EMELBI

Digital Artist and Illustrator

EMELBI

Character Illustration Workshops at Pleckgate High School – 2026

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Back at Pleckgate High School this week delivering a Character Illustration Workshop with the Year 9 students. Armed with pens, inks and good quality cartridge paper, we spent the day exploring how simple lines and marks can quickly develop into expressive, quirky characters.

The session focuses on a straightforward set of techniques, building up drawings through confident pen work, bold shapes and playful details. It is always great to see how quickly students gain confidence once they realise that illustration does not have to be perfect to be interesting. In fact, the oddities, the exaggerations and the unexpected marks often give a character its personality.

What never fails to amaze me is just how different the results are. Every student receives the same instructions and follows the same general process, yet the finished illustrations are always wonderfully diverse. Some characters lean towards the strange and surreal, others become humorous little personalities, and some develop into detailed narrative figures that feel like they belong in their own stories.

This Character is one of the images I produced during the tutorial.

It is a great reminder that when people draw, they are not just following a technique. Each student brings their own imagination, influences and sense of humour to the page. The same starting point can lead in dozens of completely different directions.

Workshops like this are always a lot of fun. There is something very satisfying about watching a room full of blank pages slowly fill with characters, ideas and unexpected creativity. By the end of the day the tables are scattered with drawings that are full of individuality and energy.

EMELBI (“,)

Take a look at some of Year 9’s creations below.

Westhoughton High School – Year 8 Character Illustration Workshop with EMELBI

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This was my second visit to the school, where I delivered a pen and ink Character Illustration Workshop with the Year 8 students. Using simple materials, pens, ink and cartridge paper, the session focused on showing how a few clear techniques and a bit of playful experimentation can quickly bring illustrated characters to life.

One of the most enjoyable parts of these workshops is watching the students settle into the process. At the beginning there are always a few tentative lines, but it does not take long before confidence builds and ideas begin to take shape on the page. Once they realise there is room to experiment, exaggerate and have a bit of fun with their drawings, the characters start appearing thick and fast.

Although everyone follows the same approach and techniques, the results are always wonderfully varied. Each student brings their own imagination, humour and sense of style to the exercise, which means no two characters ever feel quite the same. By the end of the session the tables are usually filled with a lively mix of odd, funny and expressive creations.

It is always rewarding to see just how much creativity can be unlocked with a few pens, some ink and a bit of encouragement.

Here are a few of the characters the Year 8 students came up with…

EMELBI (“,)

Pleckgate High School – Y11 Digital Portrait Workshop with EMELBI – 2025

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Over the past few years I have had the opportunity to work with a number of different year groups at Pleckgate High School, returning regularly to deliver illustration workshops with the students. It is always a pleasure to be welcomed back and much of that comes down to the dedication of the staff in the art department. They work incredibly hard to create a supportive and inspiring environment for the students and it really shows in both the atmosphere of the classroom and the quality of work being produced.

Each visit offers the chance to see how creative confidence develops as students move through the school. There is a real sense that the students are encouraged to explore their ideas, experiment with techniques and take pride in their work. The result is a vibrant mix of creativity and individuality and it is clear that there are some seriously talented young people coming through the department.

Every year I deliver my Digital Portrait Illustration Workshop with the Year 11 students and they never fail to impress. The session focuses on building portraits using digital drawing techniques, combining observation with stylised illustration methods to create bold and expressive outcomes. It is always fascinating to watch how quickly the students take hold of the process and begin to push their ideas further.

What makes these sessions particularly rewarding is seeing how each student interprets the techniques in their own way. Even when working from the same starting point, the finished portraits develop into a wide range of styles and approaches, each reflecting the personality and creative instincts of the individual student.

They are consistently a pleasure to work with and I am always impressed by the work that emerges by the end of each session. It is a real testament to both the students’ enthusiasm and the strong support provided by the school’s art department.

Take a look at some of their images below… 🎨

EMELBI (“,)

Rode Heath Primary School – Y6 Digital Portrait Workshop with EMELBI – 2025

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This was my second visit to Rode Heath, returning to deliver a repeat of last year’s Digital Portrait Illustration Workshop with the current Year 6 class. It is always nice to revisit a school and see a new group of students respond to the same creative challenges. Once again the results were fantastic.

The workshop introduces pupils to the process of building a portrait through layers and making confident use of colour. By working step by step, the students quickly discover how simple techniques can come together to create striking and individual images. By the end of the session the iPad screens are usually full of colour, texture and a wide range of imaginative portraits.

One of the ideas we explore during the workshop is colour itself. We spend a little time looking at the colour wheel, thinking about complementary colours, limited palettes and how colour choices can change the mood or impact of an image. For many pupils this is an opportunity to experiment in ways they might not normally try.

Some students choose to work with more natural or conventional colours, which can be very effective, while others enjoy pushing things a little further by experimenting with unusual skin tones or unexpected colour combinations for clothing and backgrounds. This freedom to explore often leads to some really interesting and diverse outcomes, with every portrait developing its own personality.

As with last year, the pupils produced some brilliant work, full of bold colour, inventive textures and confident ideas. It is always rewarding to see how quickly young artists embrace the process and make it their own.

