Adult Colouring Book

Amelia’s Magazine | Escape to Christmas Past by Good Wives and Warriors: Colouring Book Review and Artist Interview

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Escape to Christmas Past by Lynn Stevens
Escape to Christmas Past coloured by Lynn Stevens.

Becky Bolton and Louise Chappell are Good Wives and Warriors, an artistic duo that specialise in extraordinarily intricate drawings that have been applied to all sorts of surfaces, from walls to bottles to books to magazines (including issue 9 of Amelia’s Magazine). They met at Glasgow School of Art and with a base in London now work all over the world. I was super thrilled to hear about their new colouring books for Puffin, themed around some well known stories. Escape to Wonderland is inspired by Alice in Wonderland, and Escape to Christmas Past is inspired by A Christmas Carol. Their Christmas edition has only just been released and would be a marvellous book to colour if you want to get in the festive mood. I caught up with Good Wives and Warriors…

Escape to Wonderland by Ronit Roccas
Escape to Wonderland by Ronit Roccas

Escape to Wonderland opening page
Good Wives and Warriors
Congratulations on your colouring books! How did they get commissioned?
Firstly, thank you very much Amelia. It has been quite a busy few months working on the two Penguin books and a third colouring in book for the German market yet to be published. We feel like drawing machines! The Penguin books were commissioned through our London Illustration Agent – Central Illustration Agency. Our work had been followed by the partner of one of the Art Directors at Penguin who had then approached CIA. The pitch was between ourselves and one other illustrator. We were very happy to be the chosen for the job!

Escape to Wonderland teapots
Escape to Wonderland gems
Escape to Wonderland lizards
What has been the best bit about creating these books?
I think we both love producing drawings and creating large amounts of work. Maybe for us that is more important than the final outcome (although we are very proud to have the completed books in our hands!) So to have a wall covered with around 200 drawings was a very satisfying experience for us. It was also fun to read through the books, especially Alice in Wonderland, and plan out the illustrations.

Escape to Wonderland coloured by Paula Bowerman
Escape to Wonderland by Paula Bowerman 2
Escape to Wonderland by Paula Bowerman
Escape to Wonderland coloured by Paula Bowerman.

How have you juggled their creation around your other jobs, and how long did they take to make?
We both work three days at our other jobs and three days in the studio. At times it can be a bit of a juggle although in the last year we have been a lot more strict about not working nights or Sundays. We are lucky working together because we can spur each other on and usually work faster or more efficiently as a result. It is hard to say exactly how long the books took as we were working on other commissions at the same time. For Alice we also had the help of a lovely assistant Marcella Wylie, (who is a talent illustrator based in Scotland) to help clean up the drawings.

Escape to Wonderland by Steph Cox
Escape to wonderland by Stephanie Cox
Escape to Wonderland by Stephanie Cox

Escape to Wonderland garden of hearts
Escape to Wonderland dragon
Escape to Wonderland cheshire cat
Who is your favourite character in Escape to Wonderland and why?
I love the version of the Cheshire Cat that Becky drew – inspired by the paintings of Louis Wain, an early 20th Century artist whose strange and beautiful cat paintings are definitely worth checking out!

Escape to Christmas Past cover
Escape to Christmas Past cityscape
Escape to Christmas Past_kittens
What can people expect in your new christmas themed book?
Escape to Christmas Past is a very traditional illustrated journey through Dickensian London and all the rich, decorative imagery we associate with a nostalgic Christmas. The tale itself is quite dark in places and we hoped to lighten the story a little by adding some of our own creatures and funny little additions.

Escape to Christmas Past decs
Escape to Christmas Past swans
Do either of you colour in, and if so what kind of stuff and what is your top tip for creating an attractive bit of artwork?
Creating these books has been our first step into the world of colouring in. That said, we have in the past created hand coloured versions of our screen prints. One year we also hand coloured in every individual (detailed tiny drawing!) of our christmas card send out. It was a labour of love but also very mediative and enjoyable. When we recently coloured in pages from our recent books to experiment, we have really enjoyed it. Applying gradient colour over large areas of patterned detail is definitely satisfying. I guess a tip could be using pantone pens as they layer very nicely though the nibs are thick and only really useful for the larger sections of colour.

Escape to Christmas Past tree
Escape to Christmas Past table
Escape to Christmas Past stars
Who do you think your books will appeal to this Christmas?
The colouring in book based on a Christmas Carol is definitely stocking filler material and would appeal to a wide age group. The Alice in Wonderland book is maybe a slightly more select market but there are so many colouring in books on the market now, I don’t know how people will decide what to buy!

Escape to Christmas Past snowglobe
Escape to Christmas Past ship_lighthouse
Louise, you worked on Amelia’s Magazine many years ago when it was in print, what is your fondest memory of that time?
Gosh, that was such a long time ago now but the issue is still proudly in the studio library! That was my first experience of living in London after graduating from art school in Glasgow and I loved it! I am still pretty much in love with London, it is hard to imagine living anywhere else. I have so many memories from that time but what I guess it was the friendships built with the Team (Issue 9ers!) – all the tea, trips to the bagel shop on Brick Lane and the epic lunch spreads (thanks Amelia!) Working on the magazine was a real learning curve and a massively beneficial experience.

Escape to Wonderland by Lynn Stevens 2
Escape to Wonderland by Lynn Stevens

Escape to Christmas Past 2 coloured by Lynn Stevens
Escape to Christmas Past coloured by Lynn Stevens

Find both these colouring books by Good Wives and Warriors online at Amazon and at major retailers. Many thanks to Lynn Stevens and Paula Bowerman from the Colouring Circle Facebook group.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Saturday November 14th, 2015 2:15 pm

Categories ,Adult Colouring Book, ,Alice in Wonderland, ,Amelia’s Magazine, ,Becky Bolton, ,Brick Lane, ,Central Illustration Agency, ,Cheshire Cat, ,Christmas, ,Christmas Carol, ,Coloring Book, ,Colouring Book, ,Colouring Book For Adults, ,Colouring Circle, ,Escape to Christmas Past, ,Escape to Wonderland, ,glasgow, ,Glasgow School of Art, ,Good Wives and Warriors, ,interview, ,london, ,Louis Wain, ,Louise Chappell, ,Lynn Stevens, ,Marcella Wylie, ,Paula Bowerman, ,Penguin, ,Puffin, ,review, ,Ronit Roccas, ,Stephanie Cox

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Amelia’s Magazine | Beautiful Birds Colouring Book by Emmanuelle Walker: Colouring Book Review and Artist Interview

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Beautiful Birds cover
I was aware of the gorgeous Beautiful Birds A-Z book before it was turned into a colouring book, so I was very excited to see that it had been translated into a new interactive version. I tracked artist Emmanuelle Walker down on Twitter to find out more about her spectacular avian friends. If you love birds or you’re just looking for a gloriously different colouring book to get lost in, this is one you should try.

emmanuelle walker
How did you first hook up with Nobrow/Flying Eye and how did your original Beautiful Birds book come about?
In 2013 I saw a tweet from them saying that they had a spare spread for Nobrow‘s annual magazine. I sent them a link to my work and they immediately sent me an email. They wanted to meet me.

