How to Write a Book in 30 Days

Mixed media pencil and black fine-liner edited on photoshop.

This is the final editorial piece for my contemporary illustration unit. The brief was given in the form of an email; similar to one that might be received from an agent. The task was to create a cover for the supplement, How to Write a Book in 30 Days, within The Literary Review magazine. 

The supplement describes a structured method for writing a book, aiming to encourage readers to become writers. Inspired by the step-by-step element of the supplement, I began to think about how one idea has the potential to evolve into a story, which can be signified through an acorn growing into a great oak tree. Putting my own spin on this idea, I transformed the trunk of the tree into a pencil. I am very happy with the hand-rendered text, something I have struggled with in the past, which adds interest and a playful element to the illustration. To improve this design I would add a subtle background colour to enhance the detail and remove the unnecessary black outline from the words in 30 days. 

Madness of Crowds

This week's editorial illustration was for the article Madness of Crowds: Will Self visits Las Vegas, Its gone family-friendly. The article is based around the idea that advertising of Vegas as a family resort and the consequential increase of families staying in Vegas, will in turn end its days as a partying  and gambling resort. Therefore I developed the idea of combining dice and building blocks together. I played around with different compositions however I am still unhappy with this final layout. If I was to refine this idea I would try an asymmetric, more relaxed composition.

Sun, Sea, Sand...And Sniffles

This editorial illustration for a Guardian article is based upon the idea that people with heavy workloads often get ill on the first day of their holidays due to their stressful day-to-day life. Consequently I looked at imagery which signifies holidays (suitcase) and illness (pills) and combined these two ideas together to create my final illustration.  

Why Small Victories Matter

This editorial illustration is for an article taken from the Guardian on Why Small Victories Matter. The article is based on the idea that you gain greater success and happiness working towards smaller achievable targets rather than one larger target. The comparatively small size of the central target-coloured duck illustrates this idea. The idea of hook-the-duck derived from the key words small victories which in turn led to the idea of fareground games which involve targets.

How to Decorate

This illustration is an editorial piece for an article taken from the Guardian called 'How to...Decorate.' The basis of the article is the idea that humans have an instinct for external decoration, with appearance being viewed as more important than character. Inspired by the reference to peacocks in the article, I based the henna pattern around peacock feathers, the henna itself conveying our innate need for personal decoration. Experimenting with colour for the background, I liked the contrast between the red henna and blue background, however in context I feel the hands look more striking against a white background.