Rode Heath is a lovely school to work with, supported by a great team of staff and enthusiastic students. It is always a pleasure to spend time there and see the creativity that emerges during the workshop.

EMELBI (“,)

St. Wilfred’s Church of England Academy – Portrait Illustration Workshop with EMELBI

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This was such a lovely school to work with. The staff and pupils were brilliant, engaged and attentive throughout the day, creating a really positive atmosphere in the classroom. It is always encouraging to walk into a space where students are curious and willing to take part and that sense of enthusiasm quickly shaped the tone of the workshop.

Over the course of the day we had some great conversations about art and creativity. There were a few lively debates along the way, along with some thoughtful discussions about different techniques, materials and the many ways artists approach their work. Moments like these are often just as valuable as the drawing itself, as they help students see that art is as much about thinking, questioning and exploring ideas as it is about making images.

The Year 10 students that I had the pleasure of working with produced some wonderful imagery during the Portrait Illustration Workshop. Using a straightforward set of techniques, they explored portraiture through the use of various pens and inks, building their images through confident lines, mark making and expressive details.

As part of the session we also talked about the idea of rules in art. Some guidelines can be helpful when learning a technique, but creativity often comes from knowing when to step outside those boundaries. Encouraging students to experiment, adapt and occasionally ignore the rules that do not serve their ideas can open the door to much more personal and interesting work.

By the end of the workshop the tables were covered with a wide range of portraits, each one reflecting the individual choices and creative instincts of the student who made it. It was a really enjoyable day with plenty of positive outcomes and some genuinely impressive work.

Take a look at some of the fantastic images produced during the session. 🎨

EMELBI (“,)

Birkby Junior School – Digital Character Illustration Workshop with EMELBI – 2025

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I spent a full week at Birkby Junior School, working with both Year 4 and Year 6 students and it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience from start to finish. By the end of the week, I had a free session on Friday afternoon which I decided to turn into a special treat. The students who had worked particularly diligently and demonstrated exceptional behaviour were invited to join me for an extra creative session, building on the portrait illustration skills they had developed during the week.

For this bonus session we used the iPads once again and the program Procreate to explore Character Illustration. The students quickly got to grips with multiple layers, different brushes and a variety of creative tools having used these methods during their portrait workshop. This allowed them to experiment and play freely with their ideas. This sense of freedom encouraged them to take risks, push their designs in unexpected directions and ultimately produce a more diverse and imaginative set of outcomes.

To kick things off, I created a quick character illustration as a live demonstration, showing them how rapidly a strong, impactful and fun image can come together. Watching me build the character step by step gave the students confidence and sparked ideas of their own. We followed this with a short Q&A session to cover some technical tips and tricks and then I set them loose to create their own characters.

The energy in the room was fantastic. Students were eager to experiment with tools, try out new techniques and see where their imagination would take them. By the end of the session there was a lively mix of inventive characters, each one showing how much creativity can be unlocked when technique meets playful experimentation.

This video shows the process of the quick illustration I did as part of the tutorial.

These images below are the characters that they came up with.

I think that they did a great job in such a short time.

Birkby Junior School – Y6 Digital Portrait Workshop with EMELBI – 2025

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Some more impacting digital portrait illustrations from Year 6 at Birkby Junior School.

This workshop is one of my favourite workshops to deliver. I love the way that the students really get involved with the task and the amount of diverse imagery that comes out of these sessions is always impressive.

Once again, the Year 6 students at Birkby really delivered with their hard work. It can be a challenging workshop, as the students have to take on quite a broad array of instructions and new information all at once in order to learn the involved process that is required to make these images.

Check out their efforts below.

EMELBI (“,)

Birkby Junior School – Beautiful Mundane Project – Y4 Digital Graphics and Photography Workshop with EMELBI – 2025

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The Beautiful Mundane Project – Making Graphics from Simple Digital Photography

Here is a selection from this year’s The Beautiful Mundane Project produced by the Year 4 pupils at Birkby Junior School.

This is a hands on photography and creative graphics project that gets students moving around and exploring their school environment like they have never done before. It taps into observational skill, spacial awareness, composition appreciation, colour awareness and image layering. It’s always fun and young people love to get involved with this exploratory and creative project.

Using the Snapseed app on the iPad, the pupils manipulated their own photographic images, taking them through a series of treatments in order to enhance the imagery and create a set of striking graphics from simple beginnings.

Here are a sample of the fabulous images that they created during the workshops.

Copmanthorpe Primary School – ‘Out Of This World’ Illustration Workshop 2025

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Another great workshop at Copmanthorpe Primary School creating some more brilliant illustrations with the year 6’s.

Using ink pens, water and tissue paper the pupils set to creating illustrations based around the theme ‘Out Of This World’.

There was a lot of fabulous texture work and I love the characters that were brought to life using this lovely technique. Funky aliens, spaceships, cats in space suits and much more. I really enjoyed seeing all these illustrations coming to life over the course of the day.

Brilliant work and a fun day indeed.

