Mummy and Me Bake (DK Books)

I was very happy to get my copy of this book, it’s my first book for DK Books that I have been the sole illustrator for which was exciting!

 

For this commission I worked with another great senior designer, Hannah Moore. Hannah would give me a brief for the illustrations she wanted and then she added the photos and the text. I really like the way she added the photos of the veg underneath on this one.

 

 

I really enjoyed drawing the little bouncy olives

 

 

I think the veg pages were my favourites!

 

 

Keeping the illustrations very simple, with any people drawn in a childlike style, was key for this project. It was also good practice for me in drawing in a freer, doodling way.

 

 

I loved how playful and inventive Hannah was in adding the photos, the broccoli trees are brilliant (I do love broccoli though so I might be slightly biased)

 

 

As well as all the great recipes it also has some good educational sections

 

 

The teddy bear crops up a few times throughout the book. I love the cheerfulness of this page design, think I might make that cake myself too!

 

 

Here he is in a few of the other pages

 

 

I also enjoyed adding a few little bees and bugs to a page on making 'blossom biscuits'

 

 

 

I like the idea of a building made out of blocks of brownies, would be a bit too hard to resist though I think!

 

 

This book was great fun to work on, doodling over the top of these pasties to turn them into chickens didn't feel like work at all!

Ultimate Factivity Dinosaurs

 

Another educational activity book by DK Books, I really enjoy working on these titles.

I worked with another brilliant designer, Ria Holland on this one. She would send me the brief for the illustration, and then add the text and the background. I really like the background for this one, I think it's my favourite page design in the book.

An illustration to be coloured in. I like adding little details, in this one it was the tiny dino hitching a lift on a slightly bigger one. This series of books have a lot of stickers in the back to be added to the pages, I used to love stickers as a child (my bedroom door was covered in them) and would've loved these books.

    Another fossil themed spread, I couldn't resit having the small dino fossil biting the big one!

 

I also had some of my little illustration peaking out in some of the other pages, these two were my favourite

Heather the owner of Dr D's Tasty Treats (healthy treats for horses) commissioned me to illustrate a series of cartoon strips based on her story ideas involving a group of horses known as the 'treat hunters' who often tried to break into her factory as they loved her treats so much.
This was a fun brief to work to, and I enjoyed translating her stories into images.

This was another private commission, to create a picture to be framed and hung in a baby's bedroom. She was 6 months old when I made this for her, and her mum told me she would point at the different animals and laugh, which to me is a massive compliment.

I was asked to hand paint a mug design of someone's pet dog as a gift for them. I was sent a photo, and I asked if her pet had any habits, and was told she liked to pull all the cushions on the floor and sit on them in a big pile, so that is what I painted. Her owner was very happy, and sent me a photo of her dog modelling with the cup. She's a very sweet looking dog, but she doesn't look overly impressed!

Illustration Commission

This was for a private commission as a present for someone leaving work to start a new job. I was given a list of her favourite things/things about her and asked to make a picture out of it. They didn't specifically ask for Brad Pitt in 'Burn after reading' but this was the first film I'd seen him in for a while that I'd liked. Apparently when work got too stressful she used to start a conga around the office, I think maybe that should be a policy for every office. I loved that Alistair Brownlee called his brother a numpty on national TV, no-nonsense northerners always make me feel proud to be northern. And Spock just does rock.

'Sharks, Dolphins and other Sea Creatures' latest children's educational activity book for DK Books

I recently received my copy of the activity book 'Sharks, Dolphins and other Sea Creatures' by DK Books, which also includes stickers! (mine are the killer whale and beluga whale illustrations).

I had no idea how cute Beluga whales were until I was asked to draw one, I would love to be able to see one now, they really do blow bubble rings, how ace is that?

This is a little illustration for a grid based game. The brilliant senior designer Sadie Thomas would give me a brief to work to, then she would take my illustration and add the photos and text to turn it into the completed activity page. The killer whale stickers are to add to this page too.

 

This spread included large stickers to stick in place, then the whole page could be coloured in. I originally drew the walrus waving, but was told to alter it as it is an educational book so should be more realistic, (which is completely fine but secretly I like to believe that if you met a walrus in real life he might wave at you)

Just finished work on a mural for a children's bedroom

'A Day in the life of the Evil Eye' created for the Cheltenham Illustration Award 'Tales of Magial Objects'

                                                       A day in the life of The Evil Eye

My entry for the Serco Illustration Awards 'Hidden London' brief

I've been neglecting my blog for a while as I put all my work on my website www.helendodsworth.carbonmade.com
I've been working on a project for a childrens activity book, but I don't think I'm allowed to post pages as it's against copyright......

Two of my pages for The Folio Society competition to illustrate 'The Bloody Chamber' by Angela Carter

Pages from 'Fluffy Nonsense' a Collection of Animal Nonsense Poems for Children: My MA Illustration final project.

Sketchbook work

Animal studies: Mono prints and Paintings

Pages from my chapter in 'Amelia's Anthology of Illustration'

A visualization of an idea for a Renewable Energy Farm using Hot Air Balloons: Published in 'Amelia's Anthology of Illustration'

'Everything is Connected' Published in issue 10 of 'Amelia's Magazine'