Madi Illustration.

Illustration Friday | Shadow.

noreply@blogger.com (Madi ♡) — Wed, 27 Nov 2013 10:32:00 +0000

Shadow puppets!

A little collaged illo for Illustration Friday; the topic this week is shadow. This illustration was taken from a page in my children's book I'm A Little Bit Scared Of...

Illustration Friday | Children.

noreply@blogger.com (Madi ♡) — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 13:23:00 +0000

We have a blackboard wall in our new kitchen. Last week, whilst attempting to entertain my best friend's little girl, I handed her a piece of chalk and she became totally absorbed in her drawings. It wasn't until about halfway through our little art session that I realised the possible negative consequences of teaching a toddler that it's okay to draw on the walls! There were a few times I had to prevent her from wandering into our hallway and decorating all our walls with her scribbles, so I'm hoping she won't be left unoccupied with crayons at home!

This week's theme for Illustration Friday is children. This is an image that was originally created as part of my children's book I'm A Little Bit Scared Of... The creativity of young children has always inspired me, as their drawings always show such incredible imagination, and I really enjoyed creating characters and drawings in a child-like style.

Communication Arts | Award of Excellence.

noreply@blogger.com (Madi ♡) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 19:56:00 +0000

You may remember that earlier this year, i announced that my Monster Alphabet hand-created typography had been chosen as one of the winning entries for Communication Arts' Typography Annual 3. The annual was published in January, and my collage typography was featured inside. I was also informed that, in addition to receiving a copy of the annual, each winning entrant would receive an Award of Excellence; an actual trophy! I was pretty excited to receive this beauty in the post this morning;

Eeeeee! An actual shiny trophy engraved with my name! Now i just have to find somewhere to put it...

GETINCASED | Illustrated phone cases.

noreply@blogger.com (Madi ♡) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 01:08:00 +0000

My illustrated iPhone cases have been available from my Society6 shop for a while, and during that time i've recieved various queries as to whether my phone case designs were available for other makes of phones too. Unfortunately they weren't at the time and, as I hated to disappoint people, i've always been looking into away to make this possible.

I'm now very excited to announce that my illustrated phone cases are available from GETINCASED! Yay! There are lots of different designs available for a range of phones - iPhones, Samsungs and Blackberrys!

I actually ordered a couple of my own designs; my favourites - the squirrel and the hedgehog; for my own phone; a Samsung Galaxy S2. It probably makes me a littttle bit of loser parading about with my own illustrated case adorning my phone, but this seemed like the perfect opportunity to try the cases out for myself so I could review the quality, plus I reallyyy wanted a cute woodland creature case for my phone! :)

I was very excited as my phone cases were delivered super quickly, and i'm very pleased with them. The quality of the cases are lovely - they seem fairly flexible but also feel very durable and strong. The cases themselves fit my phone perfectly and were very easy to fit, and the image quality is very high, which means the illustrations are beautifully clear, even all the tiny details! I'd definitely recommend them. :)

You can have a peek at my full range of phone case designs here! There's free shipping on all orders for all you lovelies who live in the UK, plus there's currently 10% off ALL your orders for my illustrated phone cases - yippee! Just use the code madiillustration at the checkout.

My phone is now encased in a super cute illustrated squirrel phone case! Love it!

Dorset Libraries | I'm A Little Bit Scared Of...

noreply@blogger.com (Madi ♡) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 07:52:00 +0000

A few weeks before Christmas, I decided to drop a copy of my children's picture book I'm A Little Bit Scared Of... into my local library in the little town of Blandford. I thought it would a way to share the book with a wider audience of children who may not otherwise have a chance to enjoy it, and also it would be pretty awesome to know that my book would be available to borrow by little ones throughout Dorset.

I was told that before the book could be borrowed, it would have to be added to the library catalogue, so i've been waiting, a little impatiently, until earlier this week when i found out that it had been added. Eeeee!

My book can now be found in, and borrowed from, the children's section at Blandford Library. It can also be requested from other Dorset libraries, so if you live in the area, why not have a peek?

If you're not local, and would like to borrow my book from your local library, you could always suggest it as a book they may like to purchase - if they get enough requests, you never know!

noreply@blogger.com (Madi ♡) — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 19:15:00 +0000

Earlier this week, I discovered illustrator Stephanie O'Hearne's lovely blog. I was having a little read through her posts, and amongst them I came across an awesome little post all about creating your own handwritten font! I have always wanted to design my own font, but quite honestly, I had absolutely no idea how. When I saw a link to a free online tool that makes it possible to design your own unique font using your handwriting, I was desperate to have a little try!

Yesterday afternoon was the perfect opportunity to try it out, and the process turned out to be incredibly straightforward. All you have to do is pop over to this website, print out a copy of the template, and fill in all the letters with a medium-thick black pen. Once finished, you scan the completed template, upload it, wait a few minutes and BOOM your very own font all ready to download! The best part is that, because it's based on your handwriting, it's guaranteed to be totally original. Yay!

[Yes, I even really did create little heart and star symbols as part of my font, I'm cool like that. Ha.]

I recommend experimenting with the thickness of pen you use to fill in the template, as it affects the boldness of the resulting font. My first font was originally written out using a medium-thick black marker pen; for the second, I used a fine-line black rollerball pen. I prefer the second font that I created, as the first is a little too heavy, although it may be useful if I require a bolder font one day.

