Emily Fox Illustration

Book of Hopes

noreply@blogger.com (Emily Fox) — Fri, 22 Jan 2021 15:38:00 +0000

It's been a while since my last blog post.. I used to love reading blog posts and forums, if you're reading this, hello! 👋

I wanted to share a lovely project I was lucky to work on last year. I created a black and white illustration titled 'Stargazing' for the Book of Hopes, a collection of stories and illustrations on the theme of hope, edited by Katherine Rundell and published by Bloomsbury in answer to the pandemic, with proceeds going to the NHS Charities Together. The book provides words and pictures to comfort, inspire and entertain children.

The ebook is available to read for free on the Literacy Trust website.

The Book of Hopes

'Stargazing'

I loved working on this illustration, not only as a welcome distraction in a worrying time, but also to find a home for a little character which had been popping up in my sketchbook for a while. I've nicknamed him the 'Snoogaloo'. Here he is in my sketchbook:

As you can see in the top picture I've also needle felted the Snoogaloo. (I've had a lot of time on my hands!) I'm also exploring a few story ideas, so fingers crossed we'll see more of this little fella.

Dove Street Studio

noreply@blogger.com (Emily Fox) — Mon, 24 Sep 2018 17:56:00 +0000

Over summer I was faced with a big decision. Dove Street Studios, the art studio where I've been based for the last couple of years was likely to close down. After much thought, myself and my friend (the wonderful Illustrator Elisa Cunningham) decided to take it on and run the space. With a lick of paint, a few new desks and some crafty DIY, we transformed the studio. We're now home to 15 Creatives, including Illustrators, Animators and Fashion Designers.

We're immensely proud of our little studio and love working here.

You can follow us on Instagram @Dove_Street, or on Twitter @Bristol_Dove_St, to keep up with the latest studio antics.

Check out our panoramic view over Bristol

And our Studio sign painted by the talented Elisa Cunningham

Email 59dovestreet@gmail.com for more information

Hey, I like your style

noreply@blogger.com (Emily Fox) — Sat, 26 May 2018 18:24:00 +0000

I'm in a reflective mood and wanted to share a post about work, creativity and insecurity. I love drawing in sketchbooks and normally it comes naturally, but at the beginning of the year I couldn't pick up a pencil because everything I drew looked absolutely awful. I hadn't particularly considered "style" before, but it became an ever present doubt. My thoughts circled like this: Does this look like my work? Am I allowed to draw dot eyes? Will people recognise my artwork? Does it matter if they do?

Last year I inherited a folder full of scrap paper from a friend leaving the studio, and decided to collage some Christmas cards for my friends and family. I started cutting and sticking and it felt so liberating. I began to treat collage as a kind of improvised art therapy, thinking of it as my "creative playtime". Through paper cut I actively considered things I had previously overlooked, I focused more on colour, shape and composition. It's been a learning curve and a reminder that I'm on a creative journey. There are still the nagging doubts about "style", especially by branching into collage, however I hope I can begin to own it with time.

Here are some of my recent efforts...

Keep on keepin' on, guys!

Fabio Book Launch

noreply@blogger.com (Emily Fox) — Mon, 09 Apr 2018 12:36:00 +0000

Last month we had a FAB-u-lous party to celebrate the publication of Fabio Flamingo 'The Case of the Missing Hippo' by Laura James (illustrated by myself) We held the party in the super chic Boston Tea Party in Bath and the dress code was 'think pink'... Needless to say, it was a pretty special night!

Thank you to everyone who came and made it such a wonderful evening, and to Mr B's Emporium for providing us with all the books. Here they are in all their neon glory

And here we are, busy signing away

But of course, my biggest thank you goes to Laura and the Bloomsbury team for being so brilliant. Go team Fabio!

A few weeks later I popped to Mr B's and painted a Fabio display in the shop window. It was so exciting to see the Fabio books on the shelves "out in the wild"! 😊

World Book Day 2018

noreply@blogger.com (Emily Fox) — Mon, 09 Apr 2018 11:40:00 +0000

Last month I was lucky enough to celebrate World Book Day with the wonderful Fosseway school. We chatted about what it means to be an Illustrator and discussed how picture books are made. Here's a little peek at my presentation showing the different stages of development when illustrating picture book spread 👀

(this particular spread is from 'Elephant's Pyjamas' by Michelle Robinson)

Then things became a little bit more interactive... We whipped out the flip chart and got scribbling. I showed everyone how to draw the cheeky Monkey character from Monkey's Sandwich. Just check out these amazing Monkeys (I have some stiff competition!)

