Jungle Paradise

Amelia’s Magazine | Jungle Paradise by Lorna Scobie: Colouring Book Review and Artist Interview

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Jungle Paradise_Lorna Scobie
The marvellous Lorna Scobie publishes her first colouring book today, but I am lucky enough to own an advance copy so I’ve had bit of time to get acquainted with her uniquely cheeky critters. Jungle Paradise has a gorgeous cover with gift-tastic green metallic highlights and lots of crisp white pages, and it is a detailed frolic through the jungle featuring numerous animals, some inspired by a call out to this popular illustrator’s fans. Amongst the landscapes of larger fauna there are pages of insects and birds, ensuring something for every animal lover. I can’t wait to get started… Lorna tells us more.

Jungle Paradise_Lorna Scobie
How long did it take to create Jungle Paradise and when did you work on it?
As I work full time, I worked on Jungle Paradise in the evenings and at the weekend. Although it’s meant I’ve been kept super busy for the past few months, I have really enjoyed creating the artwork so it didn’t feel like I was coming home from work to do work, more that I was spending time doing something I love to do. We were keen for the book to publish sooner rather than later, to make sure it was out before Christmas, so the schedule was quite tight! I started working on the book around June this year and it took me a couple months to complete it.

Jungle Paradise_Lorna Scobie
Where did you find inspiration for the pages inside Jungle Paradise, and did you use anything specific as reference?
The book itself was inspired by my love of animals generally, as a lot of my work up to now has been animal based. I tend to work from imagination, so lots of Jungle Paradise just came straight from my head. For some of the more unusual animals, like the ocelot and some of the lizards, I referenced some of the animal books I’ve collected. As well as encyclopaedias of animals and plant life I have lots of house plants surrounding my workspace – these were a big inspiration too! At the beginning of the project I asked my Instagram and Twitter followers what their favourite jungle animals are, and tried to include as many as these as possible!

Jungle Paradise_Lorna Scobie
What materials and techniques did you use to create the illustrations for Jungle Paradise?
I stayed true to my black and white illustration style, using a black fine liner, but made it more refined and detailed for the purpose of colouring in.

Jungle Paradise_Lorna Scobie
Where do the motivational quotes in Jungle Paradise come from and who found them?
I worked closely with my editor to find quotes as we wanted to get across the tranquility and wonder of nature. We hope Jungle Paradise will be an escape from busy city life, and so the quotes help to inspire people to think about the natural world rather than their ever increasing to-do lists!

Jungle Paradise_Lorna Scobie
How did you get the commission for your own colouring book?
I had worked previously with the editor and the idea of doing a colouring book together was sparked by a colouring workshop I did at Pick Me Up illustration festival this year. I was already thinking of doing a characterful animal colouring book at the time, so when I was approached by Hardie Grant Books to do something in that style it seemed perfect.

Jungle Paradise_Lorna Scobie
Your animals are described as “cheeky” – how did this come about and what elements do you include to ensure a cheeky look?
I’ve learnt to embrace the “happy mistakes” that crop up all too regularly in my work, rather than spending too long on a drawing, or reworking things over and over again. Hopefully this gives each of my characters a bit of personality, as they aren’t in any way perfect.

Jungle Paradise_Lorna Scobie
Who do you hope will buy your new book?
As well as creative crowds, I hope that Jungle Paradise will also reach a new market of people who perhaps don’t see themselves as creative. Or people who would like to be creative but aren’t sure where to start. Colouring-in is for everyone, and thats what is so fab about it. No special skills are required.

Will there be another? What has the feedback been so far?
I am working on a follow-up book as feedback from Jungle Paradise has been really positive so far, which is very exciting!

I am also super happy to share the news that Lorna Scobie is featured in Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion. More about her contribution here…

Written by Amelia Gregory on Thursday October 22nd, 2015 11:01 am

Categories ,#ameliasccc, ,Adult Coloring Book, ,Adult Colouring Book, ,Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, ,Animal Colouring Book, ,Artist Interview, ,Christmas Present, ,Coloring Book, ,Colouring Book, ,Colouring Book For Adults, ,Happy mistakes, ,Hardie Grant, ,Hardie Grant Books, ,instagram, ,interview, ,jungle, ,Jungle Paradise, ,Pick Me Up, ,review, ,twitter

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Amelia’s Magazine | Christmas Gift Ideas: 8 of the Best Colouring Books for Adults

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Harriet Plaskitt Lorna Scobie
If you go into almost any shop in the run up to Christmas you’ll find a sea of colouring books fighting for your attention. With so many books to choose from it can be hard to know which ones to pick, but since I’ve become a bit of an adult colouring book aficionado over the past few months I thought I would share the 8 most unique and appealing ones I’ve found. This lovely lot should keep you and your loved ones busy through the Christmas holidays and well into 2016. Which ones will you choose?