I often struggle to incorporate text into an illustration, not in terms of composition, but because I usually find it difficult an appropriate font. The fonts I try never seem to suit the illustrations they are accompanying. I think this was a big part of the reason I originally began creating my own typography by hand; it was a way to create a style of text that I felt fit with the style of the imagery, as both were hand-created using a similar process. I tend to prefer the appearance of a more hand-created font, as it gives an illustration a sense of fluidity if image and text are of a similar style. Hand-created lettering has become my favourite way of adding text to an image, but there are occasions when cut-out or hand-drawn fonts are really suitable. I think this is a tool that I would definitely consider using if I required a proper printed font; it would be especially appropriate adding text to a children's picture book, as it has a fairly formal appearance, whilst still retaining a playful, handwritten appearance.

Illustration Friday | Storm.

noreply@blogger.com (Madi ♡) — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 15:48:00 +0000

I'm a little bit scared of thunder when it's loud and crashy.

I haven't submitted an illustration for Illustration Friday for a super long time, but after popping over to the website earlier today, I noticed that this week's topic is storm. Admittedly, I created the full-version of this image quite a while ago - it's a section of one of the double-page spreads in my illustrated children's picture book I'm A Little Bit Scared Of... - but it just seemed to fit the them perfectly.

Peeking through the window, watching a storm crash and rage outside whilst you're all safe and snuggled inside is definitely the best way to spend a storm; it's easy to run and hide if it gets a little bit too loud and crashy...

Tigerprint | Valentine's Banner.

noreply@blogger.com (Madi ♡) — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 12:27:00 +0000

A few days ago, I noticed that Tigerprint were inviting creatives to design a love-inspired banner, which would then be featured on their website over the Valentine's period. The only requirement was that the words We Are Tigerprint had to be included in the design. I decided to play with some of the Valentine's themed images I'd previously created, and composed this pretty, pink banner; a collage and mixed-media design, featuring two elegant flamingoes, and lots of cute love-hearts! Aww.

You can see my banner, plus a handful of other lovely designs, being shown in rotation on Tigerprint's homepage, or have a little look here to view all the submissions at once; there are some really pretty designs included, so I'd definitely recommend having a peek!

#SBS Winner!

noreply@blogger.com (Madi ♡) — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 18:30:00 +0000

If you have a Twitter account, you may be aware of Theo Paphitis' Small Business Sunday. Basically, each Sunday evening, small businesses are invited to send a tweet to Theo, including the hashtag #SBS, with a little description of their business. The following evening, Theo then retweets six of these businesses, and they are the weeks' winners. Due to the amount of followers that Theo has, it can provide a massive increase in followers, and therefore help promote your business.

I've been participating in this for a number of months, watching other small businesses win each week, and never really expecting anything to come of it. Last night, I noticed I suddenly had loads of new followers. It took me a few moments to realise that my tweet had been retweeted by Theo, and that Madi Illustration was one of this weeks' #SBS winners! Eeeeee! Super exciting!

I think I was a little bit in shock for a while; it was really hard to believe that I'd been chosen, and it took quite a while to sink in! It's pretty incredible to think that my little illustration business was chosen out of all those tweets, and I feel very proud to receive this recognition. I gained about 100 followers overnight, and the amount of congratulatory tweets, and welcomes from previous #SBS winners, has been totally crazy; I spent most of last night and this morning reading through, and replying to, all the lovely messages!

My profile has also been added to Theo's SBS website; you can have a little peek here.

Valentine's cards 2013 ♥

noreply@blogger.com (Madi ♡) — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 22:02:00 +0000

If you follow me on Twitter, or have had a peek at my shop lately, you may have noticed that I now have a new little collection of illustrated cards for sale! I've spent the past few weeks working away designing them, squealing with delight when they arrived, and then photographing them alongside pretty pink roses and loveheart sweets with super cute messages. Caught in a swirl of hearts and petals, I only just realised I haven't shared any of my new designs on my blog, and with Valentine's day only a few days away, it seems like the ideal time to give you a little peek! Even better is that there's still time to order one, and avoid a last-minute panic in Tesco, fighting over the last card left on the shelf!

These are the three new designs;

P.s I Love You Typewriter Illustrated Card.

Flamingo Love Illustrated Valentine's Card.

You're My Favourite Illustrated Card.

You may recognise my Flamingo Love design - it is an illustration I created a few years ago, but given the imagery, it seemed perfect to adapt into a Valentine's card. The design is also currently available to purchase as a signed print, or as a pretty illustrated pocket mirror - both of which would make lovely Valentine's gifts, if you're looking to earn yourself some extra brownie points this year! The You're My Favourite design is actually one I've been meaning to create for a while, so I'm pleased that I finally got round to it. The composition of this card proved to be a bit of a nightmare though, with two different layouts for the text, and almost equally split preferences between everyone I asked! It was a difficult, and last-minute, decision to decide which version to have printed - I was even a little nervous opening the parcel from the printers - but I'm very happy with the final result!

Of course, my other existing cards are still available too, and my Happily Ever After card is proving to be incredibly popular as a Valentine's card - romance clearly isn't dead! It's the perfect way to let that special someone know that they are the prince or princess at the end of your fairytale. Aww.

Happily Every After Illustrated Valentine's Card.

If You Were A Crayon... Illustrated Card.

The collection of cards available are pretty broad, ranging from super romantic and meaningful designs, to ones which take a more cute, quirky and playful approach; so whether you're selecting a card for the love of your life or your secret crush, you're sure to find one suitable! I'm sure your partner deserves to be treated to a pretty illustrated card, plus you can help support independent designers in the process. Yay! :]

So, where can you buy one? All five cards can be purchased in both my Etsy shop and my NOTHS shop, and are all now available to purchase with a 'send direct to recipient' option. This means that if you'd prefer, I can post your card of choice straight to your Valentine, complete with a handwritten message of your choice! It's the perfect option if you're buying a card last-minute, live overseas, or would like your identity as an admirer to remain a secret...