Beautiful Birds 3
How did you choose the birds that are featured in it?
I worked from the text I received from Jean Roussen, so I didn’t get to pick the birds myself.

Flying Eye Books | Beautiful Birds – Book Trailer from Emmanuelle Walker on Vimeo.

You were a winner at the Smallish Design Awards this year, did the judges tell you why they liked it so much?
Yes it’s great! I don’t have any detail on how or why they picked Beautiful Birds but I’m pretty happy they did!

Beautiful Birds 1
Beautiful Birds 4
When and why was the decision made to do a colouring book version?
Nobrow/Flying Eye Books came up with the idea back in June, I guess it was a way to give the book a second life, push the idea further. It is also a perfect timing for it I guess, colouring books are getting more and more popular these days.

Beautiful Birds 13
What did you have to do to adapt the book? The full colour version is more obviously aimed at children but I presume the colouring book is for adults?
To adapt it I knew it had to be 96 pages, and the original version only had 56 pages so I had to find a concept that would allow to double the amount of pages. That’s why I came up with the pattern idea, because it would allow to repeat over the spread and actually double the amount of pages, but also because I absolutely love patterns and I have been working on some for my own pleasure, I thought it would be fun to colour in too! After working on small thumbnails of the layout, I started creating the patterns guide from the coloured illustrations. Then an assistant helped me retrace digitally the lines for the whole book. The colouring book is really for anyone who feels like colouring in, I wouldn’t say it’s strictly for adults :^)

Beautiful Birds 4
What has the reception been like so far?
I haven’t had much news lately, all I know is that they had to reprint 3000 additional copies just before the book came out. So I guess it’s going pretty well.

Beautiful Birds 17
How do you work? What mediums do you use, what is your studio like and what do you like to have close by?
I always start with a detailed spreadsheet, listing all the pages, and then I have columns for the thumbnails, rough, clean, final processes, when it’s still in progress the squares are yellow, when it’s done it’s green, it helps me track my work and to keep up with my schedule. Then I work on some tiny thumbnails for each spread so that the composition is perfect, working at a small scales really allows you to concentrate on the composition. Once all the thumbnails are all done and approved, I rough out every page on a small format, something like an A5 in terms of dimensions. I don’t like working on large scales. Then everything is scanned. In Photoshop I work out a general palette for the book, and then for each page/spread I do some very rough colour roughs again in Photoshop, trying things erasing, changing, tweaking the colours until I am satisfied. After that I start cleaning up the illustration, layer by layer.

Beautiful Birds 14
I have a desk space at Nexus Productions the company who represents me as an animation director. I work there on project with them sometimes and the rest of the time I work on my books and commissions from other clients. I don’t need much, the most important is probably my Cintiq (a screen on which you can draw directly) internet for references, paper, pencils, some nice things to listen to and a couple of amazing teas from around the world

Beautiful Birds 12
You’ve studied all over the world – how did you end up in your various locations and how did you end up in London?
I was born in Switzerland, when I was eleven we moved to Montreal, Canada with my family. There I studied 2D animation and started my carrer in the animation industry there. I wasn’t satisfied with what it had to offer and I knew that the Gobelins School in Paris offered a direct entry in third year if you had enough experience and passed the tests. I tried, and I got in. After a year working on our final year film, I thought I’d stay a bit longer, mainly because the winter was much warmer than the one in Montreal, but also because I felt the industry had more to offer. And then bit by bit I realised that Paris wasn’t for me for a lot of reasons but I didn’t want to go back to Montreal. I had been to London a few times for the weekend, when I was living in Paris, and I absolutely loved it’s vibe, I also knew that there were a lot of interesting companies in London, so I just made the move! It was very hard at first because I had no contacts at all and basically had to start my work network from scratch.

Beautiful Birds 18
How did you get from animation into illustration, was it a planned process or did it just sort of happen?
I have always illustrated for pleasure, and designing characters for animation series, ads and films so it’s always been part of my life, I wouldn’t put myself in the “animation-box” or the “illustration-box”.

Beautiful Birds 15
Beautiful Birds 10
What does your day to day job as an art director involve?
My work as a director is a freelance job, when I receive a pitch from Nexus I pitch an idea/concept/visuals for the project. Usually we pitch against 2 other studios, sometimes more. If I am selected I get to direct the project and start earning money. The pitches are very rarely paid… The rest of the time I am working on my books, sometimes I also freelance as an animator on 2D projects, or for other personal clients.

Beautiful Birds 5
You have a huge portfolio, what is your favourite commercial project so far and why?
I think that the Beautiful Birds book was one of my favourite projects. First of all my clients are the children, and when they appreciate my work it means more than anything. Also I feel free, I feel that my publisher trusts me and my ideas and they really let me do what I want.

Beautiful Birds 11
Have you seen any of your colouring pages completed and if so how did you feel about it? It must be quite a weird thing to see someone else’s creativity imposed on your own!
I actually haven’t seen much. I saw a few pages on Flying Eye‘s website, but not really. I am very curious though!

Beautiful Birds 9
Lastly, are there any more colouring or bird based books on the horizon?
No. Not for the moment, my next book will be about dogs, a loooooot of dogs!

The Beautiful Birds Colouring Book is out now and available here.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Wednesday November 18th, 2015 11:23 pm

Categories ,Adult Coloring Book, ,Adult Colouring Book, ,Beautiful Birds, ,Beautiful Birds Colouring Book, ,canada, ,Colouring Book, ,Emmanuelle Walker, ,Flying Eye Books, ,Gobelins School, ,Jean Roussen, ,Montreal, ,Nexus Productions, ,Nobrow, ,Smallish Design Awards, ,Switzerland

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Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Sachiko Oguri: Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion featured artist.

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SACHIKOOGURI_IHaveNeverGrownaBeard
Sachiko Oguri has contributed a surreal and colourful artork for Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion. Here she talks about studying in the UK, her love of the half-tone technique and her interest in the stories of other cultures.

SACHIKOOGURI
What is it about the half tone technique that you find so appealing?
I have been using the half tone technique since I made one of my artworks, Tokyo Subway Sarin Attack. It is possible to use this technique to adjust the concentration of the colour and unify the look with a few colours, so in my image for the colouring book I used only 5 colours but it looks like I used a lot because of the half tone technique. That is why I like it.

SACHIKOOGURI_TheyDrivebyNight-big
What subject matter inspires your work?
My work is inspired by traditional cultures and the stories found in novels, legends and fairy tales, amazing locations, food and everyday life. I am especially interested in these daily incidents.

SACHIKOOGURI_TheUnderwearThiefpsd
SACHIKOOGURI_IAmaCat
What kind of animations do you make?
I made 2 animations in the past year. One is Flying Potato (Chips) where a man gets a mysterious potato and flies into the sky. The other is I Am a Cat, based on a famous novel by Soseki Natsume. I made an animation from the final chapter’s last scene where a cat who is a main character and a narrator in the story has some beer and gets drunk. I like to make animations that all generations can enjoy and easily understand the story, and I prefer to animate novels because when you read a novel you probably already imagine the scene; character, location and colour. I like to share my imagination of that story with the viewer, and if it becomes helpful for the viewer when he or she reads the novel, then I am glad.