Check out some of the children’s work below…

Westhoughton High School – Year 9 Portrait Illustration Workshop with EMELBI

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I always really enjoy these portrait workshops. Especially as the students are creating images of themselves. It makes for interesting conversations and at times some real critical analysis.

I visited Westhoughton High School recently and delivered my Portrait Illustration Workshop to a group of Year 9’s. The mark making was strong and they set to the task will wild abandon. Well, almost! There was a modicum of control. I

t was my first visit to this school after having met the art teacher on another workshop that I had delivered some months before. There was a lot of strong wotk over the day and the students really got to grips with the techniques that I had suggested and squeezed in a few of their own, which I always love to see. Experimentation and exploration are always encouraged in my workshops.

EMELBI (“,)

Character Illustration Workshops at Castleford Academy

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I returned to Castleford Academy last week to deliver some more creative workshops. I had a great time working there again. Staff are lovely and the students did some fab work.

Here’s a glimpse into some of the artwork created. I worked with Year 10 students to bring characters to life! Over two days, we explored the art of character illustration—starting with simple shapes and transforming them into dynamic, expressive figures. Using a few key principles, the students developed strong character designs, then elevated their work with rich ink textures and hatching techniques. The creativity and progress they showed were truly inspiring!

EMELBI (“,)

Stanhope Primary School – Space Character Illustration Workshop – 2025

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This was my second visit to Stanhope Primary School, to work with Year 4 and Year 5 students delivering my Space Character Illustration Workshop for a second time.

The students did not disappoint, They came up with an array of brilliant characters displaying what fabulous imaginations that they all have.

EMELBI (“,)

Take a look at their creations below.

Rode Heath Primary School – Y6 Digital Portrait Workshop with EMELBI – 2024

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This was my first time working with this school and I was immediately struck by their enthusiasm for the arts. Creativity is clearly celebrated at every level and the school is filled with inspiring displays of the children’s artwork around every corner. Walking through the corridors, it felt like a place where imagination is truly valued, so I felt right at home from the very start.

After introducing myself and sharing a little about the work I do, Year 6 dived straight into their Digital Portrait Workshop using iPads and the Procreate app. The day was full of energy and creativity, with students exploring layers, brushes and colour in ways that were both experimental and confident. Watching the portraits develop throughout the session was a real highlight – the students’ ideas, attention to detail and willingness to try new techniques made for some genuinely impressive results.

The children were a pleasure to work with: well behaved, engaged and clearly enjoying the opportunity to create. They put a lot of care and thought into their work and it really showed in the finished pieces. By the end of the day there were plenty of vibrant, dynamic portraits, each one reflecting the individual personality of the student who created it. Some students got their images printed so that they could take them home. They wanted to show their parents and carers what they had been creating as they were really proud of what they had achieved.

It was a wonderful school to visit and the combination of talented, enthusiastic students and supportive staff made the day a real success. Don’t just take my word for it, check out these fantastic images that Year 6 produced during the workshop!

EMELBI (“,)

The Importance of Joining In

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I created this quick portrait illustration working with Year 6 students at Birkby Junior School in Huddersfield. They had already been taken through the process of how to make their own versions in a workshop I delivered earlier in the week. There were 12 students that had an extra bonus session with me at the end of main workshops. I took them through the process again but this time looking at making further embellishments, adding extra detail and shading etc. They were all very keen to see me go through the whole process on my own from start to finish. So this image came out of the hour we spent together.

I often show my work and present plenty of examples in slide shows when running workshops. I am meticulous when taking students through the method or the working process regarding how to achieve certain outcomes. Often there is no time for me to work along side my students and create something with them. That’s because much of my time is focused on answering questions, trouble shooting and going over things that were perhaps misunderstood during the tutorial. This is something that is very much needed when young people are working with technology that they are not used to. Creative workshops are fabulous things to get lost in, but when people are unfamiliar with the tech, it does need that extra support structure, so my time is divided during these creative sessions.

So on this occasion it was nice to have the time to work with a set of students and show them what I did in real time so to speak. It certainly helped them diversify their process and lead to more in depth outcomes.

Blog post of their work coming soon.

© EMELBI 2024 – All Rights Reserved

Birkby Junior School – Y6 Digital Portrait Workshop with EMELBI – 2024

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This year’s digital portraits at Birkby Junior School were as strong as ever, and it was a real pleasure to see the Year 6 students in action. The Digital Portrait Workshop continues to grow in popularity and it’s easy to see why. The session is a fantastic way for students to explore how layers can be used to build up digital imagery, how to apply colour flats like professional comic colourists and how to experiment with texture and graphic interest to make each portrait truly unique.

One of the highlights this year was the line work. Many students demonstrated a strong eye for detail, taking care with every stroke and gradually shaping their portraits with confidence. It was inspiring to watch these images develop from initial sketches into fully realised digital pieces, each reflecting the student’s own creativity and style.

The workshop also encourages playful experimentation. Students were not afraid to try new colour combinations, explore different brush effects and layer textures to give their portraits depth and personality. These explorations added energy and variety to the work, ensuring that no two portraits looked the same.

Overall, it was a brilliant effort from all the Year 6 students. The combination of careful technique, imaginative choices, and willingness to experiment made for a truly impressive set of outcomes.