♥

Madi | 50 Facts About Me.

noreply@blogger.com (Madi ♡) — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 16:59:00 +0000

I was inspired, initially by the lovely Anna-Jane Searle, and then by the handful of illustrators and designers who followed suit, to write this post - a list of 50 facts that you may not know about me. I love reading lifestyle-type blogs, and really admire bloggers who manage to find a balance between posting about their work, and also more personal life-style stuff. I generally tend to hold back from writing much about myself, assuming that no-one is going to be interested in reading about anything other than the illustrations I create. However, I thought I'd give you all a chance to find out a little more about the girl behind the illustrations;

1. I don't have a middle name. I'm secretly jealous of anyone who does.

2. My Grandmother could touch her nose with her tounge. I have inherited this ability.

3. I'm the only person I know, apart from my brother, who hasn't been christened.

4. I have always wanted to own a tortoise. I plan to buy one, and name him Sparky.

5. I'm 5' 7", and really wish I was shorter.

6. I am not confident enough to leave the house without wearing make-up.

7. I have an irrational fear of answering the telephone, and an even worse fear of calling people. There are only a select few people that I feel comfortable talking to on the phone.

8. I used to collect keyrings, and have two whole shoe-boxes full.

9. My boyfriend and I have been together since just before my 18th birthday. His name is Daniel. It will be our 8 year anniversary in July.

10. I plan to visit Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Canada as soon as I possibly can.

11. I wish I was able to speak as eloquently as I am able to write.

12. My first memory is falling in a river when I was four. My father didn't jump in the river to save me. I saved myself.

13. I have worn odd socks every day since the age of fourteen. Even the thought of wearing matching socks makes me feel uncomfortable.

14. I still suck my thumb when I'm at home. Interestingly, I didn't suck my thumb as a baby. I started when I was six.

15. My hair is naturally blonde. Everyone assumes it's dyed and I am constantly asked, even by hairdressers, where I get it coloured.

16. Throughout school, I was always the only kid in my class to have never had a filling. I still haven't had one, although it doesn't feel like quite so much of an achievement since the dentist stopped giving me stickers.

17. It makes me angry when people refuse to learn how to spell my name correctly.

18. My full name is Madeleine. I have given up all hope of people learning to spell that correctly!

19. If I had been born a boy, I would have been named Garth. This fact alone is enough to make me glad I was born a girl.

20. I can recite the film My Girl word for word.

21. I use Father Ted quotes and references on a daily basis in conversations. It's not until people look at me blankly that I remember that not everyone knows the scripts of every episode by heart.

22. Although I have lived in Dorset since the age of four, my extended family all still live in the North of England. As a young child, I had a strong northern accent, but I lost it after years of living in the south. Despite this, I still pronounce a lot of words in a way that people down here tell me is wrong.

23. I became an auntie at the age of one-and-a-half.

24. When I was younger, I was desperate to break my wrist - I really wanted a cast so my friends could draw on it. Despite this, I have never broken a bone in my body. I have also since lost the desire to break my wrist.

25. My favourite numbers are seven and eleven. I dislike even numbers.

26. I have big issues with incorrect grammar - the misuse of apostrophes in particular. I would happily walk around with a red marker pen in my pocket to correct all incorrect grammar and misspelt words I see in public (but my boyfriend says I'm not allowed to).

27. I judge people who don't know which version of there/their/they're or you're/your to use when writing. Sorry.

28. I think capital letters are ugly, and would be happier if they didn't exist. Due to my hatred of incorrect grammar, I force myself to use them when necessary, yet I think sentences look prettier when written entirely in lower-case.

29. I have a scar on my forehead from where my brother, aged one, threw a house-shaped plastic money box at my head, and cut it open.

30. I unintentionally stick my tongue out the corner of my mouth when I'm really concentrating.

31. I despise the colour yellow. I realise it's not rational to actually hate a colour, but I genuinely cannot stand it.
32. I went through a goth stage when I was a teenager. Luckily, there seems to be no photographic evidence of this period of my life. A goth with blonde hair was never going to work out well...

33. When people find out I own my own house at such a young age, they always tell me I'm lucky. If they knew the reason why I own a house, they'd realise I'm not as lucky as they think.

34. I am a vegetarian.

35. I am very scared of dogs, especially big bitey teeth dogs, and small yappy bouncy types.

36. I was formally diagnosed with Anorexia about five years ago, but have struggled with disordered eating since the age of fifteen. My eating disorder dominates my life every single day, yet I am often wary to mention it for fear of being judged.
37. My favourite three comedians are Eddie Izzard, Richard Ayoade and Noel Fielding. I am going to watch Eddie Izzard perform live for the second time in May.

38. I have double-jointed thumbs. I can make my left one click/pop in a weird way which freaks people out.

39. I find it much easier to cross my little finger and ring finger, than the usual index finger and middle finger.

40. I used to be addicted to Pepsi Max, and would drink between two to four litres a day.

41. I don't know which way is left and which way is right without resorting to using my hands.

42. Contrary to popular opinion, not all illustrators like tea. I, for one, do not.

43. I am a perfectionist by nature. This means I am incredibly self-critical about my illustration work, and constantly doubt my ability. I am unable to look at a single piece of my work without focussing on the flaws.

44. There is a star in the sky named after me.

45. I am fairly certain that my life would be a whole lot easier if the whole world became nocturnal. Either that, or I should have been born as a fox. My best illustrations are always created in the middle of the night.

46. If I'm at home, you can pretty much guarantee that I will be wearing my pyjamas. This is not dependent on the time of day, so can be slightly awkward if the doorbell rings mid-afternoon.

47. I have never smoked a cigarette in my life.

48. I have learnt to knit three times in my life. I have also forgotten how to knit three times in my life.

49. I am incredibly socially awkward, and painfully shy with people I don't know, but once I know someone better, it's actually impossible to shut me up. I have been this way since I was a child.