SACHIKO_OGURI_double page spread
What is happening in your colouring book artwork?
In my colouring book artwork, I tried to make an image that does not have stereotypical colouring. I got inspiration from Hyakki Yako, Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, a Japanese folktale. The appearance of the demons is mysterious, funny, lovely, and little bit terrible. Also, of course these demons are imaginary creatures so we do not know the detail of them; what is their form, texture and colour? I enjoyed colouring in the demons because I could decide on their colours, and I hope people who get the colouring book will enjoy colouring them in as much as I did.

SACHIKOOGURI_UrashimataroOfMyChildhood
I spotted your work at the graduate shows, can you tell us more about the tale of Urashima Taro picture that I so loved?
I am so glad you like that work! Thank you so much! Urashima Taro is one of my favorite tales from old Japan. When I was a child, my mother often told me fairy tales before sleep. My silkscreen work, Urashima Taro of My Childhood, shows my childhood memories of listening to Urashima Taro and something of my dreams. Once upon a time, there was Urashima Taro and he found a turtle that was attacked by bad children. Taro saved the turtle and the turtle invited Taro to a castle that is built under the sea. There Taro met a beautiful princess, Otohime, and he had an amazing time. After a few days Taro missed his family so he decided to go back to his home. The princess gave him a special box, the Tamatebako, and told him, “Please do not open this box until you miss everything very much.” He went back home but nobody knew him because while he spent a few days under the sea about 300 years had passed in our world above the sea. It made him so sad that he opened the box, but his old age was trapped inside the box and he aged by 300 years… I like this wonderful story because Taro saved a turtle but ultimately he lost everything.

SACHIKOOGURI_TheUpperBerth
SACHIKOOGURI_Halloween2014
Why did you decide to study in the UK and how did you chose Middlesex Uni?
Before I studied illustration I was interested in the West because the culture, lifestyle, art and design are so different from in Japan. At that time, some of my friends had already graduated from Middlesex University so they told me a lot about it. For instance they told me that the workshops and other facilities are substantial. And I really enjoyed printmaking because of the facility and fantastic technicians. Also, Middlesex has a firm curriculum content for a university, and the tutors are so nice and friendly. They always gave me a lot of good advice and information and made me excited about my work. I really enjoyed the 3 years I spent there and I feel so sad now because I am going back to Japan…

SACHIKOOGURI_kabukiza
How does it work with Little Door and the Drawn Chorus Collective?
I am a part of Little Door Collective, which is a small group of illustrator friends making zines etc. The members asked me to join after I graduated and I am going to be featured in an up and coming zine. Drawn Chorus Collective invited me to be a contributing guest artist for their alphabet book Easy As, a fully illustrated ABC book with each letter interpreted by a different artist.

SACHIKOOGURI_icekuma
When and where will your upcoming collaborative exhibition be, and what will be featured?
The exhibition for the alphabet book will (hopefully) be at the Light Eye Mind Gallery in early December. The show will feature artwork and reproductions of the spreads from the book. We’ll be launching a Kickstarter to fund the printing in October and we’ll be selling the book through our website.

SACHIKOOGURI_TheTreasureofAbbotThomas
SACHIKOOGURI_BeardGirls
Where are you living now and what do you hope for your future career in illustration?
I am living in London now but I will go back to my home town of Tokyo in Japan this November. So, I will be a Tokyo based illustrator. In the past 3 years, I have noticed that I like illustration that looks lovely but has a strong and heavy meaning; my artwork Tokyo Subway Sarin Attack is about the first bioterrorism in the world, and I think it is successful in expressing this idea. Also, I like to make works that all generations can enjoy. I want to be an illustrator who works on these ideas and I hope I will be able to show my art not only in Japan but also in other countries!

SACHIKOOGURI_pitchergirls
It’s been fascinating to hear about the world of Sachiko Oguri. You will be able to secure your own copy of Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion very soon when I launch my Kickstarter campaign. Stay tuned!

Written by Amelia Gregory on Monday October 5th, 2015 8:40 am

Categories ,#ameliasccc, ,Adult Coloring Book, ,Adult Colouring Book, ,Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, ,Coloring, ,Coloring Book, ,Colouring, ,Colouring Book, ,Drawn Chorus Collective, ,Easy As, ,Flying Potato (Chips), ,Folk Tale, ,Half tone technique, ,Hyakki Yako, ,I Am a Cat, ,Kickstarter, ,Light Eye Mind Gallery, ,Little Door Collective, ,middlesex university, ,Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, ,Sachiko Oguri, ,Soseki Natsume, ,tokyo, ,Tokyo Subway Sarin Attack, ,Urashima Taro, ,Urashima Taro of My Childhood

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Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Sadhna Prasad: Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion featured artist.

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MA_ProjectSpread3_SadhnaPrasad
Indian artist Sadhna Prasad contributes a vibrant page to Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, inspired by her interest in parallel worlds. Here she shares her colour rich take on life, weaving together a love of dreams, memory and fantasy.

Portrait2_SadhnaPrasad
Sadhna Prasad_colouring
What is your colouring book artwork inspired by? It’s very intriguing.
I am currently obsessing over the existence of parallel worlds and researching about how the idea of the same came about. The illustration for the Coloring Book is an experiment for this relationship between humans and spaces. It is to define the two worlds which will connect in multiple ways, depending on the person filling the colors in to finish the image.

MA_ProjectSpread2_SadhnaPrasad
How did you come to study at Camberwell, and how does a London education differ from a Mumbai education?
I had researched a lot about the Illustration courses and the course-structure at Camberwell sounded very exciting and challenging. My education in India was under-graduation hence guided constantly by professionals and I was referred to as a student. In London, I was a professional who had taken up a year to finish a particular project, experimenting along the way with the feedback of tutors. That’s the difference. I was moulded into a complete professional.

Quote2_SadhnaPrasad
Why are you so interested in memories, dreams and fantasy?
I have always believed that my work should resonate with my personality. Memories create that relatable added layer. I am way more expressive when I relate to situations and scenarios personally. Dreams and fantasy is my gateway to edit the existing world.

MA_ProjectSpread1_SadhnaPrasad
Where would you most like to create a mural and why?
I would love to create a narrative-mural at intervals from Kashmir to Kanyakumari in India. It covers the two extreme points of the country. (Kashmir-North India, Kanyakumari-South India). This is an ideal roadtrip journey across India and it would be a story for people to travel through and will also help them travel further. The mural would be spaced on the roadtrip route from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. Now that I have pitched the idea, I am excited to work towards it.

MA_research1_SadhnaPrasad
Adobe_ColossalANIMALS_SadhnaPrasad
Can you tell us more about your involvement in the worlds Biggest Student Art Show?
I use Behance quite frequently to look for freelance opportunities or to follow and look at other peoples work. I stumbled upon this competition under Behance’s Job Portal and I thought I should give it a try. Everything worked out perfectly and I was chosen as one of the ten students around the world to be featured in Adobe’s Worlds Biggest Student Art show where each of us got an amazing opportunity to contribute a design piece to be painted on a wall in Brooklyn by Colossal Media. We were given a common theme – ‘to show our unique perspective of the world‘.

