables illustrators and commissioners to price and negotiate their work with confidence.

Further advice is available on Negotiating Pricing

Joining the AOI gives illustrators access to bespoke pricing advice and additional resources. See Membership information here.
The AOI would like to make resources accessible to all. If you would like an alternative format please ask.

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The AOI - Price It Right - Pricing Basics

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To quote an illustration fee accurately, you need to get the following information from your client. You can ask them directly - they should be able to provide you with most of the details. Are you creating promotional postcards for a small business, or a nationwide advertising campaign on 48 sheet billboards and bus sides for a fashion chain?

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Scottish Artist’s Union's Rate of Pay (2022)

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Scottish Artist’s Union's Rate of Pay (2022)

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The last link/image reflects the pay from 2017/2018, I wanted to look into both of them to understand how much the pay has changed.
https://www.artistsunion.scot/rates_of_pay

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This is what professional websites suggest but I wanted to look into artists I follow. A lot have a format like the one pictured, it features examples of their work, what they are comfortable doing/not doing. Things like terms, and what will cost extra.

Usually the price is down to how big the piece is, so the more characters, background, ect the more it'll cost as that is more work.

https://twitter.com/elenamics/status/1503841323094319115?s=20&t=Y8dQ614N4I7o90F5U3xFaw

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Scottish Artist’s Union's Rate of Pay (2018)

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Scottish Artist’s Union's Rate of Pay (2018)

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They also acknowledge that these are rates from 2017 and they should be going up to accommodate the price of living.

Source: https://www.artistsunion.scot/scottish_artists_union_rates_of_pay_2018

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Childrens Book
Illustrator: Sydney Smith
Auother: Jordan Scott
Publisher: Holiday House

The piece was done with gouache paint, I believe it is them instead of watercolour because of the colours and shapes. The illustrator did the piece originally using analogue techniques, it's then scanned into a program like photoshop where it will be touched up and the text will be added. The version with the illustrator with text will then be sent away to be printed. The book itself with published in 2020.

https://www.instagram.com/sydneydraws/

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Goade uses ink drops to really bring in that water feel, using it to also create the trees in the background works super well. I also enjoy it almost looks like the water is layered paper to really create a 3d ocean feel

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Michaela Goade uses ink and watercolour on this. The clear blue's very push the message of clear water and while the pallete of the background is all blue it manages to still make everything flow/pop. Because of the limited colour pallete it also makes the character on the front pop a lot more too.

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This really shows and demonstrates Sydney's use of space and pages, it really opens the sea up and really takes us to that feeling of being in a body of water.

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This children's book illustrated by syndey smith uses colour, space and brush strokes to really illustrate and communicate water well. The colour alone has a refreshing colour palate and the roughness of the brush really makes it feels free and adventuress

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With the first artist I believe his way of working would be very difficult with the amount of mixed media used and how they use technology to really bring it together. Nancy Ekholm used analogue techniques in the art piece itself and I wonder if given today's technology how she would use it, maybe to clean up her work and enhance her use of colours. These two artists are completely different in the way they work, the almost reliance on technology and the lack of technology. I also think the styles are different Nancy's approach is realist while Chris' is over exaugurated and stylized

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This is a more mature/adult piece done by her. Throughout her pieces the use of pencil, charcoal and watercolour really demonstrate her understanding of colour and shade. All her illustrations highlight this understanding well.

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Her snow white work is what her she is most known for, her use of colour across the page is beautifully done and displays the seasons/feel well.

https://societyillustrators.org/award-winners/nancy-ekholm-burkert/

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Burkert was born 1933, Sterling Colorado, and moved to Wisconsin in 1945. She received both her bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
This piece for James and the Giant piece (done in 1961) was her first work

Similar to the other pieces I love the realistic but soft look, the colour choice is light making it feel relaxed.

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This is a close up to show the charcoal brush look and scribble/hatch backgrounds

Source: https://nobrow.net/creator/alexander-utkin/