The Lion & The Unicorn

While I'm here, this is another piece I've just finished. It is a modern illustration for the children's nursery rhyme 'The Lion & The Unicorn'. Many nursery rhymes have their roots in politics or historical events and this one is no different. It refers to the joining of Scotland and England by King James and his decision to create a new heraldic crest representing both countries. The unicorn stands for Scotland (and is chained by the crown around its neck!) and the lion for England. In the rhyme the lion 'beats' the unicorn all around town, referring to the not-quite-so-happy union. I've updated this scene with a drawing of the new Scottish Parliament building, relating it to current events and progress.

StoryLab

This is one of the images I produced for the Scottish Storytelling Centre. They went with a white version of this in the end. At the moment I'm working on my Crocodile Fence story and writing my dissertation. The two go side by side as I'm writing about hand lettering in children's books and I've just reached the point where I need to think about what I'm doing text-wise with the book. I've researched how children learn to read and have come to the conclusion that hand lettering is a valuable resource when used in the right circumstances. There needs to be a high level of legibility and consideration for the expected audience but overall children seem to be very capable of transferring reading skills to any font or letterform (once confident in their reading skills that is).

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!

What's Your Secret?

This is a series of images produced as a fold-out book as part of my Masters degree studies. I'm particularly proud of Lassie.

The Secret Thought Fox

I've become interested in the area of children's books and my fox character is in need of a story. This was a test page to try and create a whole scene using my lettering and images. I'm going to have to tuck him in the back of my mind for now though as I've set myself the challenge of writing and illustrating my book 'The Crocodile Fence'. At the moment I'm reading everything I can about children's books and the old 'page turners'. So if I don't post here you know why!

Another Horse

This is the last one I will post. I'm particularly happy with the coat of the dapple grey- all done using my new Wacom tablet. I'm getting into shading and trying out new textures in my work. I still love my vast bold colours but I'd like to contrast this with tone and shadow.

The History of the Horse

These images are in response to a competition brief and the full pages have lettering included, I'll post these later when I have the full set. Consider this a sneak preview!

Happy New Year Folks...

Hope you've had a good one. I've been doing a bit of writing and thinking about the children's market. The images below are of my central character, The Secret Thought Fox, who will be starring in his own book shortly!

On the off chance that any children's book-type people are reading this (well you never know do you) I'm going to start posting out to publishers in the near future (i.e. when I've finished drawing the pictures!).

Front Cover for An A-Z of Man's Best Friend

It is starting to look like I have an obsession with dogs but this really isn't the case! This is my proposed front cover for my dog alphabet. It is in the final stages I'm just waiting on delivery of my spanking new printer (an HP Photosmart D7160) and I'll be making up a hardback copy to show to publishers.