Take a look at their work below!

Check out these wonderful images that Y6 created below.

Birkby Junior School – Beautiful Mundane Project – Y4 Digital Graphics and Photography Workshop with EMELBI – 2024

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The Beautiful Mundane Project – Making Graphics from Simple Digital Photography

Back again to work with Year 4 pupils at Birkby Junior School. The Beautiful Mundane Project is always a winner and captures the creative imagination of children. It’s a hands on photography and creative graphics project that gets students moving around and exploring their school environment like they have never done before. It taps into observational skill, spacial awareness, composition appreciation, colour awareness and image layering. It’s always fun and young people love to get involved with this exploratory and creative project.

Using the Snapseed app on the iPad, the pupils manipulated their own photographic images, taking them through a series of treatments in order to enhance the imagery and create a set of striking graphics from simple beginnings.

Here are a sample of the fabulous images that they created during the workshops.

Stanhope Primary School – Space Character Illustration Workshop – 2024

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This was the first time I had visited Stanhope Primary School, nestled up on the North East coast. It was a real pleasure to spend time there working with the Year 4 and Year 5 students, who took part in one of my favourite sessions, the Space Character Illustration Workshop.

This particular workshop is designed to really stretch the imagination. Once the theme of space is introduced, the possibilities open up almost immediately. Suddenly the students are thinking about aliens, rockets, asteroids, strange planets, spaceships, lasers, moons, satellites and all sorts of other cosmic curiosities. It does not take long before the ideas start flowing.

What is always lovely to see is how quickly the children become absorbed in the process. With pens moving across the page and ideas bouncing around the room, the classroom fills with energy and excitement. The workshop encourages students to think creatively, combine unusual elements and invent their own strange and wonderful characters from the depths of space.

Each child approaches the challenge in their own way. Some design peculiar alien creatures, others create elaborate spacecraft or adventurous space explorers. Even though everyone begins with the same theme and techniques, the results are always wonderfully varied.

By the end of the session the tables are covered with a whole universe of imaginative creations. The characters that evolve are often surprising, sometimes hilarious and always a joy to see. It is one of those workshops where the enthusiasm of the students really shines through and their ideas take the activity to places you could never quite predict.

EMELBI (“,)

This Character is one of the images I produced during a quick tutorial.

Take a look at their creations below.

2 Early 2 B Late

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This is a revamp of an old image. I never really did finish it back in the day, although I may have posted the image in various places. So I took what I had into Procreate, which was the file with just the simple line drawing and some strong colour flats in the layers, then messed around with some textures and colour washes. I then exported it back to Photoshop and put some finishing touches to the portrait.
Colour variations achieved in iColorama with some colour corrections later in Photoshop regarding all of the variations.

Why do I rework old images?

Sometimes I browse through my hard drives, usually looking for something specific and I do get distracted at times by old work. If I find something that feels unfinished, or perhaps was finished but now I feel could be improved upon, I have no qualms with taking it in hand and reworking the image.

We change, we progress, we constantly learn, we sometimes look at things differently, especially when there has been some elapsing of time etc. It’s good to want to make something better and I feel that reworking old images can sometime breath new energy and life into new creations and bring about new ideas. Digital files certainly makes this process easier. Creativity, it’s all good stuff really. There are no rules!

Finished Image

Colour Variations

Woodlesford Primary School – Year 1 Portrait Illustration Workshop with EMELBI

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I have just had the pleasure of working with the fabulous children in year 1 at Woodlesford Primary School in Leeds. These children took part in one of my ‘Portrait Illustration Workshops’ and stunned me with their energy and creative talents.

Look at this wonderful sample of work below. These children are 5 and 6 year olds. They did such a great job and added their own individual bits of flare to their work. We explored line work, talked about the face structure and features, had a think about where light was coming from, discussed adding different ink to their work and then finally looked at shade and texture to finish off.

I enjoyed working at this school enormously. The staff where so friendly, accommodating and helpful, I felt like I had been part of the team for years. It makes such a difference to me.

The children were brilliant and one of them said that it was… “the best day in school yet”.

I’ll take that! (“,)

Look at these wonderful images.

Pleckgate High School – Digital Portrait Illustration Workshop with EMELBI 2023

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Brilliant work from the Year 10 students at Pleckgate High School.

Both the year 10 classes I worked with produced some lovely imagery. Working mainly in Procreate to build the initial illustrations, they further developed their work using various other apps, adding filters, colour treatments and textural fills.

It’s always nice to work across various apps, each one bringing a slightly alternative feel to the creative process. Once you have a solid image to work with you can make multiple versions of the imagery and have various outcomes.

If you know my personal work, you will know that this is something that I explore quite a bit.

Check out these lovely images from the Year 10’s at Pleckgate High School.

Student Sketchbook Examples – Based on My Work

Copmanthorpe Primary School – Character Illustration Workshop 2023

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I had a fantastic time at Copmanthorpe Primary School creating these fabulous illustrations with the year 6’s.
I love the diversity across the images that they produced.