Lost Ocean cover
1. Lost Ocean by Johanna Basford
This is the big one. Johanna kickstarted the whole trend in adult colouring books a few years ago with her bestselling book Secret Garden, and this year she’s back with another beautiful volume of intricate artworks inspired by underwater fantasies. The artwork is top notch, with lovely pacing of different types of image offering real scope for creative input from the colourist. Bound to be another worldwide bestseller. Read my interview with Johanna Basford here.

Dagdrömmar by Hanna Karlzon cover
2. Dagdrömmar by Hanna Karlzon
A book inspired by the daydreams of Swedish illustrator Hanna Karlzon, Dagdrömmar features floating houses, cats with gems, owls, elaborate crowns, mermaids with tumbling hair, more cats, sailing ships, flowers and much more, all beautifully drawn with a Scandinavian flavour. The book is sadly not yet available worldwide, but it can be shipped internationally from the Pen Store. Read my interview with Hanna Karlzon here.

Jungle Paradise_Lorna_Scobie_2
3. Jungle Paradise by Lorna Scobie
Lorna Scobie has a huge following on instagram, where she shares her inimitable animal drawings to much delight. This book is chock full of the cheeky animals and cute critters she has become well known for, with each page featuring a different jungle scene or animal pattern. This beautiful volume has lovely green metallic print on the cover and would be ideal for someone who loves to colour animals and plantlife. Read my interview with Lorna Scobie here.

Escape to Christmas Past by Good Wives and Warriors
4. Escape to Christmas Past by Good Wives and Warriors
This book by artistic duo Good Wives and Warriors is inspired by A Christmas Carol, the famous book by Dickens – making it ideal colouring to get into the festive spirit. There are a huge variety of illustrations to colour in including pretty Christmas decorations, scenes that appear in the story and decorative typography (Bah Humbug!) Read my interview with Good Wives and Warriors here.

beautiful-birds-colouring book
5. Beautiful Birds Colouring Book by Emmanuelle Walker
Beautiful Birds began life as a lovely (and very colourful) children’s A-Z book, but has since been turned into a colouring book featuring the same huge variety of avian life, many translated into patterns that will provide wonderful meditative colouring. The book is published by Flying Eye Books (an imprint of Nobrow) and is therefore beautifully made, with a lovely pink spine trim. An ideal gift for bird lovers in need of relaxation. Read my interview with Emmanuelle Walker here.

Doodlers Anonymous Epic Colouring Book
6. Doodlers Anonymous Epic Coloring Book
The Epic Coloring Book was put together by an open brief on the Doodlers website, hub for a huge community of artists. It’s a diverse collection of images made by 90 artists from all over the world so there’s bound to be something for everyone. Expect lots of narrative scenes, surreal characters and images that would not look out of place in a graphic novel. Read my interview with creator OKAT here.

A Million Cats Lulu Mayo
7. A Million Cats by Lulu Mayo
Only recently released by Michael O’Mara Books, this book features a plethora of amusing and adorable cats in a range of surreal situations; playing music, relaxing on the sofa, taking tea with dogs, masquerading as vegetables and dressed in tuxedos, Decorative patterns have a Japanese flavour, with blossoms and temples featuring heavily. One for the cat lover in your life!

Kickstarter campaign image Ameliasccc
8. Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion
I couldn’t leave it off the list could I?! Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion is a unique collaborative book that features the work of over 40 artists from all over the world. It will appeal to art lovers and colourists alike because it is so much more than just a colouring book; each artist has been given a double page, with a full colour image on the left to inspire a colouring page on the right. There are a huge variety of themes and styles to choose from, including landscapes, underwater scenes, food, Japanese folk tales, cats, lanterns, extreme frisbee and much more.

For more tips on adult colouring visit my recent blog 8 Things You Didn’t Know About Colouring Books For Adults. Happy Colouring this Christmas!

Written by Amelia Gregory on Friday November 20th, 2015 4:25 pm

Categories ,#ameliasccc, ,8. Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, ,A Christmas Carol, ,A Million Cats, ,Adult Coloring Books, ,Adult Colouring, ,Beautiful Birds Colouring Book, ,Coloring, ,Colouring Books, ,Dagdrömmar, ,Doodlers Anonymous Epic Coloring Book, ,Emmanuelle Walker, ,Escape to Christmas Past, ,Flying Eye Books, ,Good Wives and Warriors, ,Hanna Karlzon, ,Johanna Basford, ,Jungle Paradise, ,Lorna Scobie, ,Lost Ocean, ,Lulu Mayo, ,Michael O’Mara Books, ,Nobrow, ,OKAT, ,Pen Store, ,Secret Garden

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Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Lorna Scobie: Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion featured artist.

