Characters

Chicken     

Today we would like to introduce you to very talented illustrator – Amanda Pollard:

“My motivation stems from a desire to create characters that will engage an audience, raise a (frequently wry) smile and, hopefully, resonate with some element of the viewer’s personal experience in a way that promotes – in fact, unashamedly encourages – a more light – hearted approach to life’s less fun occupations (e.g. completing one’s tax return…).

“I’m also very interested in exploring the realm of book illustration in the projects I undertake, particularly that which occurs in genres falling outside the vastly popular children’s picture book bracket, e.g. young adult fiction, and – to some extent – non-fiction books for children. (But, if I’m completely honest, it’s also a great excuse to spend all day playing in line and colour instead of doing a ‘proper job’!)”

“The chicken illustration at the beginning of the article is from a series of illustrations destined for a children’s book I have been working on about a newly-hatched, doubt-riddled chicken fearful that he may never develop the key attributes (e.g. sunrise crow) associated with the title ‘cockerel’ he will eventually grow into… Rendered in watercolour and pencil, for a softer finish.

SCBWI Fairy o’clock     

“This illustration was inspired by the weekly online creative stimulus that is Illustration Friday (www.illustrationfriday.com), whereby a topic (usually in one-word format) is nominated, randomly, each Friday and artists, illustrators – indeed, anyone with a creative wont in the visual arts – are invited to submit an illustration in response. The topic here was ‘mesmerized’ – I imagined a child returning to bed after a midnight excursion (bathroom/cookie jar/other) stopped in their tracks by a host of marauding fairies. Rendered in watercolours and fineliner pen (my media of choice).

Pirate Ship     

“This is taken from a series of 12 catalogue cover illustrations I completed for a book distributor (children’s school books) based in King’s Lynn, Norfolk (the image was superimposed on a graded colour background by the graphic design team responsible for producing their publicity materials, hence the white background and clearly defined edging lines.) This was for one of their Fiction catalogues and intended to convey the sensation of children being transported by their reading adventures (the mouse in the crow’s nest is a motif that ran through the series of covers I produced for them).

Swell-IF     

“This pencil drawing (with pastel highlight) was a quick response to observing a child having the residue of a popped bubblegum bubble being rubbed briskly off their (rather ashamed) face. An over-ambitious bubble, I guessed – easily done…

“I have just finished a small, children’s portrait commission (I do occasionally work in a ’straight’ style where realism is required, such as portraiture) and am currently working on a series of humorous illustrations for a private client alongside my own work towards producing an illustrated children’s book. I am also working towards staging an exhibition at the Runnymede Gallery, Old Windsor, in late 2012/early 2013, details of which will be published on my blog in due course.

“Illustrations for the children’s history title An Illustrated History of 1066, by the author and historian Charles Jones, and a synthetic phonics-based teaching programme, Soundroutes, represent my main published work to date, but I am always looking for new projects and challenges and hope to add many more titles to this list over the coming years!”

If you want to see more of Amanda Pollard’s work, visit her blog.