The pupils were shown a particular process of drawing starting with a simple shape and then they looked at turning those shapes into weird and wonderful characters using a set of simple techniques. They added further embellishments like shade and texture to finish the process.

We talked about the characters and what they stood for, what their names might be and what sort of things they might carry in their pockets etc, if indeed they had any! Some brilliant ideas developed and interesting discussions ensued.

There are a super array of expressions and some really strong line work. It was a delight watching all these illustrations come together over the course of the day.

Terrific work from all the children who all worked diligently throughout the day.

Check out some of the fabulous images produced below.

Birkby Junior School – Y6 Digital Portrait Workshop with EMELBI – 2023

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I have worked with this school for a number of years now and the children always come up with the goods. There are some super, creative and talented pupils among the children at Birkby Junior School.

The digital portrait workshop that year 6 took part in this year brought some really striking results. Based on their own portrait photos, the children explored a set of techniques using the program Procreate on the iPad. The resulting imagery is bold and striking.

I am always fascinated in the results regarding individual style. Especially after the students are taken through the same set of processes regarding technique. Regardless of age, I find that people creating any type of artwork will always apply their own unique set of ideas or experiences to the process. This is what makes each individual piece of art diverse and unique and have its own energy.

Check out these wonderful images that Y6 created below.

Birkby Junior School – Beautiful Mundane Project – Y4 Digital Graphics and Photography Workshop with EMELBI – 2023

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The Beautiful Mundane Project – Making Graphics from Simple Digital Photography

Working with the year 4 pupils at Birkby Junior School we looked at taking photographs of really mundane subject matter in order to make some striking graphics.

Using the Snapseed app on the iPad, the pupils manipulated their own photographic images, taking them through a series of treatments in order to enhance the imagery and create a set of striking graphics from simple beginnings.

Here are a sample of the fabulous images that they created during the workshops.

Bridgewater Primary School – Digital Portrait Workshops 2023

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Creating Self Portraits in Procreate with Bridgewater Primary School

This lovely school booked me in to deliver my Digital Portrait Workshops and I got to work with years 2, 3, 4 ,5 and 6.

I will never tire of these portrait workshops. Young people always come up with the most fabulous and diverse imagery. The children at Bridgewater Primary School in Manchester were no exception. Some really expressive work came out of these sessions. I especially love some of the colour use and the exploration and treatment of form.

Here are a selection of images from across the year groups. Brilliant work from all of them.

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Year 6

Feathers McBeaky – Digital Character Illustration

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Feathers McBeaky – Ill Equipped For The City

I really like this character. Feathers McBeaky is a brightly feathered bird (genus unknown) who has spent far too long in the big, dirty city. Looking slightly dishevelled, a little oily and wearing a tatty scarf, he’s going about his business of surviving in the large urban sprawl.

There is something deliciously exciting about having created the initial line drawing of any illustration. Knowing that you are about to embark on a journey of detailing and colour forming, making decisions about the mood and feel of where you want the artwork to go. There are times when I work differently, where I paint and/or illustrate in a manner that doesn’t require a strong line drawing at the outset. But more often than not my style often follows the procedure of line drawing then colouration, adding of textures, shaping of the composition and all other components that go into making the imagery. In this case I have also added a graphic element such as text placement using a bold font and then blending that graphic aspect into the image.

Every image that you produce as an artist is its own journey. Even if you have a set style or a certain way of doing something. Each new image is a brand new experience by virtue of the fact that it is a brand new piece of artwork and therefore to a certain extent, a new experience. I feel that I always learn something new each and every time I create an image. Which is a good reason to create more and more imagery. Maybe the best reason.

It’s my intention to do a lot more character illustrations based on fauna. Birds and fish especially I think. Watch this space.

© EMELBI 2023 – All Rights Reserved

Initial Procreate Line Sketch

Procreate Edit

Post Procreate, Photoshop Finished Image

Original Finished Image and Colour Versions

 Watch the illustration come together in the YouTube video

Easter Bunny – Digital Character Illustration

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Easter Bunny – Post Easter Weekend Bunny Business

I wanted to do an illustration of the Easter Bunny. I imagined that he might have been dressed in a smart suit getting on with the job of hiding all the eggs. A smart Easter Bunny out doing business.

In this image the Easter Bunny looks like he has had a weary day and is more than a little fatigued from his annual chore, which he has just fulfilled. You know, hiding countless chocolate eggs for millions of children. It’s a tough job after all. Having put in such a long shift he has tired eyes but is still full of love for the job that he does diligently every year without fuss or complaint.

I like how this image evolved from the initial line prompt sketch. In the video you can see me correcting the line image a few times until I was happy with how he looked. Thereafter, I got on with the task of colouring and adding detail. I also love how basic the initial line prompt sketch is. This is the beauty of doing these fast illustrations. Character can just jump right out at you even in the simplest form and give you something to get your teeth into in terms of further embellishment. You can see the same character in the early drawing, the mainstay of the mood and expression. It’s carried through to the finished article.

I wonder what the Easter Bunny does for the rest of the year? Works in stocks and shares? He’s got the suit for it.

