Gianne Amparo Illustration

Sunday 30 December 2018

Haven't Blogged In Over A Year!

Where has the time gone?! (especially since my last post!). I started my first job as a teaching assistant in a primary school back in January this year and since then I've found it hard to balance work life and illustration. I thought going for the job might help me find out more about kids and what they're like as little humans since I do still want to pursue being a children's book illustrator in the future.

As much as I've enjoyed it, it's been so exhausting! My job's only for a year so I'll be finishing the post next month, mid January 2019. Hopefully I'll be more focused on illustration work whilst also looking for my next job (the hard life of an artist, yikes!).

I've done sketches here and there over this past year and here's some to show...

Honestly, I'm not sure how active I'll be on Blogger in 2019. I'm on Instagram the most these days, so catch me there! @gianneillustrates (instagram.com/gianneillustrates)

As well as that, I'm also on other social media sites...

Facebook: facebook.com/gianneillustrates

Twitter: twitter.com/iyaillustrates

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/gianneamparo

And fingers crossed I want to be able to set up an online shop again after building up stock.

See you x

Tuesday 28 November 2017

Getting There...

So lately I have been piling up and collecting a few vintage children's books. And with that I've really come to admire and appreciate illustrations in older books- there's just this quality about them that I love- the limited colour palettes and just that overall classic feel (not to mention that vintage smell...strange, I know!)

Back to the point of this blog post; I'm just enjoying experimenting with more traditional mediums at the moment and trying not to illustrate much with my Wacom tablet.

Above I created an artist study, using and referencing a 1963 illustration by Pelagie Doane. I didn't try to recreate her piece accurately, but instead added my own twist and injected vibrant colour to my homage painting.

Tuesday 21 November 2017

Cheltenham Illustration Awards 2017

I don't think I've blogged about this at all yet but...I received an award!!

I submitted this piece way back in June before I graduated and only just found out last month that I was highly commended for the Cheltenham Illustration Awards 2017 (Student Award).

I am absolutely thrilled about the news and couldn't be happier; it's my first time being published in a book AND also being displayed in an exhibition. A huge achievement for me since graduation!

www.cheltenham-illustration-awards.com/

Just My Type

Been practicing with my Tombow brush pen...

Knot, Issue 2

I contributed an illustration for Knot magazine, Issue 2. If you haven't seen my previous post about the magazine it's written and edited by Francesca Rose and she creates her articles on knitwear...

Give the site a visit and maybe even purchase a zine! (www.knotjournal.com/zines)

Wednesday 1 November 2017

Picture Hooks

So rewinding back to September, I submitted 3 illustrations to Picture Hooks (a non-profit organization that arranges events for aspiring picture book illustrators) in exchange to meet some industry professionals within the picture book field who will then give portfolio advice; only 10 could be selected.

I was very fortunate to have been chosen! Feeling very lucky as I found out 150 people applied for this particular event. It took place on the 26th of October 2017, in the beautiful city of Edinburgh, National Gallery of Scotland.

I had my work and sketchbooks looked at by art directors, publishers and agents from Macmillan Children's Books, Two Hoots, Hodder, just to name a few. I received mixed reviews about my work, which I didn't mind (it's all part of the process), but took the feedback on board. Hopefully my work will just grow from here!