Peacock Feather Logo Design for "Argus"

This was something I did a few months ago now, although I still feel it is worth sharing. A small business approached me to create a pair of logos for their "Argus" name, using my peacock feather illustration and the "Harrington" font. (Even though I already had the elements I needed to create the logo, it was a big surprise to be asked, as logo 'design' is not something I can say I do very often!)

I experimented with various placements of the feather around the Argus name and came up with many ways in which the logo could be done.

After a few tweaks, the following are the resulting final pair of logos which are to be used for the business's website and office stationary.

 Here are some of my previous experiments. I enjoyed fitting the shapes together and seeing if I could create a flowing, oragnic shape that flowed in harmony with the type.

I was surprised at how well my feather illustration lent itself to a more structured shape/design. Using my illustrations/putting them into context reminds me of how versatile illustration has the power to be.

 

 

As an alternative version and to simply see how it would work, this full peacock design was also considered, but we decided that it was slightly too extravagant for this particular purpose!

Prints & Products Update on Society 6

I have been adding more prints & products (packs of greetings cards, iPhone/iPod cases, T-shirts) to my shop on Society6 lately. You can find it here!

For today only there is also free shipping! when you use this link: http://society6.com/amyholliday?promo=586bbb

If there are any pieces that you would like to buy as a print/pack of greetings cards/iPod/iPhone case or T-shirt that are not on the site yet, let me know and I will do my best to make it available for you!

Computer Arts Opinion Slot "The Business of being an Illustrator"

This month's issue of Computer Arts magazine has included an opinion slot, written by myself! I was asked to write an opinion article focusing on my first year of being a freelance illustrator and how winning the Graduate Showcase competition last year has helped me. (I almost turned it down at first as of course I am no writer, and I wasn't sure what to focus on as there are so many points I could make and issues I could talk about...!)

Every author of the opinion slots in Computer Arts are illustrated by Constanze Moll, who won the Computer Arts Graduate Showcase 2009! Here is the page and article as it is in the magazine, (click for a larger view)

Dairy Cows Illustrations series for packaging

Recently I have been working on a series of very content-with-life dairy cattle! These illustrations were commissioned via a design agency for who are producing print advertisements and packaging for their animal-welfare company client. One of the requests was that I incorporate a touch of blue and purple into the colour scheme - it was really nice to be able to add in such lovely rich colours.

I wanted to really show off their kind characters and sweet, curious personalities.

For this next one, I worked on three seperate pieces before bringing them together digitally to create the composition of the final illustration.

To accompany them, I also created some extra buttercup meadow/grass patches. These are a lot of fun to do!

Here are some of the work-in-progress sketches from them:

All Images are (C) Amy Holliday. You may not use without permission.

Gerbils and Budgie Pet Portraits Feature in a Youtube video!

The lovely lady who commissioned the gerbils and budgie illustrations is a frequent Youtuber, and uploaded a video featuring my artwork! If you are interested to know how my illustrations look in real life, you can see them here. These portraits were smaller than I usually work at an A5 size, whereas I usually work at A4 and larger.

>> Link <<

Tempting Teatime Treats - Cakes, doughnuts and 'vintage' tea room classics

In an attempt to expand and enhance my portfolio, I have been working on some cafe - themed illustrations. I was inspired by a visit to a vintage fair that sprang up in a field just outside of the neighbouring town during the buzz of the Queen's Jubilee celebrations.

Here are some more of my drawings, I'm hoping to paint these too. With these, I have designed a menu-style layout that I hope I can complete for my website with all of the finished illustrations, (you can see this on my facebook page in the sketchbook folder!)

All Images are (C) Amy Holliday. You may not use without permission.

Pet Portraits - gerbil babies, budgies and fancy goldfish

These are some pet portrait commissions I have completed recently.

This little series was a commission for a5-sized paintings of three gerbil portraits and one budgie. I worked from photo references but the client had some requests for little extras which I added in too.

 The rainbow was an unexpected request, and it called for some practice and experimenting with various techniques before I painted the final piece.

This handsome boy's name is Merlin, so he needed a bit of extra magic! 

Another recent pet portait was of this playful chappy named Bartholomew (the best name for a fish I have ever heard)