© EMELBI 2023 – All Rights Reserved

 

Initial Line Prompt Sketch

 

 

Procreate & Photoshop Edit

 

 

Original Finished Image and Colour Versions

 

 

Watch the illustration come together in the YouTube video

 

Hoodie Bun Bun – Line Prompt Sketching

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What is Line Prompt Sketching?

There are a few different types of sketching that I do when I’m creating imagery. Full on sketch book sketches with detail, shading and colour using various mediums. Pen and/or pencil sketches with hatching, cross hatching and shading detail. There are also these super quick line drawings which I like to call ‘Line Prompt Sketches’. These line drawings are made really quickly. I tend to get into a groove with them and can produce about 30 to 40 images in the space of half an hour. Granted, some are more successful than others but I love this way of working. More often that not I’m pleasantly surprised with the  imagery that comes out of me.

Drawing is a joy and having done it for so many years I’m really comfortable with putting pen to paper. In fact I find comfort in it. When making these simple line sketches I try not to think too much about what I’m going to draw at the outset. I tend to start with a shape and then add whatever jumps into my head. Ears, eyes, horns, teeth, lips, ears, dribble, incidental marks and symbols, whatever! The process is fluid and organic. An immediate response, ink on paper. Although it does tend to end up being a character of some description. Working like this produces a lot of imagery as you can imagine. The drawings that I like I turn into full on illustrations, like the one below.

The final illustrations can stray slightly or even vastly away from the original line work and become something completely different, such is the beauty of the creative journey. Other times I remain faithful to the original line prompt and just add a bulk of colour, texture and atmosphere using Procreate and Photoshop. Which is what I have done with this illustration.

Becoming comfortable with drawing as an absolute must for any budding artist. Putting down all inhibitions and just drawing for the love of it is liberating and often throws up all sorts of amazing results. Doing, rather than not doing, is the key to it. If you draw often and get comfortable with your own process, that’s when the magic opens up and creating imagery becomes pure joy. Exciting in fact.

My advice is this. Don’t ever be afraid of making mistakes or doing something wrong. Happy accidents can occur and take you on even more journeys of creative discovery. Tumble down the rabbit hole into Wonderland. You might well end up with characters like Hoodie Bun Bun.

Have a go at creating multiple drawings really quickly. Get a whole load of lines down on paper as quick as possible. At the very least it will open up some new ideas and insights.

In the past I have also called this process a ‘Nimble Line Bimble’! You know, taking a line for a quick walk etc. (“,)

© EMELBI 2023 – All Rights Reserved

 

Initial Line Prompt Sketch

 

 

Procreate Edit

 

 

Post Procreate, Photoshop Edit

 

 

See how the illustration came together in the video below

 

Photoshop Edit – Colour Versions

 

 

The Spirited Drifter – Accidental Pop Art

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I’ve said it before and I will say it again, I love to explore the multiple possibilities of a single image.

This image, entitled ‘The Spirited Drifter’ is a great example of what I mean by this. Over all I am presenting 107 images here. Actually, 108 if you include the quick line sketch which is where this image started. Ok, OK 109 if  you include the featured image above.

This example of image exploration is just scratching the surface. In all honesty, these are just colour and tonal explorations. Imagine multiplying that by a slew of subtle graphic adjustments, then saving those files as individual images. Then adding numerous and major graphic updates where upon more tonal and colour enhancements are introduced etc. The possibilities are infinite. It could bend your head just thinking about it. There’s also something exciting and beautiful in the grouping of these images in a way that you can scan across them all, view and appraise them against each other.

I posted 9 of these images in a grid formation to an art forum recently. It was a single image made out of multiple images. Someone referenced that I had presented it in a ‘Pop Art’ kind of way. I had never really thought about it in those terms, but I suppose when you consider Andy Warhol’s ‘Campbell’s Soup Cans’ or his ‘Marilyn Diptych’ silkscreen artwork, you can see the connection.

Multiple versions of one image can also be seen in the brilliant artwork made be Takashi Murakami. His ‘Flower Superflat’ is a fine example of how well this can work. The same graphic, multiple colour variation, all put together to form one image. Quite marvellous if you ask me. 

It was never my intention to create Pop Art. But in a way, I guess that’s what I’ve been doing.

© EMELBI 2023 – All Rights Reserved

Initial Line Prompt Sketch

 

One of the challenges that I have set myself recently is to do 100 drawings in a day. The target is to do this twice a week. At the end of the week I will have a lot of material to chose from with the idea to form new work. The drawings don’t have to be complicated or detailed necessarily, just a generation of some strong ideas. Sketches that might spark an idea or have the beginnings of a strong character. My intention is to do them quickly but in a considered way, using reference material and photographs as well as forming randomly made up characters. This is where the above sketch came from. I thought it was strong enough to develop and it eventually turned into this mini project.

 

Procreate Edit

 

 

Procreate Edit – Colour Versions

 

 

Post Procreate, Photoshop Edit

 

 

Photoshop Edit – Colour Versions

 

 

Final – Zombie Edits

 

 

See how the illustration came together in the video below

 

 

St. Stives – Journey Line

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Journey Line – The lesson Learned

A Compulsion to Create

This character is called St. Stives. Named because I drew the sketch in St Ives, Cornwall. I like using certain attachments, loose or otherwise, regarding the naming of my work. Not always, but more often than not. These cherubim style characters are a new thing. Angelic little faces yet coloured and textured with a dirty, rough style, as is my process.