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Lorna_Scobie_zebras
The super talented Lorna Scobie published her own colouring book Jungle Paradise yesterday (read more here), so I am very happy she was also able to create an animal themed page for Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion.

Lorna_Scobie
Where is your day job and how does it feed in to your illustration career?
I’m a designer at Macmillan Children’s books. A lot of the skills I use as a freelance illustrator have been super useful in my work as a designer at Macmillan, and vice versa. My day job requires me to be very creative and to be able to use photoshop and indesign well. It’s also very useful that I am used to working to deadlines and have learnt how to plan my time efficiently, as there is always a lot to do! It’s really useful to know how the publishing industry works from the inside, and to understand why some things take a really long time to move forward, and some things are needed urgently!

Lorna_Scobie_pets_1
Where did you study and how did it best set you up for a career as an artist?
I studied illustration at Kingston University and it gave me a great starting point for my freelance illustration career. We were lucky enough to have regular talks from people in the industry and also a variety of projects taught by visiting lecturers. It was really useful to hear so many different opinions and pieces of advice.

Lorna_Scobie_African_wild_dog
What do you do to destress? Are you a colouring aficionado or is there something else you prefer to do after a hard day’s drawing to unwind?
I do enjoy colouring in as it takes my mind off the stresses of the day. In the evenings I find that nothing makes me feel more relaxed than a luxurious bath, but at the weekends I love going on long walks in London’s parks. I find being around nature and wildlife a fabulous remedy, and I’m a country girl through and through!

Lorna_Scobie_pets_2
You have oodles of fans on instagram in particular – how did you build such a large following, any tips?
I don’t really know how that happened! I didn’t consciously take steps to get more followers on Instagram – I’ve always just posted what I like and hope other people like it too. I think people like to see a balance of work and the person behind the work. The informality of Instagram is really great, and perfect for showing behind the scenes shots, and work in progress. I love seeing inside people’s studios and sketchbooks, it’s really interesting to see how people approach their work.

Lorna_Scobie_fox
What is your preferred way to work when not creating purely black and white images?
Watercolour paints are my preferred medium as they are fast to use and dry, so I can build up layers of detail on top without having to wait too long. I work quickly and quite spontaneously, so rather than planning a drawing I will just use whatever pen or pencil that feels right at the time. I love colouring pencils as it’s an easy way to add quick bursts of colour.

Lorna_Scobie_colouring page
How did you decide which animals to include in your celebration of the animal kingdom for my colouring book?
I chose to go with a range of different sized animals, and ones with different patterns so that someone colouring them in could enjoy colouring in different textures.

Lorna_Scobie_sketchbooks
What did you do as part of the recent Pick Me Up challenge at Somerset House?
Earlier this year, the lovely boys from Ohh Deer kindly invited me to hold a one-day workshop at Pick Me Up, an illustration festival in Somerset House. I decided to do a huge colouring-in sheet, where I drew lots of animals on enormous pieces of paper. Whilst I drew, members of the public were invited to come and colour in the animals. It was a really fun day, and inspired me to do my own colouring book!

Lorna_Scobie_animals
I believe you have a large collection of succulents and cacti, any tips for raising these successfully?
Try not to give them too much attention! Sometimes I do accidentally kill my plants by overwatering them, I think the trick with the succulents is to water them a little bit, but quite infrequently. And the cacti I water only a few times a year. They seem to be happy with that! I try to just let them be, but every few months I will repot them if they need it, and cut off any dying bits.

Lorna_Scobie_bear
Lastly, what is your favourite animal to draw and why?
This changes all the time, but at the moment I’m really enjoying drawing lizards! I think they have funny expressions, and I like their long tails.

Find Lorna Scobie‘s fabulous animals to colour in Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, available from Kickstarter exceedingly soon…

Written by Amelia Gregory on Friday October 23rd, 2015 8:25 am

Categories ,#ameliasccc, ,Adult Coloring Book, ,Adult Colouring Book, ,Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, ,Coloring, ,Colouring Book, ,illustration, ,instagram, ,interview, ,Jungle Paradise, ,Kickstarter, ,Kingston University, ,Lorna Scobie, ,Macmillan Children’s Books, ,Ohh Deer, ,Somerset House

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