In the afternoon I ran a couple of book building workshops, which involved constructing crazy stories together as a class by playing a fun 'consequences' style game. Everyone then illustrated a page of the story, which we assembled together in a picture book (now that's what I call teamwork)

This story is called 'Snow Escape' and stars an Evil Snowman... Good work SK3!

I'm also pleased to say a few of my books even found a nice new home in the school library. Hooray!

Thanks for having me Fosseway, I look forward to visiting again soon!

💘🐾

noreply@blogger.com (Emily Fox) — Thu, 15 Feb 2018 12:51:00 +0000

'Sensory World' Board Game

noreply@blogger.com (Emily Fox) — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 11:25:00 +0000

Earlier this year I illustrated a board game for HABA. I've always wanted to work on a game, so it was very exciting when my copy arrived!

🤓

And of course, you can order yours here...

https://www.haba.de/en_GB/toys/sensory-world/p/303463

😉

Busy Birds

noreply@blogger.com (Emily Fox) — Thu, 28 Sep 2017 14:31:00 +0000

Recently I've been exploring new visual ideas and I loved drawing these birds. It's been great pushing how I create and think this busier style of illustration may be an exciting path to follow... We shall see!

Paddington Bear

noreply@blogger.com (Emily Fox) — Fri, 30 Jun 2017 08:31:00 +0000

I was saddened to hear the news that Michael Bond passed away a few days ago. Paddington Bear has always been a favourite of mine (along with many others!). It's a timeless classic and a really wonderful children's book. 🐻

Mug Full-O-Pun

noreply@blogger.com (Emily Fox) — Wed, 19 Apr 2017 10:54:00 +0000

Congratulligator

Dramallama

Digital Drawing

noreply@blogger.com (Emily Fox) — Fri, 31 Mar 2017 15:51:00 +0000

I've been wanting to work on some entirely digital illustrations for a while, so I was quite pleased when I finally found the time to do so this week! I ended up drawing these animal and dino scenes. It was so refreshing to push myself artistically - and really focus on colour and texture. It also felt oddly appropriate to label everything (perhaps it's just a phase?!) Anyway, here they are:

World Book Day 2017

noreply@blogger.com (Emily Fox) — Tue, 14 Mar 2017 10:44:00 +0000

For World Book Day this year I visited my old school (eek!) with the super talented Michelle Robinson for a fun day of 'Monkey's Sandwich' activities. Incase you didn't know, 'Monkey's Sandwich' is our shiny new book published by Harper Collins. Here it is:

And incase you've never seen our faces, here we are!

We had a great day inventing, drawing and constructing some crazy sandwiches, reading stories and generally monkeying around. Here's our towering sandwich featuring squirty cream AND mustard... Looks tasty, right?

For me, the best part of the day was live-drawing some absolutely bonkers sandwiches, fuelled by the *interesting* and *unique* suggestions from the kids. Yes - there's an octopus, T-Rex and a car in this sandwich...

(please excuse my bad case of Illustrator's 'claw hand')

We also learned 'How to draw Monkey' step by step, following this handy sheet:

Everyone had a go at drawing their own monkey, it was really great seeing the all different interpretations.

Check out these amazing artworks by Michelle's own two

(Yes, I AM worried by the competition!)

If you fancy stepping up to the challenge, you can find this sheet available to download on my website, along with some Monkey's Sandwich colouring in sheets.

www.emilyafox.co.uk/activities

All in all, we had a fantastic World Book Day. It was a pleasure and a joy visiting Trinity School - I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who made it happen!

And of course - incase you were wondering, 'Monkey's Sandwich' is available to buy here 👍😊😉

The Jungle Book

noreply@blogger.com (Emily Fox) — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 13:09:00 +0000

I've always fancied illustrating the Jungle Book, so I did. 🤓🐍🐻🐅🌴📕

It was great working with a slightly 'wackier' colour palette - mixing bluey purples, hot pinks and zingy greens. Anyway, here are a few illustrations and a speculative cover. Enjoy!