Every time an artist makes a mark there comes a promise of something new. Perhaps not always fantastic and maybe not always finished. But something new regardless. Even if the sketchbook page is torn out, disregarded or destroyed, something new would have occurred. The journey of line is something that I am compelled to explore daily. Almost obsessively. It wasn’t always like that. There were times when I could go for days, weeks even months without drawing something or making a mark. Now I just have a constant and inescapable urge to create, to jot down at least some reference of an idea in one form or another. Much of this has come from my own experiences through creativity and what it means to me to be an artist, mixed with my own philosophies regarding forward movement in life, who I am, and what makes me tick in general. What do I mean by this?

Anxiety and Imposter Syndrome

Am I good enough? Could I be better? Am I where I want to be? These and many other questions often enter the minds of the creative professional. I feel that most artists, at least most of the ones that I have met, have an overwhelming urge to be better and constantly get better in their individual pursuits. This might not be the most surprising statement to make, after all, we all strive to be good at what we do and perhaps be the best that we can be in any given pursuit in life. There was a time, many years ago, when I found that my constant need to get better meant that I got into a space where I wouldn’t create art unless I knew it was going to be better than the last thing that I made. What a terrible place that was. Such a ridiculous burden to put upon one’s self. It was not without a whole heap of anxiety issues to boot.

Once I noticed that this was a destructive place to have got to, that it was stopping me from putting my foot forward and isolating me from the very thing that I loved doing, I knew I had to change the script. So I did!

I’m Good Enough

Experience helps you get better!

A bold statement, but for the most part experience of something in a positive or negative sense is going to make you more aware of what that thing is. You will gather a greater knowledge of how to deal with it, how it works and an awareness of how you react to whatever that something is. Regarding art and creativity, as with any practice, the more that you do the better you will get. At the very least, you will become more aware of the materials that you are exposed to, how they react to each other, how you react to them and what you can do with them in your own unique creative way. You will also get a better appreciation of how all these things fit together into the bigger picture of who you are as a creative artist, perhaps even as a person in general. Immersing yourself in something will inevitably bring about a better connection to that something and with that, a better understanding.

When I was blocked from ‘doing’, due to my self imposed restrictions, I was fortunate enough to have these things drawn to my attention. Partly through my own observations and partially because of conversations with peers etc. Having thought about these issues, and having considered them at length, I realised that the best way forward was to move forward. To do instead of not doing. Since I made that decision, not only have I learned more about my skill set, I have had a better appreciation of who I am as an artist. I’ve been able to reconsider the fact that there are no mistakes in the journey of art, just experiences. Experiences to derive value from, enjoy and have as a part of my unique journey, also contribute to my creative skill set. If we decide that we are good enough to create in any given moment, to enjoy that creativity and relish the experience fluidly, the inevitable outcome is that we will progress anyway. Without anxiety and probably at a pace.

Another thing that stopped me ‘doing’, was measuring myself against other artists. There will always be greater and lesser spirits in this world. The journey of quality experiences, and applying the wonderful things that influence us in a positive way, is as good a journey as we will ever make. So doing rather than not doing is very much the way forward.

I saw this quote recently that sat well with me.  ‘You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.’  – Maya Angelou.

The Outcome

Create. Make. Colour. Scribble. Glue. Carve. Splash. Splat. Scrub. Spray. Stitch. Polish. Scrape. Draw, Draw, Draw…

Doing is the way forward. Being proactive in your creativity is the journey. If you do it with wild abandon, with fascination and excitement of that journey, all of your outcomes will be pure joy.

This lesson I learned was many years ago now, but I wanted to share it and have it written down as a reference. I hope it makes sense to you and that you get something out of it. The outcome of the lesson is, even though I keep improving, is that I am good enough. Always!

© EMELBI 2023 – All Rights Reserved

See how the illustration came together in Procreate and Photoshop

Different Colour Versions

 

Penzy – Sketchbook Illustration – Coffee, Quiche, Cake and Conversation

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Coffee, Quiche, Cake and Conversation

I love to fill sketchbooks. I always have a couple on the go, but my go to paper of choice is a sheet of A4 printer paper. I’m not sure why I favour this. I think it’s because it’s a nice big sheet of clean paper ready for some new creativity. I have boxes full of drawings on A4 paper, images that I have built up over the years. When I am sketching ideas, I love to get things down quickly. With characters, I keep everything loose, scribbled almost. I like there to be a lot of energy in the resulting imagery.

It’s good to draw, it’s an essential tool for all artists. I will always encourage any artist, young or old, to draw as much as possible. Getting your ideas down on paper is important and a crucial aspect of the artist’s journey. Even if you don’t use the imagery immediately you may well come back to it at some point later and discover something fresh about it. I often look at old sketches and form new ideas about where to take the imagery.  When you draw freely and almost for the sake of it you never really know how the image is going to unfold, or what you’re going to end up with. In my experience, the excitement of creating like this happens from that first mark that is made on that pristine piece of white paper right through to the finished artwork, if indeed you take it that far!