50. My favourite punctuation mark is the semi-colon.

Ta-dah! I'd love to find out a random fact about you, or perhaps we have something in common? Let me know! It will make me smile if you leave a comment. :] Also, if you'd like to read more personal-type posts on my blog - or if you're entirely against the idea - please tell me. I'm interested to know the types of posts you all like to read best. :]

Incredible Illustrators | Anna Walker

noreply@blogger.com (Madi ♡) — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 16:02:00 +0000

One of the best parts about working in a book shop is that I have the chance to sort out, and display, the picture books. Obviously that means I need to have a peek through them all - my method of arranging involves displaying the books which have awesome illustrations, in addition to a selection of classic picture books I remember from my childhood, and any others I'm not so keen on are put back in the picture book pile. This has caused me to discover a number of children's illustrators whom I wasn't previously aware of. On my very first day at work last autumn, I fell in love with a couple of children's picture books - both of which were illustrated by Anna Walker. A little bit of research when I got home taught me that Anna is an australian illustrator, with a BA in Graphic Design, who has illustrated many books for children. Despite the fact that the books were very reasonably priced, I somehow managed to talk myself out of buying them week after week - I don't really need them etc - but then they were added to our January sale and, at only £1 each, it really would have been silly not to buy them!

The books I bought are entitled Yummy Ice-Cream and Let's Play House; both are from a series of books which feature three main characters - a panda, a sheep and an owl.

I was immediately drawn to these books due to the collaged aspects on the front cover - textures always seem to capture my eye, as they stand out against flat backgrounds. I had a quick peek inside the books, and totally fell in love with illustrations - a juxtaposition between the simplistic - and incredibly cute! - style of the characters and the collaged aspects, made up of a range of different fabrics. My work tends to be very intricately collaged, to the point where if you glance at a print of the original illustration, the textures and colours of the different papers used to create it are not always noticeable. In contrast, the illustrations in these book incorporate bold cut-out shapes of patterned fabric, and they stand out strongly against the subdued neutral colours of the ink characters and pale pastel-coloured backgrounds. Have a peek at some of the beautiful images for yourself;

I love how beautifully the textures of the fabrics are captured - the delicate weave of certain materials, and the individual frayed threads along the edges of the collaged shapes, are clearly visible - to the point that you want to reach out and brush away a stray thread, or feel the texture of the fabric beneath your fingertips. It gives the illustrations a certain depth and tactility that wouldn't exist in the otherwise flat, inked images.

The storylines of the books are simple, yet they both follow a narrative which sees the three characters playing together, sharing and having fun. Personally, I think the text inside the books would fit better with the style of the illustrations if it ... more hand-drawn style - perhaps similar to the style of text used on the first page of each book - but that might just be me and my love of hand-created lettering!

I'd actually quite like to buy myself a couple of the other books in the series, although I think I'm going to have to give one of these two books to my best friends' little girl. Pandas are her current favourite, so she will adore these books - I saw her yesterday, and she fell in love with my Topshop panda-face socks, so this seems like too much of an opportunity to miss! She can just about say panda-bear, and it's the cutest thing ever. ♥

Communication Arts | Typography Annual 3.

noreply@blogger.com (Madi ♡) — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 22:13:00 +0000

Having entered the AOI Images competition in the past, and never had any success, I have become a little wary of entering competitions which have an expensive entry fee. Last autumn, I debated whether to enter Communication Arts' Typography Competition - I think my hand-created typography tends to be pretty distinctive, so I thought it might catch the judges' eyes, but I didn't want to waste money. In the end I decided to take the chance, and ended up entering right at the last minute. I entered my collaged Monster Alphabet typography into the unpublished category.

In October, I was pretty surprised to receive an email telling me that my entry had been picked as one of 154 projects out of 1934 entries to appear in Communication Arts' Typography Annual 2013! Eeee! I only ordered my copy of the annual a few days ago, and was actually super surprised that it arrived so fast! Inside, amongst a whole range of inspirational typographic work, I found my Monster Alphabet!

Communication Arts' third Typography Annual features work from 21 different countries, and there's some really beautiful work included. I think it's possible to view the winning projects on Communication Arts' website, or you can buy yourself a copy of the annual here (it's super thick, so definitely worth it, plus it has that lovely freshly-printed-magazine smell. Yum). It's a must-have for anyone interested in typography or hand-lettering - my favourites include projects in the typeface design category, and also some of the calligraphy. In particular, I love this screen-print which was created by Office;

I was also pretty excited to find out that in addition to having my work printed in the Typography Annual, I will also receive an Award of Excellence - an actual trophy! Aces.

Incredible Illustrators | Brian Wildsmith.

noreply@blogger.com (Madi ♡) — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 16:21:00 +0000

As I mentioned in the first of my Incredible Illustrator posts, I recently treated myself a pretty big stash of beautifully illustrated picture books - they were originally on my Christmas list, but after the boy and I decided we were only going to spend a limited amount on each other this year, I wanted them so bad I ended up buying them for myself! The majority of the books I bought were written and illustrated by Brian Wildsmith. Many of these are out of print now, as they were all printed in the 70s and 80s, long ago before I was even born (!!) but I was lucky enough to find copies of most of the titles I wished to purchase, and luckily all the second-hand ones I bought are still in lovely condition.

I was initially drawn to Brian Wildsmith's work after coming across some of his squirrel illustrations a few months ago. My total love of squirrels is no secret, so you can imagine how excited I was to discover that Wildsmith had created a picture book entitled Squirrels - a whole book dedicated to my favourite animal, and completely packed with Wildsmith's beautiful squirrel illustrations - I had to have a copy!

