Blogging and All that Malarkey Stuff & Nonsense

Malarkey is Andy Clarke, a creative designer with a passion for accessibility and web standards. This is his personal website.

Introducing Holly Lloyd

Oooo, how I envy real artistic talent. Showcasing the work of one talented illustrator.

Oooo, how I envy real artistic talent - to be able to create a piece of artwork from nothing more than paper or canvas, pencils or paints is a talent I wish I had more of. Even during art school, I realised I was never going to be another Gerald Scarfe or Paul Chadwick, so now my own illustrations are confined to page comp sketches and the occasional charicature during meetings with the accountant.

So what a pleasure it is to discover Holly Lloyd, an illustrator with bucket loads of talent and style.

A shameless plug

As I alluded to a little while back, we are currently working with Holly on two childrens' web site projects (I'll mention those again nearer the time), but in the meantime, here is a selection of my current favourites from the amazing Holly's portfolio.

Walker art galleryWalker art gallery

Hansel and Gretal updatedHansel and Gretal updated

Borble wallpaper borderBorble wallpaper border design (Full image 280Kb)

Pencils for hire

If anyone is interested in hiring Holly for illustration projects, you can contact her through Stuff and Nonsense at the usual address and I'll pass on her contact details.

Replies

  1. #1 On January 29, 2005 08:26 PM Colly said:

    Brilliant stuff. First time I've seen her characters placed into environments, and I'm impressed. These are smashing.

    We work with illustrators from time to time, including the amazing, prolific Burgerman, who, like Holly, seems to have a way of producing something from nothing. It's their ability to invest realism into illustrations that amazes me - characters you can empathize with, or share an emotion with.

  2. #2 On January 29, 2005 08:50 PM nikki said:

    Marvelous!

    More mittens-on-elastic for the nation's websites I say!

  3. #3 On January 29, 2005 10:03 PM dotjay said:

    I've been impressed with these, ever since you first showed Holly's artwork on here and said you were going to be working with her on a couple of projects.

    Very cool!

  4. #4 On January 29, 2005 11:11 PM John Oxton said:

    Those are amazing!

  5. #5 On January 29, 2005 11:15 PM Schultz said:

    Yes yes they are very good love them
    I wish I was as good

  6. #6 On January 30, 2005 12:21 AM nikki said:

    ...keep coming back to have another look...

    Are you able to divulge anything of the production process? Are they all done digitally or are the lines hand-drawn?

    By way of a contrast, some recent experiments with biro, digital camera and Photoshop

  7. #7 On January 30, 2005 04:28 AM Derek Featherstone said:

    I only have two words to describe Holly's work:

    Brill. Yant.

  8. #8 On January 30, 2005 09:21 AM Malarkey said:

    @ Nikki: Holly uses various techniques, on paper and on her eMac. I think I'll ask her to write a 'Guest Author' post sometime soon to explain her processes more. (That's if you think it would be interesting.)

  9. #9 On January 30, 2005 10:59 AM nikki said:

    That would be great!

    I'm far happier with a pallette knife, tin of paint and a fist full of charcoal than I am with a computer (to be able to create a piece of artwork from nothing more than keyboard, mouse and monitor is a talent I wish I had more of) ;)

    Having recently resolved to physically make the next incarnation of my personal website, I'm definitely interested in anything that blends digital with whatever you call the messy stuff (analogue?).

    Not in anyway to detract from Holly's work (which is without question rather fantastic), but is anyone else out there blending the two? Care to share?!

  10. #10 On January 30, 2005 02:38 PM Gordon Mackay said:

    Those are amazing Andy... Kudos to Holly. Great things happen to a design when the appropriate artwork is used, even greater when it's rich and vibrant like Holly's work!

  11. #11 On January 30, 2005 08:25 PM Graham Bancroft said:

    Fantastic stuff!!

    I am slightly concerned about the young chap in the Borble wallpaper border throwing the baby rabbit like that.

    The only thing I can draw is emoticons, and as long as they're square.

  12. #12 On January 30, 2005 10:51 PM Kev said:

    That Borble illustration is absolutely wonderful

  13. #13 On February 6, 2005 07:41 PM jeff said:

    What is Borble - the image is great. How can I buy the wallpaper border ?