Adobe_Colossal_SadhnaPrasad
Why do you like entering competitions and which ones have you entered recently?
Competitions keep the adrenaline rush going for me. I love working under strict guidelines and time restrictions. Apart form that, it gives you various opportunities to travel and connect with people form all over the world who illustrate to make a change. I have recently entered two for Film Festival Official Poster Competition and I am working on one due in January for a picture book.

Quote3_SadhnaPrasad
How are you exploring animations?
I am currently experimenting with a software called Cinema 4D, to see what 3D elements I can add to my illustrations. I intend to start the experimentation with a common theme and small GIFS till I conclude in the form of an elaborate motion graphic video.

Quote1_SadhnaPrasad
What is you personal project Life’s Little Instruction Book?
I came across this tiny little book at a bookstore in India called “Life’s Little Instruction Book” and decided to pick it up. After reading all the quotes I realised the book is a confusion of emotions by the author, where he is telling you what is right and wrong. After the one year hiatus with work, I decided I would illustrate what the quotes meant to me, literally or satirically. It is the long term project with which I plan to record my work changes.

MA_research2_SadhnaPrasad
You have just been on a road trip across India, can you tell us more?
The roadtrip was one of a kind, because it was a collaboration with 15 other creatives whom I hadn’t known before. Such a surprise the trip turned out with some great collaborations on the trip, painting murals/boats while we travelled and millions of ideation for future opportunities to work together. It also gave me an opportunity to dwell further into the topic of stereotypes and spaces. Moreover it gave me time to think, reflect and meet some amazing people.

MA_Projectcover__SadhnaPrasad
Where are you based at present and why?
I am currently based in Mumbai, India, working as a freelance illustrator as well as looking for other work opportunities while connecting to the illustration community in India and elsewhere.

Portrait1_SadhnaPrasad
Artwork by Sadhna Prasad features in Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion alongside 40 other artist, funding now on Kickstarter. Get your copy for Christmas!

Written by Amelia Gregory on Saturday November 7th, 2015 1:54 pm

Categories ,#ameliasccc, ,Adobe’s Worlds Biggest Student Art, ,Adult Coloring Book, ,Adult Colouring, ,Adult Colouring Book, ,Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, ,Behance, ,brooklyn, ,Cinema 4D, ,Colossal Media, ,Colouring Book, ,Film Festival Official Poster Competition, ,India, ,Indian, ,interview, ,Kanyakumari, ,Kashmir, ,Kickstarter, ,Life’s Little Instruction Book, ,Mumbai, ,Sadhna Prasad

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Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Sophie Corrigan: Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion featured artist.

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Sophie Corrigan - anatomy of a fox
Illustrator Sophie Corrigan is known as @ladyaxolotl on instagram, where she has gained a huge following thanks to her images of Puggles and the like. Her super intricate artwork featuring oodles of cute critters and alluring animals will be featured in my upcoming colouring book… read on to find out more.

Sophie Corrigan
What are your favourite characters to draw and why?
I always gravitate towards drawing animals, as I’m a huge nature-lover! Any and all are really fun to draw. As a warm-up when sketching, I tend to draw canines, bears and birds, as their shapes are so simple but leave lots of room for experimenting – i.e., gangly legs, wonky eyes, and silly stances!

Sophie Corrigan - both pages small
What drew you to the theme of leaf litter for the colouring book pages?
I knew I wanted to base it upon a woodland or forest theme, as there’s lots of scope for including different creatures and floral shapes. In the past I’ve drawn woodland scenes, but I quite liked the idea of zooming in a bit this time to get a different perspective. That would allow me to draw some of the smaller critters such as squirrels and hedgehogs (which I love!), and also explore intricate details that might be found on the ground in a wood – which I thought would be great fun to colour!

Sophie Corrigan - anatomy of a hedgehog
Why have you decided to head back to college for a masters?
Since leaving Uni in 2013, I knew I wanted to go back and study on the Children’s Book Illustration MA course! My dream is still to have a children’s book published, and this is just another step towards that goal. I met a lot of inspiring people at Uni, and really felt that my work improved a lot while I was there – and I know there’s still so much to learn. There were visiting lecturers and lots of opportunities for feedback that I’ve really missed. I decided to wait a while before heading back, to build up my portfolio a bit and see if I could work as a freelance illustrator for a while. I really can’t wait to be a student again and improve my work more!

Sophie Corrigan - abeagle commission
Sophie Corrigan - sassage
How come you live in a sweet shop, who does it belong to and do you get any freebies, what is your favourite sweet and why?
I grew up in it! It’s a little corner convenience shop owned by my parents, and they’re quite known locally for their traditional sweets in jars. It was fantastic as a child (as you can imagine) as my parents weren’t at all strict, and I even got to help pick and test the stock. I still get freebies now, but growing up with it gives you a bit self-control! Plus, I pay my lovely parents rent for the privilege now. I still get excited visiting the sweet stockists. As for favourites, we sell the best fudge I’ve ever had anywhere (not biased), and I’m a huge chocolate fiend (Nestle is probably my favourite), and leftovers from Easter and Christmas are probably the best things ever.

Sophie Corrigan - ocelittle ocelot
I love your needle felted characters, how did you learn this art?
I was browsing the internet one day and a cute tiny cat caught my eye. After looking more closely, I saw that it was actually a felted ornament made by someone! I had to learn the skill for myself, it just looked so lovely. After looking up tutorials on YouTube, I found that it couldn’t be simpler – all you had to do was poke wool with a barbed needle, and magically it becomes a shape! Stitching in the little beady eyes is my favourite bit, though – that’s when the creatures sort of come to life!

Sophie Corrigan - crocodiles arent evil
Sophie Corrigan - puppy totem
What kind of Plush designs do you hope to make for christmas, any sneak peeks you can share?
It’s not for certain yet that anything will happen with them, but I’ve been designing some plush ideas for Christmas next year. Can’t give away too much about them, but they’re quirky and festive! Most of my work at the minute is in the top-secret stage, and it’s really difficult to not share details as it’s all rather exciting!!

Sophie corrigan axolotl shapeWays
I love the 3D printed axolotl, how was it made and what for?
The 3D printed axolotl I have is not only magical and adorable, but also has a little story behind it! I was contacted by 3D designer Eric Ho on Shapeways (a website that creates lots of different items through 3D printing) via Twitter, asking if I would like to collaborate with him to create a 3D printed Pugtato – which is one of my designs. I’d seen that he had the axolotl for sale, and it looked amazing, so of course I said yes to the collaboration (and ordered one of his axolotls for myself)! So, thanks to axolotls, the Pugtato is now available as a 3D printed sculpture too! It’s turned out just as magical as the axolotl, and they both now happily live together on my shelf.