I have to admit that since it has arrived, I haven't taken a great deal of notice of the text in the book - although it did amaze me to discover that squirrels can swim! - I've been far too busy looking at all the pictures! I could happily spend hours looking at the illustrations - they're beautiful, and many of them - the snowy little fella above in particular - I would happily frame and hang on my wall.

These are some of my favourite illustrations from the book Squirrels (I've tried not to get too carried away, honest!)

Cutest ever!

I love how some of the animals are illustrated in great detail, with defined brushstrokes for specific hairs in a squirrel's tail or whiskers, whereas others - such as the squirrels in the illustration below - appear a little more abstract and less defined - almost softer in appearance. This variation in style seems to continue throughout the books.

As you can see in the above images, the techniques Wildsmith uses to create his illustrations is vast - paint layered upon paint, splattered paint, crayon layered over paint, collaged paper. These techniques create the most incredible bold and intense backgrounds for his illustrations, vivid and colourful. This is particularly evident in the images below, where the range of materials and techniques employed are clear to see;

Although the squirrels are definitely my favourites, I also want to share with you some of my favourite illustrations from a few of Wildsmith's other picture books - these are entitled Brian Wildsmith's Animal Gallery, The Owl and the Woodpecker and Professor Noah's Spaceship. All the animals are in gorgeous detail, and their facial expressions seem to give them little personalities of their own. Each illustration is so complex, and with individual brushstrokes and different mark-making evident in the images, they draw you in and make you want to look closer.

Woodland creatures are my favourites at the moment - in addition to squirrels, I also adore hedgehogs, foxes and owls - and the illustrations featured below are perfect! I love the tiny details in the images, such as the interaction between the different species of animals, and also all the little added details on certain pages - teeny tiny frogs and insects and creatures crawling around the bases of trees. So cute, and it displays the amount of thought obviously put into the composition of each page.

Although this post naturally focuses mainly on the illustrations in Brian Wildsmith's picture books, the stories that these images accompany are sweet, although slightly retro in style. I am especially fond of the fact that the stories often see every type of animals - different sizes and shapes and colours - all working together, and living in harmony amongst each other. Although this may not be true to life, it's lovely to see - a raccoon causally chatting with a mouse, or frogs and butterflies frolicking together happily - such situations are sure to spark a child's imagination. The intense colour and vividness of the illustrations are sure to appeal to children, and the gorgeous animal illustrations are perfect for introducing children to different animals of the world. At the rate that I am currently adding to my beautiful-picture-books-for-my-future-children collection, we're soon going to have to buy yet another bookcase!

Little Monster's Colouring Competition | Winner!

noreply@blogger.com (Madi ♡) — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 15:13:00 +0000

Wow, so I realise I'm a few days late in announcing the winner of my Little Monster's Colouring Competition, but I really didn't expect to find it quite so difficult to choose a winner! I genuinely loved every single entry I received (have a peek at all the entries in my Little Monster Colouring Gallery - I promise you won't be disappointed!). Each entry was so creative, and it was so lovely to see how each child coloured the same colouring sheet so differently. I loved seeing the different colours and materials each child had chosen to use - each was so individual. I have been mulling over my decision for the past few days, but I have finally come to a conclusion!

So, I am very happy to say that the winning entry is....

This colourful artwork is by Joelle, aged 5. I love the huge range of colours she has used in her entry, and also the fact that she added her own little drawings to the picture too - so cute! A super big well done to Joelle, and I really hope you enjoy the copy of my picture book that I'll be popping in the post to you later today!

This colouring competition is one of the best things I have ever done, as it allowed me to see children interacting with my illustrated colouring sheet; putting their own stamp on it and expressing themselves creatively - every time I received a new entry, it made me super happy smiley! I'd like to say a massive thank you to every child who took part - I love each and every one of your entries, and I really hope you will continue to colour and doodle and draw and enjoy being creative. I'd also like to thank the parents who printed out the colouring sheet and sent me photos of your little ones' artwork!

Although this competition has now ended, the Monster Elf colouring sheet, along with a range of other monster-themed colouring sheets, is still available from the freebies section of my blog - please feel free to download copies and colour them in. I'd love to see your artwork when you've finished, so please send me photos if you can!

2012 | A round up of the year.

noreply@blogger.com (Madi ♡) — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 15:56:00 +0000

Happy New Year! It seems like only months ago that I was writing my round-up post for 2011 - this year seems to have zoomed past! I've been meaning to write this post for the last few days, so apologies that I didn't manage to do so before the arrival of 2013. So today, at the very beginning of a new year, it seems like the perfect opportunity to reflect on the past year, look back at the creative goals that I made at the end of last year, and see whether I have achieved what I had hoped to this year.

During 2012, I have;

after much deliberation, I opened my NOTHS shop in January, and have made just over 130 sales during 2012.
seen my Etsy shop celebrate its first birthday in February, and have made another 30 sales during the year. I also added a range of new products to my shop over the course of the year - above all, my illustrated tote bags seem to have proved popular!
reached over 150 sales in my Society6 shop.
secured myself a part-time job in a bookshop, which I adore (and although it's not a creative job as I had hoped for, it does mean I can look through beautifully illustrated picture books whenever I please, and this makes me happy!)
had my first illustration properly published in Lionheart Magazine - a real-life magazine that people can buy!
completed proper paid commissions (which I guess, based on last year's round-up post, means I can now actually call myself an illustrator!)
taken part in the May Draw A Day challenge, which pushed me to keep myself motivated to create a small illustration every single day for a month, and to post images on my blog which were not perfectly finished to my usual high standards - this was a massive challenge for me.
had my work for sale in two online shops (Crafty Little Herberts and The Green Door Bookshop), plus my book for sale in a real brick-and-mortar shop in my hometown.
taken part in my first craft fair which, although not quite as successful as I had hoped, has made me determined to take part in more.
re-designed my business cards so they include my current logo, and are more in keeping with the design of my website.
taken a copy of my picture book to my local library - it will soon be available for children to borrow.

