Yes – it is true! A picture really does paint a thousand words. Throughout this section of our portfolio website we have examples of a variety of our illustration:
Full Colour Illustration and Diagrams
The full colour illustration samples below were commissioned for a variety of projects. The different styles reflect the different job requirements – classic pen & ink with watercolour washes for the landscapes and computer illustration for the more technical diagrams and infographics.
Scientific Illustration and Diagrams
Scientific illustrations, in both traditional and digital formats, provide a visual explanation and aid the viewer, by clarifying complex descriptive information. The function of a scientific illustration is essentially a practical one: to inform, to explain, and to instruct — in short, to communicate.
Cartoons
Cartoons are useful for lots of different reasons. They introduce humour into a situation. They can tell a story that is difficult to set up photographically. Most importantly – they are especially good at illustrating the impossible!
Black and White Illustration
Black & White illustration is a very striking and graphic form of illustration. Using pen & ink or pencils, beautiful effects can be achieved. It is a classic form of illustration which always reproduces well. It can be complex or simple depending on the project requirements.
Childrens’ Book Illustrations
We all have our own favourite childhood books and fond memories of the characters from those books. I can still vividly recall the classically beautiful Ladybird book illustrations, the black & white line drawings in Enid Blyton’s Famous Five books and, of course, the mischievous Cat in the Hat from the still ever popular Dr. Suess books.
So I was delighted when I was asked to illustrate Fiona Tierney’s first books “Look What Blew into the Zoo” and “Peek at the Week in the Zoo”.
Look What Blew into the Zoo
‘Look What Blew into the Zoo’ is a much acclaimed childrens’ book written and was the recommended Childrens’ Choice on the The RTE Radio 1 Tubridy Show Book Club . It received reviews such as Joseph O’Connor’s:
“Look What Blew into the Zoo” is a delight from start to finish, a charming and funny reading experience for children and parents. In our house it rapidly became an unputdownable classic and we’re all eagerly awaiting the next book from this fantastically talented team.”
This book is one of a two part series and, for me, was a lovely first childrens’ book illustration project.
After close consultation with the author and publisher, the look and the format of the book were decided upon and nine months later – (yes really!) the very first zoo book was born. (No pain relief required)
Peek at the Week in the Zoo
Following closely on from ‘Look What Blew into the Zoo’ came the second of Fiona Tierney’s Zoo series – ‘Peek at the Week in the Zoo’. Along with working on the illustrations of this book, I also worked on the design and layout – making it a very special project to work on.
Recent Childrens’ Illustration Projects
As the pictures in a children’s book are often the very first paintings they see, I always find it a hugely important task when first visualising and developing the characters for a new project. What we see and share at that young age stays with us for life. I consider the greatest compliment I have received for my childrens’ illustrations, one which I received from a ten year old boy who, having read ‘Look What Blew into the Zoo’ five years ago, could remember in detail the pants on ‘Elepant’…. and why she was such a sad elephant without them….You really do need to read ‘Look What Blew into the Zoo’ to fully understand this one!
How a Book is Made – Primary School Talk and Book Shop Talk by the Author & Illustrator