Little Lion, the first rough draft

Some details from the first rough draft of 'Come on, Little Lion'. I'm hopefully going to test it on some actual, real-life children to see if they like it. I'll let you know their feedback...

Little Lion (Cover page)

I'm really quite pleased with this!

Excited about how quickly this idea came together too ^_^

Come on, little lion...(the book ^_^)

Just some rough ideas, innit.

R xxx

Come on, little lion...

I wanted a treat so I made a t shirt!

The Fox and Crow next stage...

Still working on it, but I think he's getting there?

R xxx

The Fox and the Crow

I had a portfolio surgery at the Association of Illustrators HQ yesterday and they advised me to give my drawings some context and to try to create backgrounds for my characters, rather than just having drawings of different characters on their own.

So this morning I've made these rough versions of a drawing for the Aesops fable 'The Fox and the Crow' (as I do enjoy drawing both of these animals very much ^_^). I made the line drawing and then decided to have a play around with it in photoshop to see what colours worked best.

Any feedback or thoughts any of you guys have would be awesome before I start on the final piece. I think I might do the real one in watercolours, (a watercolour wash in the background would be pretty) and do all the elements seperately so I can play around with the composition and depth afterwards and make sure it's perfect. I might also add some other animals behind the trees, peeking out at the action.

Anyway, that's been my morning! Hope you're all well and happy,

Rachael xxx

P.S. I had a scout around my local bookshop for new children's books that caught my eye so I could see what was being done now, get some inspiration, etc - and I found 'Dogger' (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dogger-Red-Fox-picture-books/dp/009992790X). I loved this book so much! It really took me back. If anything I create makes a kid feel like this book made me feel years ago - then I'll be super happy!

Summer Sundae fringe poster

If you're local to Leicester, get involved with this event here! http://summersundaefringe.com/events/2009/08/04/twesta_presents

Twesta Promotions poster

Office Space (starring Rachael Smith)

Check me out! I now have an office of my very own! No more working on bed / boyfriend's living room floor for THIS girl! As part of a bursary I won I get this space for a year - and then I get three months of being in an office all of my own - hopefully in a year's time I'll be successful enough to warrant having my own office...

This space already helped me be more productive though as there are less distractions, and I'm sharing with others that are just starting their own businesses - so I think we'll spur each other on. As you can see from the pictures, mine's the only one that's already a bit of a mess. I'll keep you updated as it gets worse ^_^.

Love you all,

R xxx