Also, although not a creative achievement, my boyfriend and I bought our first house together in the autumn of 2012 - definitely the biggest step in my life so far. We even went sofa shopping on boxing day, which I think means we are actual proper grown-ups. We are currently still working on our new house, but will hopefully be moving in during the spring - I will keep you updated on my new studio, with lots of photos once we've moved in!

Looking back at my list of creative goals for 2012, a handful remain uncompleted - yet at the same time, I have achieved many things that I didn't plan to. I have certainly learnt a few valuable lessons this year - a recent one being that I must stop being so trusting of people. I will certainly not be making the same mistake of completing work for someone who then refuses to pay me for it. In terms of making a list of goals for 2013, I don't think I'll be quite as specific as last year. Similar to making a list of new years' resolutions, it just opens you up for failure, and I really don't need to provide myself with more opportunities to feel that way. Unfortunately, my mood and stupid eating-disordered-head still influence my life on a daily basis, and prevent me from creating work as often as I wish I could, but that's the way things are at the moment, and I don't want to start another year beating myself up about it.

During 2013, I would most like to work on projects which will mean my illustrations will be interacted with by children. From the very start of my aspirations to become an illustrator, it was always children I wanted to illustrate for and, despite creating illustrations for a whole range of different audiences over the past few years, it is still the work I create for children which makes me happiest. My recent children's colouring competition is definitely the big highlight of my year - it is one of the best things I have ever done, as it allowed me to see children interacting with my illustrated colouring sheet; putting their own stamp on it and expressing themselves creatively. I loved every single entry I received; seeing the colours and materials each child had chosen to use, and the messages I recieved from their parents saying their little ones had enjoyed themselves whilst creating their artwork were incredible. Children's books and colouring pages and encouraging children to be creative are definitely the direction I'd like to go.

Also, as I expressed in a recent post, I hope to update this blog more regularly; not only with my own illustrations, but with the work of others' who inspire me - I hope this will make you all want to keep reading! I'd love to hear any feedback about anything you'd like to see or read about on my blog - any ideas would be very welcome! :]

Finally, a massive thank you to all of you who have supported me during 2012; every single one of you who reads and comments on my blog, those of you who have liked my facebook page or followed me on Twitter, and all of you who have bought items from any of my shops. All of you, I hope you have a very happy 2013. ♥

Monster Plushie Designs.

noreply@blogger.com (Madi ♡) — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 20:08:00 +0000

I thought I'd share a few little designs I've been working on this week. I was asked to create a possible design for a monster plushie and since drawing monsters is like, my favourite thing ever, I jumped at the chance! Actually really enjoyed designing these little cuties!

A few initial designs, experimenting with different colours and facial expressions;

I was then asked to make the monster a little smaller and a little cuter, and these were my ideas;

I'm actually a liiiiittle bit in love with the monster on the right and, as my designs aren't actually gonna be used, it's a shame I'm no good at sewing or I'd make it into a cute little plushie myself!

I'll leave you with a photo of me happily working away on the above designs - had to relocate to the bedroom, as my studio is currently super cold - proudly wearing my favourite illustrator clothes; pyjamas and my super awesome unicorn sweater!

Incredible Illustrators | Mark Hearld.

noreply@blogger.com (Madi ♡) — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 20:16:00 +0000

Up until now, my blog has primarily been focussed on the illustration work that I have created, but as I am currently only working part-time as an illustrator, this means that the creation of new illustrations isn't as regular as I'd like. Boo. I really want to be able to update my blog more often, and hopefully capture the interest of a few new readers! I've decided I am going to start writing some inspiration-based posts; I'll be sharing the work of a selection of my favourite illustrators, along with some of my favourite picture books, plus anything else that has been inspiring me. My blog will remain illustration-based, but in addition to displaying my own work, I hope that branching out and posting about illustrations that I admire will provide inspiration and hopefully allow you to discover the incredible work of other illustrators, some of whom you may not have been previously aware of.

A few nights ago, I decided to splash out and treat myself to couple of beautifully illustrated children's picture books. I've had my eye on a few for some time, and so of course I got a little carried away, and ending up buying quite a few!

The first to arrive was A First Book of Nature which is written by Nicola Davies and illustrated by Mark Hearld. I actually only discovered Mark Hearld's work very recently, but he's quickly become a new favourite. I happened to come across a beautiful squirrel card in a local shop and, as I completely adore squirrels, I did a little research on the artist, whose name I'd found on the back of the card. It turns out that Mark completed an MA in Natural History Illustration, so it is really no surprise that his work is very focused on the natural world - animals and birds and plants. Mark mainly creates prints, paintings and brightly-coloured collages, but I was delighted to discover that he had also illustrated a children's picture book and, with a beautiful red squirrel adorning the front cover, I knew I had to have it.

Quite honestly, A First Book of Nature is one of the most beautifully illustrated children's books I have ever come across (and trust me, I have looked at a lot of picture books). The book is much thicker than I imagined too, so it is literally crammed full of gorgeous illustrations. I'd love to share them all with you, especially as the book includes so many of my favourite woodland creatures, but I've tried not to go too crazy with the photos and only limit it to my very favourites;

The book explores the natural world throughout the four seasons, and the illustrations which accompany text about the winter months, or nocturnal animals, are definitely some of my favourites. I love how the white aspects of the images - the stars, or snow, or cobwebs - seem to glow against the darker background. The spiderlings page is one of the best in the entire book - the design of the page as a whole is so beautiful, with the spider silk so delicate and fragile-looking.

