Looking at the financials and some general statistics relating to my illustration business, plus how that fits with the environmental aspects and my key focus areas.
Read MoreSample Map - Created in Adobe Illustrator
ILLUSTRATED MAPS - A Practical Guide to the Digital Processes Involved and What They Mean for YOU as a Client
In this post I’m going to explain and compare some of the possible methods - the digital processes - I use in putting an illustrated map together, and set out the Pros and Cons of each…
Read More
My Sustainability Journey Towards Net Zero PART 1 (...and Re-assessing my Business as Part of the Process!)
A ‘story so far’, documenting what I’m doing to ensure my business is sustainable and fully aligned with my own values and those of the purpose-driven individuals and organisations I work with.
Read More
The Trouble With Illustration - Round Up
Pulling together ‘The Trouble With Illustration…’ series of articles - Looking at identified barriers for commissioners of bespoke illustration, and offering insights into how these potential issues may be overcome
Read More
The Trouble With Illustration #05: Licensing - The feeling of not being in control, and usage restrictions on your commissioned illustrations!
Wondering why you’re being asked to pay again for an illustration you’ve commissioned? Let me explain…. with a few examples to hopefully make the licensing model make more sense…
Read More
The Trouble With Illustration #04: Turnaround Times - The difficulty of being reactive and being able to create materials quickly
Looking specifically at how illustration could potentially be more reactive for your brand/content and become a more viable option when timescales are tight.
Read More
The Trouble With Illustration #03: The ‘Illustration Trap' - How to avoid feeling reliant on one illustrator or one illustration
If you’re worried about becoming tied in to using one particular illustrator or being limited by the illustration/s you have, I hope these insights might put you at ease and help you look at things a little differently.
Read More
The Trouble With Illustration #02: Flexibility. Or the lack of…?
Looking at some practical ways illustration could be a more flexible asset for you
Read More
The Trouble With Illustration #01: Cost. And Specifically to Maintain an Illustration Style Over Time
Welcome to the first instalment of follow up posts themed around ‘The Trouble with Illustration’ …
First up - and it's a BIG one - Cost!
Read More
The Trouble With Illustration...
Exploring the reasons why you might decide NOT to commission bespoke illustration and offering solutions to make it a more viable option in the future
Read More
What Even is Vector Artwork? - A Guide to the Differences Between Vector & Pixel-based Illustrations, and Why it Matters
A ‘jargon-buster’ for potential clients and other commissioners of illustration.
Read More
7 Insider Tips to Help You Squeeze the Most Value from Commissioning Illustration
I appreciate that illustration can sometimes be seen as a luxury, so I’d like to address this and provide some pointers on how you can commission illustration more efficiently.
Read More
Illustration Licensing Explained - For The Small Business Owner & Marketer
The aim of this general guide is to help explain how illustration licensing works, and hopefully remove much of the uncertainty and nervousness around commissioning an illustrator.
Project Journey Route Map: The process I follow with my clients on every creative project
What’s It Like To Work With Me? A Guide to the Process Stages of Your Design or Illustration Project
Commissioning a designer or illustrator, to work with you on a creative project can be a little daunting for some. Especially if you haven’t commissioned creative before, it’s hard to know what to expect. In this post, I’ve tried to break the process down, to show the various stages we would undertake in working together - & hopefully it'd be a pleasant and fun experience!
Read MoreSchool Art Project: Freedom
I wanted to document a recent collaboration project I worked on with Year 6 pupils at Henleaze Junior School.
I was asked by the school to work with the whole year group (around 90 pupils) to create 1 large art piece to be displayed in the school. For me this was quite a challenge in terms of the scale of the collaboration, the size of the group. I had previously worked with HJS on their school 'Shaun the Sheep' project so it was good to be invited back!
Read More
Marketing Materials: Ensure That Any Creative Spend is Good Value for You
This post is intended for small to medium business owners, individuals running not-for-profit organisations, and also marketing managers. To give ideas on how a creative approach - design, illustration or a combination of the two - can enhance your output and help engage with your audience. And, crucially, for any spend to be of good value for you.
Read More
Two New Portfolios - Illustration & Brand Work for Creative, Environmental and Education Clients
Two new ‘taster’ portfolios - one for illustration and one for branding. Each portfolio showcases work I have created for clients in the creative, environmental and education sectors, with some work for charities also.
Read More
How Much Does Illustration Cost? A Client Guide to Illustrator's Fees
In this post, I will outline the main considerations I focus on when quoting for illustration work. Also included is a link to download a handy PDF which will help you collate the crucial information needed when briefing an illustrator and asking them to provide costs for your project.
Read MoreInitial sketch for client approval, before creating finished vector artwork
Process: Initial sketch to final vector artwork
In the process of revamping my portfolio website, inevitably some things didn't quite fit or were cut to make room for newer projects. In a quest to pare down to a minimal approach, I focussed on primarily showing the finished, polished work I produce. However, I do think that it is still useful to show some of the process involved in producing the work I create.
The image above shows very simply the method I have gone through to produce a finished vector illustration...
Read More
Client happiness is directly proportional to the proximity of their creative
Look Local! - The 'How' and 'Why' of working with local creatives
Are you in need of a designer or illustrator for your business/project, but not sure how to go about finding one who’s right for you? And also what would be the point in narrowing your search area?
If that sounds of interest, I have written a guest post over on the Drawn in Bristol Blog, sharing thoughts on why it makes absolute sense to start your search close to home...
Read More