Sophie Corrigan - pugtato
Can you tell us more about your collaboration with a crochet artist? Can we expect more 3D creations from you?
I was contacted by crochet artist Abigial Lim of My Backyard Monsters on Etsy. She’s based in America, but was really enthused by the idea of collaborating, and when I took a look at her work I knew it would be the perfect match, despite the distance. I could never pick up crochet myself so I was overjoyed to see the prototype of my Pugtato created perfectly by Abigail! The first order of Pugtatoes sold out in a matter of hours – I’m just waiting on the next batch to arrive, as I’ve had lots of people asking if they’re still available! I’m sure we’ll work together on more of my characters too. I really love the idea of collaborating, and have a few other exciting collaborations lined up! (Which are, again, top secret at the minute).

Sophie Corrigan - raccoon on bongos
Sophie Corrigan - cardinals
Why do you think you have attracted 10,000 followers on instagram, any tips?
I’ve been totally blown away by the support I’ve had on Instagram! I loved the setup when I first joined, and realised quite quickly people seemed to respond to my work on there really well, and my followers gradually increased over time. I just kept uploading my sketches, and my final artworks, and anything that was quite interesting to me. It’s just a perfectly simple setup, and it’s the social media site I update most often because of that. I’ve discovered so many great artists through it, and it’s such a lovely community! Since I started producing work for larger clients, and through wonderful support from sites like Ohh Deer and Redbubble, my followers just exploded. I never thought I’d get so many. I’m quite touched that people appreciate both my artwork, and photographs of hot chocolate! As for tips, I’d just say upload images that you really love, make use of hashtags, and if you’re an artist it’s always lovely to see a sketchbook!

Sophie Corrigan - dogs hallmark card
Read about more of my featured artists as they are decided! I can’t wait to share all the talent I have found through the #ameliasccc open brief (check the hashtag to see examples of all the submitted work).

Written by Amelia Gregory on Wednesday September 16th, 2015 10:55 am

Categories ,#ameliasccc, ,@ladyaxolotl, ,Abigial Lim, ,Adult Colouring Book, ,Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, ,axolotl, ,Children’s Book Illustration, ,Coloring Book, ,Colouring Book, ,etsy, ,instagram, ,interview, ,Lady Axolotl, ,My Backyard Monsters, ,Ohh Deer, ,Puggle, ,Pugtato, ,Redbubble, ,Shapeways, ,Sophie Corrigan

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Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Steph Moulden: Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion featured artist.

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steph moulden budgie blue
Steph Moulden has created a surreal space scene inspired by her own life activities for Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion. The Hereford College of Arts graduate shares her journey from graduation to professional illustrator.

steph moulden portrait
What persuaded you to pursue illustration rather than fine art?
I thought I was a fine artist for a while. I always liked to paint surreal images but would end up frustrated when trying to be photorealistic (and failing). My college tutor, who was totally brilliant, introduced me to a graphic novel by David Mack called Kabuki Dreams. It’s miles away from my own style now but it opened up a lot of new creative processes, taught me a bit about narrative and helped me link together what illustration was and could be. The same tutor also said that to not have the structure of illustration would be dangerous for my mind! Best advice I’ve ever had!

steph moulden dog over moon
What was your course at Hereford College of Arts like, and what were the best things about studying there?
Hereford College of Arts was a strange little university. Freshers nights were all about local real ale testing and picnics at the local art centre as opposed to the more traditional day glo events. But this setting made everyone who went really close from the beginning. I shared studios with animators, graphic designers and filmmakers alike. For a small place we had a great host of professional illustrators and makers come in. Mostly as requested by the students! Top lectures I can remember were by Laura Carlin, Karoline Rerrie and Dominic Owen.

steph moulden angry heads
Can you tell us about the Little Boxes Collective?
It was at HCA I met two other illustrators and we formed a collective before the first year was even up. That summer we even shared a sketchbook diary and posted it to each other week by week. We developed a way of producing 3D displays using cut out cardboard that we’d paint and draw on. Not a very typical route for illustrators to follow but it meant that Little Boxes Collective has been the gateway to some of my most loved projects that perhaps would not of been commissioned as a single artist. At the end of our degree the university asked us to create a signage system, leaflets and a huge window display advertising the 2012 Summer graduate show.

steph moulden stb bris window
steph moulden wooden dog
What did you do during your time spent living in Bristol?
My favourite Bristol project was an installation we did in the window for Start The Bus. It was a 3D ‘winter camp’ made entirely of painted cardboard and cut out characters. We all lived and worked together in Bristol selling wares for Made in Bristol Christmas Fair and creating cardboard installations for local shop windows and events. After nearly two years, I moved back to Hereford.

steph moulden pinapple
How does your day’s work reveal what is going on in your head?
I love to draw creatures or people. It’s my biggest procrastination at the desk but also a little insight into what’s going on in my mind. My fiancée will come home and look at the funny faces I’ve doodled and can work out my mood quicker than I can explain how my day has been. I also have two budgies so they appear quite frequently in sketches.

steph moulden little boxes work
steph moulden inky sketch
What is your favourite way to produce an illustration?
My over active imagination means I dream a lot and if I’ve had a good dreaming night I’ll have a good drawing day. Although I rarely use a pen or pencil. I’m most comfortable sketching with a paint brush and some cheap ink. I also love folk art acrylics, which were used in my colouring book entry. A quid a bottle and such beautiful thick colours you wouldn’t guess their value.

steph moulden double page update
What inspired your surreal space scene for my colouring book?
My colourful space scene is inspired about a few of the things I loved doing over the summer. Exploring the great outdoors, the season of garden sitting, warm days wild swimming and sadly, as a tribute, walking my dog for the last few times. My surreal universe is brightly painted and then collaged on to Photoshop. I wanted it to feel like an invite a party you wanted to go to. Admittedly, I’ve also caught the space bug brought on by the new Star Wars films…

steph moulden doone
steph moulden sign work
How have you set about finding work in your home town?
As much as I rely on Instagram, Twitter etc. to network, I have had more opportunities from selling myself face to face. I installed a blackboard wall at my place of work and covered it in hand lettering and illustrations. Another business then got me to do their blackboards and now I have a wall to design for a new shop opening for The Great British Florist.

steph moulden budgie sketch
You have only recently set up shop as a freelance illustrator with a stand alone website – why did it take you so long and how has it been going?
Moving away from the Little Boxes Collective has propelled me to take on a new identity. I feel like even though I graduated in 2012 I’m brand new to this all over again. Style never stops developing and you never stop learning. Although I have finally let myself have a website! I always put it off for fear of it looking fake but it just gave me reassurance that I can call myself a freelance illustrator. It is really good to have old contacts back again. The biggest challenge has been balancing a creative and work lifestyle. Since moving to a cheaper city I’ve made the brave decision to drastically lower my day job hours so I can properly focus on Illustration. I have a spare room studio all to myself. I want to build it up though to include a printing area. It’s a slow and steady journey it but has been rewarding already. In a month I had my first magazine commission for Fourth Trimester Magazine who are gearing up to print soon. And with the work in the running for some local businesses, it’s the first time in years I can say things are happening!