As an illustrator who creates collage and mixed media work myself, I tend to be naturally drawn to illustrators who create work using similar methods. Mark creates his work using a vast range of different materials - if you take a closer look at the images in the book (have a peek at the photos below), this range is clearly evident. You can clearly see the use of collage; the different cut out papers incorporate a range of colours, patterns and textures. Print making is also featured strongly, which is consistent with the linocut prints Mark also creates. The illustrations also include hand-drawn aspects, created from materials which appear to include paint, chalk, crayon, ink and coloured pencil. Not only the range of materials used, but the methods used to apply them add additional texture to the illustrations - in some images, paint has been applied with a sponge; in others, it has been splattered in a seemingly haphazard manner. This creates such detail in each image that I could happily lose hours of my life just looking at them.

Such bold and confident mark-making techniques, along with the combination of such a wide range of materials, creates illustrations with such an incredible visual impact - images which really bring the animals and creatures they depict to life. There are other examples of Mark's work which I like, especially a certain squirrel linograph print - but the collection of illustrations contained within the pages of A First Book of Nature are by far my very favourites.

There are certain picture books which you open, and instantly feel excited at the idea of having your own children one day, so that you can share it with them. I can imagine these illustrations being viewed in wonder through child-sized eyes - such a beautiful way to teach little ones about animals and the natural world. Definitely a book to be treasured - I'll be adding my copy to my shelf of picture books, along with a little selection of the ones I saved from my own childhood.

Little Monster's Gallery!

noreply@blogger.com (Madi ♡) — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 13:16:00 +0000

I have just received the very first entry for my Little Monster's Colouring Competition (and a very cute entry it is too)! As promised, I'm going to post all entries on my blog for everyone to admire, so this post will be added to as more artwork is received.

Little Monster's Colouring Gallery:

by Thomas, age 2 (with a little bit of help from his mummy).

by Clara, age 8.

Joint entry by Alex, age 5 and Alice, age 2.

by Ridley, age (almost) 2.

by Joshua, age 8.

by Daniel, age 6.

by Joelle, age 5.

by Bailey, age 4.

by Charlotte, age 9.

by Tia, age 6.

by Millie, age 4.

I would really love as many children as possible to get involved, so please spread the word, and if you don't have children yourself, consider asking any younger brothers, sisters or cousins if they'd like to enter. The winner will receive a signed copy of my illustrated children's picture book I'm A Little Bit Scared Of... For more details, and to find out how your little ones can enter my colouring competition, please see here.

Little Monster's Colouring Competition!

noreply@blogger.com (Madi ♡) — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 15:11:00 +0000

I recently designed a Christmas-themed monster colouring sheet, so I thought it would be a fun idea to organise a colouring competition for children! I was initially planning on giving away a copy of my picture book in my giveaway (see here if you would like to enter!), but I realised that actually I'd much rather ensure it was going to a new home where a child would be able to enjoy it - after all, that is who it was created for! I'd really love as many children as possible to get involved, so if you don't have children of your own, please share this with friends, family or any other little ones you know.

The competition is very easy to enter. Simply download the colouring sheet below, print out a copy, and let your little one to attack with his or her crayons. Once your child has finished, take as clear a photo as possible of their artwork, and either email or tweet it to me, along with the child's name and age. I'm going to set a guideline age limit of 9 years old, as I think that by that age, the book will probably be getting a little too young for children to enjoy. However, I'm not going to strictly enforce this age limit, so if you have a child who is a little older and still wants to get involved, then their entries are very welcome too! I will post all photos of the children's artwork on my blog, so everyone can admire their work.

The winning entry will receive a signed copy of my illustrated children's picture book I'm A Little Bit Scared Of... The judging of the entries will not be based on colouring ability, so please don't worry if your son or daughter is one of the younger children to enter - the prize won't be awarded based on the entrant's ability to colour within the lines. I'm much more interested in the children having fun whilst being creative, so please allow your children to be creative and express themselves and use whatever colours they like. Your child can also use any material they like to colour the image - they're not limited to using crayons if they'd prefer to use coloured pencils, felt tips etc.

As this is a busy time of year for everyone, I'm going to keep the competition running for a few weeks to give you, and your little ones, enough time to do their colouring - maybe a little activity to keep them occupied on a rainy day during the Christmas holidays! To be in with a chance of winning, entries must be received by New Year's Eve, and I will announce the winner on the first day of 2013!

I am really excited to see all the entries, so please spread the word and get involved!

Good luck to all your little monsters!

*I am also currently running an awesome giveaway for big grown-up people too - find out how to win lots of illustrated goodies here.

Super awesome giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (Madi ♡) — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 21:10:00 +0000

I've secretly been planning a giveaway for a while now, but I wanted to wait until I reached 1000 followers on Twitter before I told you all about it. I've been getting pretty impatient, but earlier today, I noticed that I had finallyyyy reached the 1000 follower mark! Yay! As a massive thank you to all of you for your support over the past few years, I have collected together a little bundle of illustrated goodies for one of you to win!

Here's a little peek at the goodies you could win;

The prize includes; A cotton tote bag printed with my owl illustration, a signed Dressing Up print, a signed mini Super Squirrel print, a pretty and pink Happily Ever After card, an illustrated pocket mirror, a set of three super cute postcards, a handmade little monster brooch and a signed original cupcake collaged illustration, which I created as part of the May Draw A Day Challenge earlier this year. Pretty awesome, huh?