Choo Choo!

noreply@blogger.com (Emily Fox) — Thu, 09 Mar 2017 12:40:00 +0000

Just wanted to share this illustration I did for the wonderful Highlights magazine. It's for a great little article about Owney the Mail Dog, the US Postal Service mascot.

It's always fun drawing trains! Checkout highlights.com

Wedding Invitation Floral Motif

noreply@blogger.com (Emily Fox) — Tue, 17 Jan 2017 15:57:00 +0000

I wanted to share a few details from the wedding invitations I recently designed for my Brother and his Fiancé. I had great fun mixing fresh greens with vibrant yellows and oranges, a palette which works well for this spring wedding. It's always fun to do a bit of cutting and sticking!

A Day In The Life Of Business Koala

noreply@blogger.com (Emily Fox) — Tue, 17 Jan 2017 15:26:00 +0000

Because this marsupial means business.

A Day In The Life Of Business Koala:

The commute

The coffee

The calls

The number crunching

The filing

Lunch

The presentations

The meetings

The research

The second coffee

The big decisions

The printer error

Home time

Bed time

Repeat.

2016

noreply@blogger.com (Emily Fox) — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 13:44:00 +0000

Hello and a Happy New Year to you!

2016 was a busy year for me and I wanted to share a few highlights. For starters, my Dad returned home after a 18 month stint in hospital. My family adjusted to life with disability, undoubtedly the best bit being Dad's new mobility scooter - a thing of wonder, providing hours of entertainment.

Over summer I decided to make the most of flexible Freelance holiday and managed to get away hiking in both Norway and the Swiss Alps. It was just the dose of nature I needed to recharge my creative batteries.

A happy Emily on a Norwegian mountain top 👌

With the help of my Mum I rediscovered some of my earlier works (i.e. clearing out the attic). It was a real joy going over my old artwork, I recommend digging out your old stuff - if you can find it! I'm particularly proud of this peacock:

(the Dino-foot picture isn't bad either)

On the work side of things, 2016 proved to be a hectic year. I finished off illustrating my second picture book with the wonderful Michelle Robinson. It's called 'Monkey's Sandwich' and will be publishing in Febuary 2017 with Harper Collins. It was an absolute pleasure illustrating Monkey's mischievous shenanigans and I can't wait to see it out in the wild. Keep your eyes peeled!

'Elephant's Pyjamas', the first book I illustrated for Michelle, made it to the small screen in December. It was read on CBeebies as a bedtime story and I was pretty excited to see Ele appear on TV! Alas, I didn't have the foresight to take a quick snap, so this poorly Photoshopped recreation will have to do:

Seems legitimate, right? 🤓

2016 also saw the end of the 'Fox Investigates' series, written by the talented Adam Frost and published by Stripes. I've had so much fun illustrating these hilarious stories and can't recommend them enough. Here's the last 3 books of the series:

Watch out for 'A Dash of Poison' publishing in February 2017.

Towards the end of the year I also had the opportunity to work on a picture book with the brilliant Vicki Hargreaves from the Commotion Dance company. The book called 'Where Is Christmas' accompanied Commotion's Christmas Performance of the same title. After a very animal filled year, it was nice to draw some some human-beans!

So that pretty much sums up my year. I also just want to say thanks for all the continued support, it's greatly appreciated. Here's to a 2017 filled with more stories, drawing and travel. Let the good times roll! 👍✌️

Bologna Book Fair 2016

noreply@blogger.com (Emily Fox) — Tue, 12 Apr 2016 16:36:00 +0000

This year I decided to visit the Bologna Children's Book Fair. It's been three years since I last went as a final year student back in 2013. It was a hugely different experience this time round, I had more industry experience, more work in my portfolio and an excellent Agent to go with.

I found walking around the halls a bit overwhelming. There are so many Publishers and different disciplines. It really made me consider where I fit in the picture. Where does my work fit now? Where could I take my work in the future? Where do I want my work to go in the future?

It was great to chat to everyone and especially nice to meet so many new people. I really appreciated the feedback and guidance on my work, especially book ideas. I took a couple of new book ideas with me.