It’s been great to gain an insight into the world of Steph Moulden. Make sure you place a pledge on Kickstarter (coming soon) to grab your copy of Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion featuring her delightful work.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Tuesday October 20th, 2015 8:52 am

Categories ,#ameliasccc, ,Adult Coloring Book, ,Adult Colouring Book, ,Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, ,Coloring, ,Colouring, ,Colouring Book, ,David Mack, ,Dominic Owen, ,Fourth Tri Magazine, ,Fourth Trimester Magazine, ,Hand Lettering, ,Hereford College of Arts, ,illustration, ,Kabuki Dreams, ,Karoline Rerrie, ,Kickstarter, ,Laura Carlin, ,Little Boxes Collective, ,Made in Bristol Christmas Fair, ,Star Wars, ,start the bus, ,Steph Moulden, ,The Great British Florist, ,typography

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Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Súa Agapé: Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion featured artist.

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Sua Agape Artwork 2
Súa Agapé is another fantastic instagram find for Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, creating cosmic illustrations inspired by a love of cacti and imaginary worlds. Read on to find out more about this Guatemalan artist.

Sua-Agape-potrait
How did your parents inspire you as a child?
I remember when I was a child I always saw my dad drawing. He always had me next to him with his rapidographs, ink, pencils and rulers. I still own some of his art tools; it’s like a childhood memory for me. My mother is an Industrial Fashion Designer and also a Visual Art Teacher, so I grew up watching both of them doing a lot of designs, drawings and projects. They gave me their art supplies and tools to play with and I really enjoyed interacting with their everyday tools. I remember I used to paint all the walls of the house, creating sketches with different materials, because my parents invited me to create even as a small child.

Sua Agape Artwork 9
How does your country inspire your work?
Guatemala is a multicultural and multi-ethnic country with many languages and Mayan heritage, so you can take inspiration from every place; and I often get inspired by the colours and patterns of the traditional costumes of each ethnic group. It’s great to have a beautiful country with such amazing wildlife and fauna to explore on new adventures!

Sua Agape Artwork 6
Where did you study and how did you move into illustration more recently?
I studied Graphic Design at the University of San Carlos of Guatemala and Digital Creativity at Digital Invaders in Mexico. These careers complement my passion for illustration and they helped me to develop my skills as an illustrator. A few months ago I decided to start working on my own as a designer and freelance illustrator and it’s awesome. For now I’m working on some new projects to develop my illustrations for designs on textiles prints for shoes, t-shirts and bags. I really love working on interesting new projects or collaborations so feel free to contact me.

Sua Agape Artwork 8
How easy is it to get good work in Guatemala and how have you found work abroad?
Every year in Guatemala the number of designers in competition for work is increasing as in all growing cities. But if you’re a good designer or illustrator with a good portfolio then you’ll find work easily. I find work abroad through posting my artworks online and submissions, etc. Internet and social media facilitates the work life!

Sua Agape Artwork 5
Can you tell us more about your various exhibitions around the world?
Last year I had the opportunity to participate in the ‘Dibuja Guatemala’ project for the Guatemalan Cultural Center of Spain. All the artists worked on a traveling sketchbook, drawing and capturing the Guatemalan streetlife and the sketchbooks than travelled to Spain and were exhibited in a gallery. I also had the opportunity to participate in the Glug Birmingham & Inkygoodness Poster exhibition. They called for illustrators to participate on a poster design competition so I participated, and although my poster design didn’t win all the finalists ere featured in the event exhibition, so I was very excited and happy to have my poster in London! This year I’m participating in the Sketchbook Project, so one of my sketchbooks is traveling around the United States in a Mobile Library. I love this project because I can share with other people my inspiration at a specific time, stored in the sketchbook.

Sua Agape Artwork 7
When did you first become interested in the Cosmos?
If I were not an illustrator I would love to be an astronaut. But I much prefer to draw and be an illustrator. So I will be an astronaut in another life. In the meantime, I will draw the entire universe. :)

Sua Agape Artwork 1
Why is purple your favourite colour?
It’s been my favorite colour since I was a child. All my things were purple; it’s a colour that makes me feel at peace and in another world because it’s so magical and mysterious at the same time. I love to see how purple can mix with other colours.

Amelias-Magazine-by-Sua-Agape-web
What inspired your colouring book artwork?
The mystery of other worlds. I love imagining what might happen in another dimension, universe or time. What happens when you take part in your own dreams? I hope people who see these pages will feel like an astronaut traveling to another fantastic world. It’s an invitation to see and stay in my cosmic world.

Sua Agape Artwork 4
What kind of products and images do you like to embroider and screen print?
All kind of textile products like t-shirts, bags, patches, pillows, shoes and maybe some jewellery. But I still want to print on paper too. I’m really excited about working on my new project and learning a lot of textile printing techniques.

How are you building your own brand and what does it encompass?
Before anything else I will focus on design and illustration for textiles but I’ll always be working as an illustrator for different projects. More surprises are coming soon!

Find Súa Agapé and many other artists featured in my upcoming Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, funding on Kickstarter very soon!

Written by Amelia Gregory on Friday October 16th, 2015 8:47 am

Categories ,#ameliasccc, ,Adult Coloring Book, ,Adult Colouring Book, ,Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, ,Coloring, ,Coloring Book, ,Colouring, ,Colouring Book, ,Dibuja Guatemala, ,Digital Invaders, ,Glug Birmingham, ,Guatemala, ,Guatemalan Cultural Center of Spain, ,inkygoodness, ,interview, ,Sketchbook Project, ,Sua Agape, ,University of San Carlos of Guatemala

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Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Suzanne Carpenter: Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion featured artist.

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Suzanne Carpenter Illustator Eye
Suzanne Carpenter is a hugely busy illustrator and designer who I have admired on instagram for some time, so I am so glad she found time to submit work for my upcoming Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, creating a beautiful image inspired by her ongoing love of fish, and her daydreams of turning into a mermaid.

Suzanne Carpenter Illustator Eye
How did you first discover Amelia’s Magazine?
My daughter Holly first introduced me to Amelia’s Magazine when she was an art student and I’ve been a fan ever since. I’m married a to a designer and we’re more than a bit proud to have produced two new designers.Both based in London; Holly specialises in eyewear and Joe does a combination of graphic design and window vinyl. They roll their eyes if I say too much about them as they hate me being boastful. If only it was allowed I’d tell you that they’re both extremely beautiful and very, very talented. If you’re following me on instagram you’ll likely see news of them and their work cropping up from time to time. We often visit exhibitions together or share links to inspiration but they’re both a bit bemused by my enthusiasm for social media.

Suzanne Carpenter Illustator Eye
I believe you began your career as a graphic designer, how did you make the move into illustration?
I trained as a graphic designer but I always had a niggling need to make pictures. Not long after I graduated a friend and I jointly won a Welsh Arts Council competition to illustrate a poetry book and Staedtler employed me to travel around the country drawing with their new range of brush markers. From then on I had regular illustration work but being a butterfly brain I mixed it up with a dollop of teaching, a dabble of writing, a pinch of cushion plumping and staggering amount of staring out of the window.

