Jekyll Island Bottle-nose Dolphins // Editorial Illustration

Another wildlife illustration for a particular Georgia-based magazine, 31-81 - this time for an article discussing the bottle-nose dolphins within the region.

At the time of this commission I later continued with my sketches of dolphins. I had some fun playing with loose, expressive lines and then later on, some vibrant colours... 

View an online version of 31-81 magazine here

Artwork (C) Amy Holliday 2018

www.amyholliday.co.uk

Sketchbook: Lemurs

Throwback Thursday: (Old) Scenes from the Life Drawing Room

Whilst sorting through folders of old work this week I came across some of my life drawings from my second year at uni. I always like to see some good figure drawings now and then, so I thought I would share some of my favourites with you all, just in case you enjoy them too.

At this time I got really into Da Vinci and all of the classic renaissance artists and movement. My drawing technique has really changed since.

I didn't keep many that I considered "good" as I've always felt uncomfortable rendering realistic human forms. I think I need to pick up where I left off and start conquering my figure-drawing fears.

Sketchbook: Sea Turtle Sketches

Personal sketches - I love sealife of all kinds and have a huge list of creatures I would like to eventually illustrate. Turtles seem to be a good place to start!

Personal: Small Cat Studies

Personal work: Some smaller, quicker ("spot") kitty illustrations to contrast the large, more detailed ones from the start of the year. Trying to capture the feline essence/way - I had 32 sketches by the time I had finished, (some turned out much better than others did!) 

I returned to them at a later date and added some colour to my favourites...  (click for a larger view)

All images (C) Amy Holliday 2013.  Please do not use these illustrations without prior permission!

Sketchbook: Dinosaur Sketches

A couple of just-for-fun sketches from last weekend - trying something I haven't drawn for a long time. Dinosaurs!? Some Parasaurolophus and (perhaps quite a young) Velociraptor.

New work coming soon! Stay tuned.

Peacock sketches/studies

Just some sketches of male and female peafowl, I'll have a go at painting a few of these.

 

Concept Sketches for The Ugly Duckling, The Princess and the Pea and Sleeping Beauty

Following the previous fairytale initial letters, the next 5 weeks or so were spent working on the second part of that commission. I was asked to design three larger illustrations and three smaller illustrations for the front and back of the product's boxes. As with the letters, I needed some time to generate some ideas for how to best represent and tell the story of each of the three fairytales...here are a couple of the more interesting sketches!

The "ugly" duckling and his reflection:

 The Princess in her uncomfortable Pea bed:

The princess' future crown and that annoying little pea:

The Sleeping Beauty:

A fallen rose and a sinister spinning wheel:

Owls and Parrots Sketches!

  Some of my new drawings that I hope to turn into two new bird series! 

 

Sleeping Beauty's Tower Concepts

These were some of my initial idea sketches for some storybook-style "initial letters" I'm working on. The Sleeping Beauty story begins with an "I" and I am illustrating it with a tower. The final design is now looking very different to these, as these ones were really not that recognisable as the letter "I"!