The giveaway is veryyy simple to enter - just follow the steps below;

a Rafflecopter giveaway

As most of us are pretty busy at the moment, writing last minute Christmas cards and worrying about whether we've bought enough potatoes for the big day, I'm going to keep this giveaway open for a few weeks to give you all a chance to enter. The giveaway will close as the clock strikes twelve on New Year's Eve, with the lucky winner being announced on the first day of 2013 - hopefully setting someone's new year off to a happy start!

Good luck to all of yoooou! ♥

Santa's little helper...

noreply@blogger.com (Madi ♡) — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 17:50:00 +0000

A little Christmas treat for you all! Keep the little ones entertained over the Christmas holidays - or get yourself in the festive mood - with this cute Christmas-themed colouring-in sheet. Please feel free to download and print copies for your little monsters, or yourself, to attack with their crayons - remember; you're never too old for a little bit of colouring-in!

You're probably already aware that I eagerly snap up any opportunity to draw monsters, so the chance to draw a monster in an elf costume seemed too fun to miss! As always, I would love to see your artwork, so if you, or your little ones, do have a go at colouring in the cheeky little elf below, please send me a photo of your finished pictures, and I'll post them all on my blog for everyone to admire!

I hope you all have a fun, creative and monster-filled Christmas! Ho ho ho.

*Remember to check out the freebies page for more monster-themed colouring fun!

Shillingstone Christmas Bazaar.

noreply@blogger.com (Madi ♡) — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 19:47:00 +0000

I have had a little ambition to take part in a craft fair for quite a while, and this desire has only been enhanced by reading about, and seeing photographs of, other illustrators' and designers' experiences. My friend Amy took some of my Christmas cards along with her to sell beside her incredible book art at the Fairytale Fair in Brighton last weekend, and I was so super jealous that I couldn't be there myself. Unfortunately, all the really amazing events tend to happen in places like Brighton or London, and where I live - nestled away in the depths of Dorset - there never seems to be much happening.

After looking around for a while, making enquires and hitting countless dead ends, I applied for a stall at a Christmas bazaar in Shillingstone - a little village just outside my hometown of Blandford Forum. In retrospect, this probably wasn't an ideal place to try to sell my work, as its visitors were predominately old ladies who were much more interested in snapping up homemade cakes and jam! Despite this, it was a positive experience - although I only sold a few items (which was a little disappointing), I received so many lovely comments about my work and my talent, which was very encouraging to hear, especially as I've been feeling so demoralised recently. Quite a few people took one of my business cards too. I discovered that selling my work from a stall is so much more rewarding than selling work online, because it means you can interact with your customers, hear their comments, and see their reactions when they look at your work, whereas when you sell online you never receive a great deal of feedback. It was also pretty cool to see all my work displayed on my stall - I've never laid it all out in one place before, and I've actually created a lot more than I realised!

I was especially pleased that there was also a fair amount of interest in my children's book, but I found people were put off by the price - I find this so frustrating, because I would love to able to sell my book for a more reasonable price, but it costs such a ridiculous amount to print one copy, it means the price of the book ends up more than I would like. It makes me sad, because I would love more people to be able to buy, and enjoy, it. I had a copy of the book open at the front of my table - it was opened at various different pages throughout the course of the day - and I noticed that it seemed to catch the eye of a considerable number of young children. It was just on their eye level, and it seemed to capture their attention as they walked past - although when they stopped to look, they were generally dragged away by their parents who were making a beeline for the mince pie queue. A couple of children even picked it up, though it was usually snatched out of their hands quickly by a parent, along with a stern reminder not to touch. It made me smile though. It was lovely to see children being captivated by my illustrations - it's all I've ever wanted to achieve.

All in all, a positive experience - and while I was there, I even caught a glimpse of Father Christmas himself! If anyone knows of any craft fairs or events in the future which are situated in, or around, Dorset, that may be a suitable occasion to sell my work, then please let me know! Otherwise I'll be keeping my eyes open - I would definitely like the chance to sell my work this way again. :]

Hello new business cards!

noreply@blogger.com (Madi ♡) — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 20:56:00 +0000

I first designed myself some business cards back in my final year of Uni, and although at the time I was very happy with them, I decided recently it was definitely time for a new design. For a start, my old business cards don't display my logo, which means that they aren't consistent with my website, or the banner on my blog, or the cute little stickers I use when packaging items from my shop. Also, I think my style has developed considerably since leaving Uni, and I wanted my business cards to reflect my current work, rather than work I created years ago.

These are some of the designs I contemplated using;

But (with a little bit of help from some of you guys on Twitter..!), I finally decided that this was my favourite design;

Annnnd look what arrived in the post this morning! BOOM.

They have arrived justtt in time to take along to my very first craft fair this weekend! I will be selling Christmas cards, and lots of other illustrated goodies - perfect as Christmas presents, or just a little treat for yourself. If you live in, or around, Dorset then please come and have a peek - I'll even let you have a business card! The Christmas bizarre is taking place on Saturday 1st December in the Portman Hall in Shillingstone (near Blandford Forum), and is open 11am - 2.30pm. I've even heard a rumour than a certain red-suited white-bearded man will be making an appearance in the afternoon, so it's perfect for your little ones too! I'd love to see you there. ♥

Lovely cushions.

noreply@blogger.com (Madi ♡) — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 16:33:00 +0000

I'm excited to announce that my illustrations are now available to buy as cushions in my Society6 shop!

The cushions are available in a range of different sizes and designs, so why not have a peek! There is currently free worldwide shipping til Monday, so now is the perfect time to snap up some Christmas presents (or just a nice opportunity to treat yourself!).

Note; I have only made certain prints available as cushion designs - these are the ones I think work best. However, if there's a different illustration you'd like to buy as a cushion, then please let me know and I'll happily make it available for you. :]

Which is your favourite design?