Suzanne Carpenter Illustator Eye
Suzanne Carpenter Illustator Eye
Why did you settle on the name Illustrator Eye for your brand?
@illustrator_eye seemed like a fitting tag – my life is like an intense game of I Spy – constantly attracted and distracted by patterns around me. My illustrator’s eye effects my every move, from making pictures, prints and patterns to rummaging around in charity shops.

Suzanne Carpenter Illustator Eye
Why did you choose to draw fish for my colouring book?
I have a thing for fish. Not fin flapping, live, swishing fish but paper, wood and fabric fish. Fishes painted on dishes and things. Mid Century ceramic fish filled with abstract pattern provide oceans of decoration inspiration. Our lives, like the tides, are dependent on patterns and so I chose to impose my compulsion for pattern on flamboyant, fancy fish going with flow and teeny tiny fish that swim against the tide. Like us, all so different and yet the same.

Suzanne Carpenter Illustator Eye
Who or what inspired the mermaid?
When I’ve sat too long, run too far or stayed up too late, I visualise myself as a mermaid being towed along through tropical water by beautiful fish. Amazing how it helps the tensions wash away. It’s one of my more relaxing daydreams!

Suzanne Carpenter Illustator Eye
You are ridiculously busy, how do you manage all your different projects and stay sane?
I’m not always this busy but the small amount of sanity I’ve retained can probably be put down to a good dose of pavement pounding. Running is a good antidote to work and keeps me from becoming a moody old witch (most of the time). I did Cardiff Half Marathon earlier this month and swore it would be my last but to be honest I’m already thinking about next years. Leaving the car behind and cycling around the city has it’s blissful moment too – weaving in and out of Cardiff’s parks watching the seasons change pumps a bit more oxygen into the brain!

Suzanne Carpenter Illustator Eye
What is your involvement with Stills?
Stills is a branding and design company set up by my husband Chris and a partner. I’m a director and over the years I’ve been involved in lots of different projects from illustrating to creative writing and social media support for some of our clients. It’s based in a lovely old coach house on the edge of Bute Park but we’ve also set up a small studio at home and next year will be spending much of our time focusing on our own patterned dreams. You’ll soon be able to find us at @patternistas

Suzanne Carpenter Illustator Eye
Suzanne Carpenter Illustator Eye
How did you get involved with Uncle Goose wooden blocks?
Once upon a time on Instagram I posted a paisley pattern that I’d designed. I literally jumped for joy when Pete Bultman at Uncle Goose got in touch to say he’d love to put it on his handmade wooden blocks! That one is still in the pipeline but in the meantime I worked with him on their Hindi language blocks and their Swahili block set which has just been launched. They do a great job of screen printing the designs and are a dream client!

Suzanne Carpenter Illustator Eye
Can you tell us more about the Shed Project?
The Shed Project is the amazingly dedicated and beautifully bonkers mission of Lee John Phillips to draw every item in his late grandfather’s shed. He estimates it will take around 5 years of intensive work as he has to draw in excess of 100,000 items. His story has captured imaginations right across the world and his following is growing by the minute. We initially became friends through instagram when it became apparent that not only were we from the same Welsh Valley but we both had a thing for fish! I’m over the moon that he’s suggested that we collaborate on some images for prints. His tools and bolts and my plant patterns (or planterns as he’s named them). We’re going to do some vector and some line images and we may even put them on coffee pots.

Suzanne Carpenter Illustator Eye
I believe you are working on a big Christmas campaign for a shopping centre in the USA, what kind of work are you creating for them?
It’s all ginger bread, santa houses, snowflakes and sparkles in my world at the moment. I’m working on the Christmas campaign for The Grove and Americana at Brand in LA. The commission came from them seeing my work on Illustration Mundo. They were looking for a very graphic, patterned, vector style and so I happily my work fitted the bill. I’ve got a great long list of images to get done by the end of Oct so I think I’ll be hanging a few baubles from my ears and getting the Christmas albums out to keep me going.

Suzanne Carpenter Illustator Eye
Suzanne Carpenter Illustator Eye
What else are you working on at present?
I’ve just finished a mural in the garden of a local organic cafe – I’d love to do more of that. Through my agents Artist Partners I’ve recently illustrated the cover and sample pages for a book about the wildlife of the rainforest. I’ve just had news that it went down well at Frankfurt Book Fair and so fingers crossed that more of my days will be spent growing leaf patterns and putting legs on insects! Along with Chris I’m working on a series of videos for Interface (sustainability champions and the worlds largest manufacturer of contract carpet tiles) – they’ll be used to help train their sales team. I’ll be doing the scripting and storyboarding and Chris will be videoing my live drawing. I’ve done a couple of prints for the 5th anniversary exhibition of Sho, my favourite local gallery. I’m doing a few days as a visiting lecturer at Cardiff Metropolitan Uni this month – helping run a collage/layout project with a lovely group of 1st yr graphic students. I’m developing some ideas for a pattern book which I hope to present to publishers as soon as I can find some extra hours in the day to finish visualising them. I’ve taken part in ‘Out Fox’ a 3D paper project by Proyecto Ensamble who are based in Chile. They supply the fox head template and 13 illustrators from across the world have designed a pattern to feature on them. The set are just launching – see them on instagram @ensamble

Suzanne Carpenter Illustator Eye
Where can people find you online?
You can find me on instagram at @illustrator_eye, on twitter at @illustrator_eye, on etsy here, at Stills and at Artist Partners.

Find Suzanne Carpenter and many other talented artists in my upcoming Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, available soon on Kickstarter, the perfect alternative colouring book to gift this Christmas.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Wednesday October 21st, 2015 11:31 am

Categories ,#ameliasccc, ,@illustrator_eye, ,@patternistas, ,Adult Colouring Book, ,Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, ,americana, ,Artist Partners, ,Brand, ,Cardiff Half Marathon, ,Cardiff Metropolitan Uni, ,Colorado State University, ,Coloring, ,Colouring, ,Colouring Book, ,fish, ,Frankfurt Book Fair, ,I Spy, ,illustration, ,Illustration Mundo, ,Illustrator Eye, ,Interface, ,interview, ,Kickstarter, ,Lee John Phillips, ,Mermaid, ,Mid Century, ,Out Fox, ,Proyecto Ensamble, ,Shed Project, ,Sho, ,Staedtler, ,Stills, ,Suzanne Carpenter, ,The Grove, ,Uncle Goose, ,Welsh Arts Council

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Amelia’s Magazine | 3 DAYS LEFT on KICKSTARTER to get your copy of Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion

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Sua Agape Shannelle
There are just a few days left to secure a copy of Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion before Christmas. My Kickstarter Campaign closes on Monday 23rd November and I’ll be producing as many copies as have been paid for and possibly a few more if I raise enough money, to be sold online. It makes an awesome and unusual gift so make sure you get it now! (I sold out of my last book within a month of printing it). Here’s a few more updates:

Jenn Leem Bruggen East End Prints
Dancers by Jennifer Leem Bruggen

Through the Window by Hazel Partridge
Through the Window by Hazel Partridge

Colouring Print Sets:
I’ve made a fabulous addition to the campaign in the form of A3 colouring print sets: 6 lucky artists from the book have been chosen for a publishing deal with East End Prints, who will produce high quality prints of their double pages: one full colour A3 print and one black line A3 print to colour in. These beautiful prints can be displayed on the wall alone or as a spectacular diptych of your making! The twin sets will retail at £19.95 but we’re offering them at a special price of just £15 prior to their launch at the London Illustration Fair in December.

