The Social Gathering

Mixed media pencil, black fine-liner and watercolour paint. Final edit on photoshop. 

The illustration above depicts the seven characters I created over the summer: psychedelic butterfly, Ollie the Orangutan, Foo Dog, Tortoise-shell hare, Thumbelina, Horn-boy and Oceana, taking part in a social activity. The activity illustrated is sailing, and the drawing includes a self-portrait. Constructing an effective composition to include all eight characters was challenging, however I am very happy with the end result. The use of tonal shading has brought depth to the drawing, the subtle details of each character brought to life through intricate line-work. The bold blue splash adds movement and drama to the illustration, symbolising the sea spray off the rough waves. I have entered this drawing into the V&A illustration awards 2013. 

Thumberlina

 

I created this character on a piece of wood using black fine-liner and chalk, inspired by Audrey Kawasaki's beautiful, evocative wood-based paintings. This character is influenced by Hans Christian Anderson's fairytale Thumbelina, as seen through the lily pad and petal dress. I like how Thumbelina's simplified style contrasts with my other more detailed characters.