Happy Sunday! It's the last day of July and I can't believe how quickly the days have flown by. I have had a very busy month working on multiple projects (read the previous post if you'd like to find out more), which has allowed me to do a whole lot of research on illustrators, drawing styles, colour palettes and visual references. I'll be sharing some of my favourite finds in this blog post.
Digital Brushes - Creative Market: www.creativemarket.com
I love to include texture, noise and mark making within my work, both digitally and traditionally in my sketchbooks. For this reason, I am always on the look out for ProCreate brushes that resemble similar inky, rough pencil or risograph textures/effects. I use Creative Market a lot as they have a HUGE range of brushes and bundles for a reasonable price. They also offer downloadable fonts, graphics and templates - basically everything you could possibly think of. I have attached links to my favourites so far:
Procreate Pencil Case: https://creativemarket.com/idleletters/5909559-Procreate-Pencil-Case - my recent illo (shown above) is using those brushes - they are my absolute favourite so far!
Procreate Essentials Pack: https://creativemarket.com/Kassandra-Escoe/6603557-Procreate-Essentials-Pack
Gouache Brushes for Procreate: https://creativemarket.com/Glanz/6146972-Gouache-Brushes-for-Procreate
Printing Press for Procreate: https://creativemarket.com/pixel-buddha/7262412-Printing-Press-Procreate-Brushes
Pinterest Inspo Boards: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/ellisbrownart/inspirations/
I am a huge Pinterest fan - I am always on there looking for ideas and drawing styles. If you follow the link you can see the phases I am influenced by at the time, from simplified black ink drawings to bold colours and expressive shapes, etc. It's strange, I never compare myself to these artists as much as I do on Instagram - I think it is a much more inspiring and motivating platform with less pressure to post. I also think it's great for uploading illustrations with links to your portfolio/shop/etc.
Colour Palettes: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/ellisbrownart/colour/
I usually struggle when it comes to choosing a palette - I sometimes feel as if I 'overkill' the illustration by using colour, so most of the time I use it in a selective way. However, I have always dreamed of having an illustration that is fully coloured so I am slowly working towards this goal - I saved a few visuals to a board and have followed lots of people on Instagram recently for inspiration. Here are my favourite palettes at the moment, in case you hadn't noticed from my portfolio page!
Illustrators and creatives:
Honestly, I could be here forever discussing who and why they are my current favourites and how they have inspired me, but I'll keep it short and sweet and name a few! I've attached the links for their portfolios and socials so you could follow and connect with them also.
Julia Kluge: https://www.kluugel.de/illustration/ & @ju_kluge
Franz Lang: https://franzlang.co.uk & @franz_lang_
Amy Hodkin: https://amyhodkin.com & @amyhodkin
Claire Ritchie: https://www.claireritchie.com.au & @claire__ritchie
Lauren Morsley: https://www.laurenmorsley.com & @laurenmorsley
Melanie Johnsson: https://www.melaniejohnsson.com & @melanie.johnsson
Charlotte Ager: https://charlotteager.co.uk & @charlotte.ager
Lizzie Lomax: https://www.lizzielomax.co.uk & @lizzielomaxx
Benji Spence: https://benjispence.com & @benji_spence
Holly Farndell: https://www.hollyfarndell.com/ & @hollyfarndell
Hannah Warren: https://hannahwarren.com & @hanwarr
Inspiring Reads & Podcasts:
I have been reading a lot about becoming a freelance illustrator/creative and wanted to share some books/blogs/PDFs that I found super insightful and motivating:
Melanie Johnsson - The Freelance Illustrator Mini Guide: https://www.melaniejohnsson.com/shop/the-freelance-illustrator-mini-guide
Taaryn Brench - Everything I Know So Far About Running a Freelance Illustration Business: https://taaryn.com/shop/freelance-illustration-business-ebook
Taaryn Brench Blog: https://taaryn.com/blog-articles
Lisa Congdon - Find Your Artistic Voice: https://lisacongdon.com/collections/frontpage/products/find-your-artistic-voice-by-lisa-congdon-signed-copy
Creative Lives in Progress: https://www.creativelivesinprogress.com/article/a-guide-to-setting-up-as-a-freelancer
Creative Boom: https://www.creativeboom.com/tips/want-to-go-freelance-these-top-illustrators-share-the-big-secrets-to-their-success/
That's all for now! I hope you've found some inspiration from my favourite finds this month. Can't wait to share what I've been up to throughout August! Thanks for reading.
Ellis x
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