Illustration


July '15 - 'Magna Carta and The Rule of Law Resource Pack' 
Design and illustration for The Bingham Centre for The Rule of Law



To celebrate the 800th birthday of the Magna Carta, The Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law have written an educational resource for teachers to use with their students. I was commissioned to both create the illustrations and design the layout for the resource pack. Creating accessible resources with a nod to the medieval style was important to this project so I explored both 13th century costumes and styles of illustration. I particularly enjoyed working on the curious expressions, gestures, and ill-proportioned animals!


It is 1215 in England. Through the eyes of Bardolph the peasant, we experience his struggles with his feudal lord Theobald, and explore the principles of the Magna Carta. Through illustrated activities, background information and an audio slideshow, this teacher and student resource book examines the fundamental values and principles underpinning our justice system and their relevance today to modern day society.


The Magna Carta Resource Book from the Bingham Centre has been printed and is now available for free to History and Citizenship teachers who would like to join in with the project. Please get in touch if you are interested in seeing a copy! Find out more about The Bingham Centre's Schools' Project here.


October '14 - 'The Rule of Law for Key Stage 3 Citizenship Education' 
Design and illustration for The Bingham Centre for The Rule of Law



The Rule of Law Citizenship resource book has been printed and started being distributed to UK schools for the Autumn 2014 pilot! 

The Bingham Centre’s Schools' Project responds to the 2013 government review of the citizenship curriculum which resulted in a stronger focus on understanding law and democracy. I was commissioned to both create the illustrations and design the layout for the 160 page resource pack. 


My key focus was to help to develop a visual system through which Citizenship teachers with no legal background could easily navigate, and to illustrate student activities about legal principles in a way that was engaging to 11-14 year old students.


Best part? Getting to grips with all the characters in the book and bringing them to life. It was also very satisfying to learn about subjects such as democracy, justice, diversity at work, right to a fair trial, and individual rights arising in contexts such as immigration.  

Find out more about The Bingham Centre's Schools' Project here.




October '13 - Halloween Katie illustration

It's Katie the Witch's favourite time of year again! See more of Storynory's Halloween stories here


March '13 - Katie and the Bad Bug illustrations

There's a horrible throwing-up sickness going around the school. When Katie falls ill, she has words with a virus and gives it a piece of her mind. Find out more here



The part of this that I most enjoyed was getting to think about phagocytosis: a process that happens in our immune systems when foreign bodies invade. That, and pulling some horrific gurns at myself in the mirror as research for designing the pirate virus!




Dec '12 - Hansel & Gretel illustrations

More coming soon on Storynory.com... 

May '12 - Katie and the Giants illustrations

Although there aren't any real giants in this story, a tricky time at school means that Katie has to battle some inner giants
! Lucky she has the help of her mum and her best friend Isis... find out more 
here.


















January '12 - Katie and the Big Cat illustrations

Katie and Isis meet the Beast of Bodmin Moor... find out more here.








July '11 - Katie and the Magic Shop illustrations

Katie's mum is finally setting up her Magic Shop
! However, when jealous neighbours soon start spreading rumours, the only solution is to go on a Charm Offensive... find out more
here





February '11 - iTunes release of Katie and the Witch's Swap

Katie is an ordinary girl but there is one thing that is rather unusual about her. She's a witch and can do magic spells... The new "Katie and the Witch's Swap" audio story app for iPhone and iPad with my illustrations is now available on iTunes!



One scene in Katie's cluttered mystical hallway is partly inspired by my friend Isabel's house. She's all grown-up and married now, but I'll always remember the homeliness of a house that was very much "lived in"!
Another of my favorite places to draw was Katie's bedroom. This is her little haven and you can tell she's a bit of a hippy, but also a bookworm. The band "Incidental Myth" was a real band that my friends James and Toby were in a long time ago, I thought their sound was the sort of music that Katie would be into.

To check out Katie's magical kitchen you can buy the app here! (sorry, shameless). Here are some screenshots from iPhone and iPad.......

To give you a bit of a behind the scenes look, I've also taken a screenshot from my computer of the illustrations when they were in progress. I drew and redrew them all in pencil, then inked them up and scanned them in before playing with all the colours together for unity. I used warm earthy tones for Katie's house, and later gave Isis' house an icier palette to show the different atmospheres.



In the mean time more of Katie's adventures with original illustrations are already available on audio podcast on storynory.com (thanks to the writer extraordinaire, Hugh Fraser):

What on earth is Katie's sneaky teacher Miss Vile up to?

Find out in the free audio story Katie and the Invisible Umbrella

Katie turns detective when strange things start happening at school in The Witch who Lost her Spells



"In fact, if there was any boy in the class who was ok, it was Paul. He was so nice that he was almost like a girl, only he was a boy." The Wizard who stole Katie's Spells




Sometimes you really should be careful what you wish for: Katie and the Cat who Talked


It's all very strange indeed: Katie and the Nose who Ran Away

July 10 - Katie the Ordinary Witch
10 handdrawn illustrations commissioned by
Storynory Audio Stories for Kids

All stories copyright Hugh Fraser. For more see storynory.com




October 09 - Mr Majik's Toy Shop
1 of 3 children's illustrations commissioned by Porcupine Prints, watercolour and pencil



2 of 3 children's illustrations commissioned by Porcupine Prints, watercolour and pencil

October 09 - The Sweetheart Bakery
1 of 3 children's illustrations commissioned by Porcupine Prints, watercolour and pencil

September 09 - Family Tree
commissioned by Charlotte Ohri


July 09 - In the garden of Carlo Scarpa, (pencil illustration on Medioevalis Fabriano paper dipped in blue ink)
The courtyard garden of the Fondazione Querini Stampalia museum in Venice was designed by architect Carlo Scarpa in the early 60s, and like his other work is sensitive to materials and the changes of time. Aside from its usual connotations of romance and mystery the significance of the city of Venice here is its seasonal flooding - indeed part of Scarpa's design deliberately allowed water to periodically come into the lobby space of the main building.
The landscape of the garden forms the backdrop to a quiet scene where a boy is sleeping, his head just under the dipped blue ink line of consciousness, unaware of the girl's awareness of her own emotions. The stone lion watches the scene quietly.





May 09 - "Foundations" exhibition: Celia at William Anchor Associates,
Handbound storybook, diorama boxset, digital surface design and 3D office installation
Best in Show Award!


Take fate into your own hands with this Choose Your Own Adventure book. Follow the instructions step into Celia’s shoes and navigate through her world of digital reality and fantasy.

See a couple of the illustrations from the book below:

May 09 - Singing in the Rain, Pencil illustration with collage

May 09 - Cowboys and Indians, Pencil illustration with collage




May 09 - Office Daydream wallpaper



April 09 - Mad Hatter's Tea Party boxwork, made for Agent Provocateur
Alice finds herself literally falling into a reverie of sensual fantasy. Behind the laden table stand the Mad Hatter and March Hare, the glittering clock bearing the perpetual state of "tea o’clock".






"King Jeff" March 08, illuminated title credits for medieval film