The Secret Garden

I haven’t actually mentioned on my blog that one of my New Years resoluntions for 2019 is to produce more book and editorial illustrations. I’ve set myself the challenge of completing one project each month, alternating between book illustration and editorial illustration

In January I created 6 illustrations of The Secret Garden. If you’ve never read the book (or seen any of the adaptations) its about a girl called Mary Lennox who moves from India to Yorkshire when her parents die. Mary doesn’t have much attention or companionship, but she finds this by discovering an old hidden garden.

At the beginning of the book Mary is very isolated and lonely. I wanted to create an image that reflected that, so I’ve used these branches to separate Mary. I didn’t want to include any faces in this image to make it feel unfriendly; so the portraits have blank faces, and Mary is facing with her back to us.

The 2nd illustration shows the relationship between Mary and Martha; one of the maids. Mary is used to being waited on in India and has people to dress her.

Martha tells Mary about a garden that has been locked away since the death of Mrs Craven (Mary’s aunt). Mary explores the grounds in search of the secret garden.

I decided to repeat Mary and the robin in this image to suggest movement around the grounds. I also hope to draw the viewers eye around the page with the use of the spiral of ivy leaves.

Illustrations 3 & 4 are my favourite in this series. I think becasue they have quite simple backgrounds. I’ve used my own handmade textures which I created out of charcoal and paint to add patterns and detail to all the illustrations.

Mary makes friends with Martha’s younger brother Dickon, and the two of them bring the garden back to life.

There is a lot of mystery in The Secret Garden. Another thing that has been hidden away is Mary’s cousin Colin who believes he will never walk and stays in his darkened room all the time.

The last illustration shows the three characters dancing among the garden that is blooming with roses.

This month (February) I’m working on some editorial illustration for my portfolio. Watch this space for an update on that. I’ll also be making video updates to my progress on my YouTube channel, which you can check out here.

Seven ways to generate creative ideas.

Hey everyone, I really want to commit to my blog more and create useful content for other creatives out there. So my plan is every Monday I'll be posting advice for illustrators and artists. Some of the advice will be for my past self, some for other artists, and some for myself right now!

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So first up will be ways that you can generate ideas. These are all the things I use to create ideas when I'm stuck for what to draw or how to push a project forwards. There will be a summary of all these points at the end.

1. Write down your interests

Now if you don't have a project or a brief and you're trying to decide what on earth to draw for a self initiated project I suggest you write down your interests. For example my interests are:

• running

• yoga

• sci-fi

• fantasy

• board games

• rock/indie/folk music

You can then look at your interests in more detail, what specific things do you like about X or Y and why do you like them? For me the thing I like about running is the community. I created these parkrun maps as a self initiated project. I wanted to show how everyone of different abilities is included, and reflect the happy atmosphere that I've felt taking part.

2. Make a mind map

If you have a general topic but you need to come up with more ideas try mind mapping. This is something I used a lot throughout my art education. It really helped at the beginning of a project; in fact if you look through my old sketchbooks, you will most likely find a mind map on the first page.

Old mind map from a project about time.

Here is a mind map I made for a project I did at University about time (which is a subject that still fascinates me today). As you can see I've explored how we can capture and measure time in different ways; in photographs, through schedules, to our own stages of development in our bodies. I also included a quote that really spoke to me.

I apologise for any spelling mistakes and my bad handwriting, however I usually create mind maps just for myself. The thing I love about mind maps is once you get into them they are a really quick non judgemental way to get ideas down and you can add to them easily and link different points together.

3. Try word association

Similar to mind maps is word association. What other words and feelings come to you when you think about a certain topic. It's best to write all ideas/words down at this stage. That one silly idea you don't want to write down could spark a really amazing idea.

4. Carry a notebook

Carry a notebook around with you everywhere and write down the following:

• things that make you laugh

• questions that you keep asking yourself

• things you find beautiful

• overheard conversations

• interesting shapes

• colour combinations

5. Have an idea swap with your friends

Talk to your friends and have an idea swap. This is one of my favourites, I love hearing about other peoples projects. Sometimes I get so excited by other people's ideas that I can't wait for them to complete their projects! It's also really helpful to see your idea from another point of view and perspective. Make some notes about what you've talked about and think about what ideas you were both really passionate about.

6. Take a break

If after all that your still feeling blocked, have a break! Go for a walk, take a shower, do some housework. These seem to be the times when our brains keep ticking over ideas in the background. Remember to have the notebook close at hand though for that eureka moment.

7. Just start drawing!

If all else fails just start drawing. Sometimes the act of creating can spark other ideas. Maybe the shape of your drawing (or the negative space) reminds you of something else that could add another layer of meaning. Getting stuck into the creative side also allows you to physically move things around, what would elements look like the opposite way round/at a different scale/different colour. Sometimes it can be hard to put an idea into words, and the best way to create ideas is to experiment, and as my old art tutor used to tell us “play!”

Ink experiments in sketchbook of the handmaid's red dress, looks like blood.

Finished illustration. The shape of the dress resembles blood which fits in with the text "no razors, of course." 

I hope this list helps the next time you're stuck for ideas:

• Write down your interests

• Make a mind map

• Try word association

• Carry a notebook

• Have an idea swap with your friends

• Take a break

• Just start drawing!