I had a mad rush preparing promo material, but I'm glad I had something to leave behind. I thought the penguins looked quite funny on teenie-tiny postcards. Anyway, here's a snap of the 'Illustrators wall'. By the time I arrived at the fair on Monday afternoon the whole wall had been filled with Illustrator's posters, postcards and business cards. My work had to squeeze in here on the floor!

Visiting Bologna was also a thinly veiled excuse for a holiday. It was great to stay with my lovely Agent in the historical city centre, I mean check out the view from the balcony. Bellissimo!

I also managed a sneaky weekend by Lake Como.

P.S. I also saw this original Ralph Steadman Alice in Wonderland artwork. Nice!

Peter Pan

noreply@blogger.com (Emily Fox) — Thu, 24 Mar 2016 13:36:00 +0000

I re-read Peter Pan a little while ago and decided to draw a few things Neverland, just for fun. Anyway, this is what I came up with!

2015, in a nutshell

noreply@blogger.com (Emily Fox) — Mon, 04 Jan 2016 12:52:00 +0000

It's been a while since I last updated. Back in January my Dad was admitted to hospital for major brain surgery to remove a Cavernoma. Thankfully the operation went well and he has spent the last year recovering in hospital. I've kept my head down because there has been so much to deal with and so much to do. 12 months later Dad is still in hospital, but I'm very pleased to say he is well on the road to recovery.

(a few Dad snaps)

Maybe I've noticed it more this year because of family worries, but working as a Freelance Artist can be tough - even with a brilliant agent! There's a pressure to line up the next job, balance part time work, keep your finances in check and taxes paid. For a while I was questioning whether my work was good enough? I fell into the trap of comparing myself to other illustrators, artists, even my friends. But what I wanted to say in this blog post is just how much I appreciate my job. It's amazing how drawing can be a hobby, therapy and an income. It feels good to be paid for doing something you love.

I've had the opportunity to work on some wonderful books throughout the year. I've been illustrating a short series of chapter books by Adam frost called Fox Investigates. Here are the first 3 books:

I was also lucky enough to illustrate a picture brilliant book called Elephant's Pyjamas by Michelle Robinson. It was a real pleasure to work on and I can't wait to see it in the wild.

I had an exciting end to 2015. In November I went on a last minute trip to Korea and Japan. I've wanted to see the autumn colours for a long while and the time felt right. I'm so glad I went. It reminded me just how big the world is and reawakened my spirit of adventure. It was like somebody pressed a reset button in my brain and I was back to my normal self.

I guess what I am working my up to is a huge thank you. Thanks to everyone who has helped me through this year. I don't want to be soppy, but your kindness has meant an awful lot.

Seals

noreply@blogger.com (Emily Fox) — Tue, 14 Jul 2015 20:47:00 +0000

:-)

Frogs, Fireflies, Flamingos and Fish

noreply@blogger.com (Emily Fox) — Tue, 31 Mar 2015 11:01:00 +0000

Hello all, 2015 is proving to be a busy year. Hopefully I'll soon be able to show you what I've been up to. In the meantime, here's a couple of recent artworks. Just some creative play!

Studio

noreply@blogger.com (Emily Fox) — Tue, 27 Jan 2015 17:05:00 +0000

After a rocky start to the year (with a very poorly Dad in hospital) I've realised my escape is the studio. It's a place where I can be happy and creative - and being there just cheers me up! So here's a little homage to my happy place...

Wedding Invitations

noreply@blogger.com (Emily Fox) — Tue, 25 Nov 2014 14:55:00 +0000

Hello all! Recently I had the pleasure of designing wedding invitations for one of my nearest and dearest friends. It was so nice to work on something more 'grown up' and certainly something I'd like to do again. I also discovered I actually quite enjoy shopping for envelopes... Rock and roll!

Anyway, here they are

Online Shop

noreply@blogger.com (Emily Fox) — Thu, 02 Oct 2014 11:03:00 +0000

I've decided to open a small online shop, due to popular demand. Small enough to fit in a box even!

I will sell 4 original designs as digitally printed greetings cards, which will be ready to dispatch in 1-3 working days.

I will also sell each design in packs of 5 at a reduced rate, if you want to grab a bargain!

Please find my online shop here: www.emilyafox.co.uk/shop

Happy shopping!