Eleanor Percival by Steph Moulden KICK
Eleanor Percival by Steph Moulden.


Artist Jenny Tang colouring in her page.

Press:
Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion has been featured on Grafik Magazine, Creative Boom, Anorak Magazine, Bust, Colour with Claire and Made in Shoreditch. Read revealing interviews on The Early Hour, Motherland and Mumspo if you want to know about life as a single ‘mumpreneur’. I also wrote my first ever blog for the Huffington Post, titled 8 Things You Didn’t Know About Colouring Books For Adults, which I have also posted on Amelia’s Magazine. This is well worth a read if you want to know why colouring is so damn fantastic. It is aimed at people who are not sure what all the fuss is about and perhaps don’t think that colouring is for them, (like myself for instance, not long ago!)

Sophie Corrigan by Sua Agape
Sophie Corrigan by Sua Agape

Lorna Scobie colour by Libby Parra
Lorna Scobie colour by Libby Parra

Artists from the book colour each other’s work:
In other news, I’ve asked the artists featured in Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion to colour in each other’s artwork and the results have been so fantastic that I’m already cooking up ideas for an exhibition. I hope these examples will whet your own colouring appetites and cannot wait to see what you do with your pages.

Get your copy of Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion from Kickstarter now!

Top image by Sua Agape, coloured by Shannelle Schutz.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Friday November 20th, 2015 10:55 am

Categories ,#ameliasccc, ,8 Things You Didn’t Know About Colouring Books For Adults, ,Adult Colouring, ,Adult Colouring Book, ,Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, ,Becky Dinnage, ,Coloring, ,Coloring Book, ,Colouring Book, ,Colouring print set, ,Colouring Print Sets, ,East End Prints, ,Eleanor Percival, ,Hazel Partridge, ,Huffington Post, ,Jenny Tang, ,Kickstarter, ,Libby Parra, ,London Illustration Fair, ,Lorna Scobie, ,Shannelle Schutz, ,Sophie Corrigan, ,Steph Moulden, ,Sua Agape, ,Twin print sets

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Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with Johan Lindström: Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion featured artist.

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DudeLove_Lila
Swedish illustrator Johan Lindström is a multi-talented father of three who trained in animation but also draws, knits and sews. For Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion he was inspired by varied modes of transport to create a fantastical road full of people from all walks of life.

Johan Lindström
Johan Lindström
I believe you only came to illustration relatively recently – why only now and what were you doing beforehand?
I´ve always done creative things like drawing, painting, knitting and sewing, and when I was little I wanted to be a fine artist. But during art school I discovered computer graphics and wanted to learn more so I went to a 3D graphics program at the university and fell in love with animation. After graduation I worked as a character animator in the games industry for several years and when I one day found myself without a job I decided to start freelancing as an animator. Being a freelancer made my creativity explode and I started to draw and paint again for the first time in years and I realised that what I had really wanted when I was little wasn’t to be a fine artist but an illustrator!

Johan Lindström
Tourists_JohanLindström
How do you juggle your commitments to your family with being an illustrator?
I have always considered it a great advantage for me to have children in my life. I became a dad in my early twenties and that influenced me to become more structured than I was before and definitely more focused on what ever I take on. One of my biggest inspirations are my children, they remind me of what´s important in life and I try to spend as much time as I can with them and since I’m freelancing I now got the freedom to do that.

Malesport_JohanLindström
Man_JohanLindström
Who taught you to knit and is this a common thing in Sweden? what kind of things do you make?
Haha, no I don’t think it´s that common in Sweden to knit, not for guys at least. My mom taught me when I was in my teens, I just thought it was cool to be able to design my own winter clothes. Since it´s cold and snowy for six months a year here in the north, warm hats, gloves, and scarves are kind of a big deal.

Johan Lindström
What is it about the handmade touch and happy accidents that you think make a good outcome?
When I was younger I could spend hours and days on remaking my drawings and paintings, I was never satisfied with the result. It was a big turning point to realize that (for me) it´s the imperfection that tells the story and makes art interesting. I try to keep my work as handmade as possible, I love the happy accidents and wonky feeling of a not-so-perfect drawing. So I usually draw and paint everything by hand and scan it and then put it together digitally.

Astronauts_JohanLindström
I discovered your work on instagram and invited you to take part in this open brief, what is your favourite thing about using instagram?
I guess it´s for the same reason that I love illustration and animation – using images to tell stories. Instagram is a great place to meet new people around the world that share the same passions in life and it has become my number one source of daily inspiration.

FourBirds_JohanLindström
What kind of animated videos do you make?
I mainly do motion design and explainer videos for companies and advertising agencies. A long term goal is to start doing more personal work within animation too, and further integrating my illustration style in my animations.

Johan Lindström
Who do you design patterns for?
I hope to design patterns for companies to be used for fabrics and home decor in the future, but at the moment you can find my patterns at Spoonflower and Society6.

Men_JohanLindström
You have said that you like to explore the roles of gender in your illustrations, why is this important to you and how do you set about doing this in your personal work?
We live in a society that still wrestles with inequality, which is quite apparent in visual language where men and women are often portrayed differently. I try to break these stereotyped patterns in my illustrations to challenge the norm of genders. As a man it also feels relevant to challenge the idea of masculinity that I think can be harmful to both society and people in many ways, but also (the lack of) fatherhood in art is something that interests me a lot.

Emotions_JohanLindström
Why have you decided to portray men as reptiles and lizards in your series about the way men deal with their feelings?
Well I wanted to do illustrations about the absurd notion that men can’t express their feelings by nature or that we don’t have the same need for them as women do. I thought portraying us as lizard men with our lizard brains made the absurdity even more obvious.

DoubleSpread_JohanLindström
Who is featured in your artwork for my colouring book and where did you find your source material?
I love drawing real life people doing real life stuff and I think it´s funny how different ways people choose to get from one place to another, so I did an illustration where different people uses different ways of transport. My references and inspirations are a mishmash of my own photos, library book and the good old internet.

Mopeds_JohanLindström
Enjoy Johan Lindström‘s work and that of so many other talented artists in my upcoming colouring book Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, available soon from Kickstarter!

Written by Amelia Gregory on Friday October 2nd, 2015 8:49 am

Categories ,#ameliasccc, ,Adult Colouring Book, ,Amelia’s Colourful Colouring Companion, ,Coloring, ,Coloring Book, ,Colouring, ,Colouring Book, ,Fatherhood, ,Gender, ,illustrator, ,instagram, ,Johan Lindström, ,Kickstarter, ,Parenting, ,pattern, ,Society6, ,Spoonflower, ,surface design, ,Swedish

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