Bookmark for Pocket Mountains

Yey a deer. Thought I'd post a quick update on what I've been up to. I'm currently doing some work for the Scottish Storytelling Centre which I will post here eventually. I also gave a talk as part of the Edinburgh Libraries Festival of Scottish Writing. Thanks to all who attended, it was a great group and helped me through my first big public appearance! (well it was big for me anyway). At the moment I am still really excited about my Jive Bunnies and looking to do something with them as well as working on my ideas for children's books (as part of my Masters degree and personal interest).

Knights in armour...

These images are for a client but I thought I'd share them with you. Busy at the moment as I'm helping my partner prepare for his exhibition.

Boats and interviews

The image above is for this months Rowing & Regatta Magazine. Anybody notice the subtle use of photography? I'm currently working on a series of exciting new projects that I will update on in the near future. Busy busy busy!

Yesterday I was interviewed as part of the Six Cities Design Festival giving my opinions on the use of illustration in album artwork.

Pride & Prejudice with bunnies

The rabbit obsession continues...

New Look Website

Hello All! Hope you like the look of my new website. If you arrived here from somewhere else go to www.vickigausden.co.uk and take a wee peek. As ever comments and suggestions are most welcome.

Pocket Mountains

This is an image of Edinburgh completed for a new walking guide by 'Pocket Mountains'. Sorry I haven't posted recently but I've been busy (as ever).

Rowing & Regatta Magazine

An image for the Amateur Rowing Association's magazine.

Nationwide Mercury Art Prize 2007

I'm through to the finalists so my work will be on display at The Hospital, Covent Garden for the next two weeks or so.

The Counting Fox

My beloved red fox has undergone a brief makeover and is now starring in his own book- 'The Counting Fox'. This will be a simple One to Ten journey through the British Countryside and involve some of its cutest inhabitants. I'm doing it as part of my Master of Design degree but there is something very publishable about this one!

Felt tip pens...

I had a headache today and so thought I'd try out some drawing the manual way! I found a bunch of felt tip pens and doodled this...a little different from my normal stuff but it is nice to play around.

Images for a Women's Lobby Kit for South Lanarkshire Council

I'm currently working on these for The Graphics Company. There are 15 images in total but these are my pick from them. Its been a busy week again but a productive one. I'll post more soon I promise!

Biology

It's a cold day and it looks like it might just rain. I'm working on my huge list of illustrations for Storlann and today I've been tackling skeletons. Above is the horse example. Always good to try something new! Now for the frog...

And a caravan...

... Because I felt like it. I'm seeing some exciting new directions in my work and really enjoying the freedom to experiment a little. I'm also newly devoted to my Wacom Tablet.

A Busy Week

I've been working on a big list of illustrations with a tight deadline so excuse my lack of posts. I thought I'd put these up- I've just done them for the 'Ask the Expert' section for Historic Scotland.

A Little Re-jigging

I wasn't 100% happy with how the monster turned out so I went back to the drawing board (or back to the blank Photoshop document in this case!). I injected a little more colour and took my Wacom tablet for a spin. Thanks to Jill I now have the pressure sensitivity turned on (!) and the results are quite exciting. All of the text was drawn/written directly onscreen.

Worms!!

And while I'm here, this is the text from yesterday put to good use. This is a double page spread from Caterpillar Salad. My favourite bit is the pattern on the plate!

Poster for Wee Bin Beastie

Another college project. The brief was to create a monster that exists alongside an everyday object. My monster lives inside the bin lorries and disposes of the rubbish in a fairly ecologically sound manner. The binman sneak around in the early hours to keep the Beastie from our sights, this also explains why some of the binmen are on foot. I was thinking of extending this to fit in the small stuffed toy that is invariably tied to the front of most refuse lorries...

The Wee Bin Beastie

Caterpillar Salad

My Dad got a bargain the other day in the form of a box of Mitchell's Witch Pens (dipping pens that create a beautifully smooth mark) and I've been playing around with them in my new book. Yes I know, I haven't finished the old one yet but I've got carried away. This one is called Caterpillar Salad and explores children's reactions to new foods.

I also thought I ought to make more of an effort to show off my calligraphy skills- I've just realised I haven't even included any in my online portfolio- something I will need to sort out soon!

Experimenting with backgrounds

Yes I realise it looks a little crazy but consider it a test piece. I'm very fond of the 'spring' hand lettered text and the background created in Photoshop.

Apparently Phil is never wrong, come to think of it it did seem a little warmer today and we even saw some sunshine!