I was recently down in Penzance, in Cornwall. I was having a coffee and a slice of cake with my daughter in a fabulous little cafe called ‘The Honey Pot’ on Parade Street. It’s well worth checking out by the way. While we were there we met a lovely couple on the next table. They engaged us in conversation because my daughter and I were both drawing. We ended up talking about art and culture and what makes us tick etc. The gentleman’s name was Richard Sorrell. He gave me his card and told me that he was also an artist and that he lived locally. His work is quite different from mine although he likes to draw people too. There is a lot of energy in his work and some great colour use. You can see his work here… richardsorrell.co.uk

He had a sketchbook with him and was also making marks in it as we spoke. They were a smashing couple. The conversation was lovely. For some reason I felt compelled to give them the sketch I had been making while sitting there in the cafe. It was more or less like the sketch below. I drew this second drawing immediately afterwards. I could still see the pressed lines, and therefore the image, that my pen had left on the sheet underneath the one I had worked on. The following morning I took the sketch into Procreate on the iPad and made this illustration from it. I called it Penzy. I wonder if you can guess why?

Why am I telling you all this? I have always found that creativity brings people together. Over time, I have noticed that people will engage with you if you are doing something creative. There seems to be an energy that occurs when one is being creative. Some positive vitality emerges and stretches out in all directions, encompassing the space. Perhaps all space?! It nourishes and is exuberant.

The day after this chance meeting my daughter and I were back in the very same cafe at the very same table. I told you it was a good cafe. The goat cheese quiche was unbelievably good! While I munched into that, my daughter had some more of the chocolate cake that we had ordered the day before. We were sat both drawing again. I was sketching on the iPad this time and my daughter was being creative in her sketchbook. Two ladies sat at the same table beside us, where the couple we spoke to the day before had sat. They immediately engaged us in conversation, again because we were both drawing. They told us that they were travelling and were from South Africa. We talked about all things creative again. A lovely natural conversation opened up about positive energy, education and creative endeavours. It turned out that that younger lady was also an artist. She showed me her work. Fabulous imagery of flowers and plants, bold marks and wonderful colour use. Lovely observational work. We talked until the cafe staff eventually asked us to leave as they had to close up shop. We could have sat in there all day long, drawing and chatting to people. One of lifes simple joys!

So my advise is to draw and sketch in public with wild abandon. Put away all inhibitions. Be creative. Always! You never know what wonderful things it will lead to. Chance meetings and great conversations in this case, and a nice new illustration for my portfolio.

© EMELBI 2023 – All Rights Reserved

 

See how the illustration came together in Procreate in the video below

Colour Variations

Making Layered Portraits – King’s School and Nursery, Devon

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I have had some wonderful feedback from a school in Plymouth, who have been creating their own fantastic illustrative portraits following my Drawable ‘Making Layered Portraits’ resource on the AccessArt website.
The images below are some examples of the terrific work that the Year 6 children have produced during their creative sessions working on their class topic of Diversity and Identity.

It is always such a pleasure and honour to have inspired young people to embark on new creative journeys and learn new artistic techniques. Sharing the creative process is a gift that opens up new opportunities in a multitude of directions. It is almost impossible to know of the fruits that will grow from the seeds that we sow as creative professionals and creative educators. It is such an important thing to have sown those seeds.

Thank you so much to King’s School and Nursery in Devon for sharing these with me. These images you have created are fabulous. I hope it has given you some interesting ideas to go on and create some more fantastic artworks.

See the resource that they followed here.

Yücel Eucule – The Upshot Perspective

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The Upshot Perspective

Yücel Eucule

This image is one of a series of illustrations that I am creating called ‘The Upshot Perspective’ based on humanoid or cyborg units, or renegade humans living in future city settings in a far off world. All of the images in this series will have multiple colourway versions, exploring different moods in the resulting imagery.

Yücel Eucule is a top ranking government official. He holds much sway in the higher echelons of the SIU (Supreme Institute Union). Not many beings have seen him, but nearly everybody has heard of him. He is a quantum weapons expert and is said to have been the cause of innumerable atrocities in his search for power within the 9 solar systems of ATTA. These systems are currently governed by the SIU. No one is particularly happy about this either.

Initial image produced in Procreate. Colourway edits produced in iColorama on both iPad Pro and iPhone. Other colour corrections and finishing in Photoshop.

© EMELBI 2023 – All Rights Reserved

See how this illustration came together in the video below

Colour Variations

Head Study Illustration

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One of the things I love about creativity and art, are the journeys you go on. Simple sketches can turn into intriguing and fun circumnavigations of colour, texture, tone, shade and line. This simple pencil sketch turned into an interesting head study regarding those elements. I photographed it on my iPhone and then sent it to my iPad Pro to work on in Procreate. I worked on it until I was happy with it, keeping the process as simple as possible. I then explored some different colour version which has been something I do quite often at the moment.

See the YouTube video below to see the colouring process.

© EMELBI 2023 – All Rights Reserved