Maxine Lee's Blog

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Those zines I’ve spent the past few months working on are almost ready for packaging up. It’s a limited run of 50 sets that I’ll be sending out as self-promos. I’ll be posting some for sale and will keep you in the loop. If you know any #artdirector after some #teen to adult #gothic #alternative#illustration, please ask them to contact me with their details and I’ll send a complimentary set over #free #portfolio #art #teenfiction #publishing#kidlit #pr #zine #graphicnovel #kidlitart#tarot #redridinghood #blackshuck #wolf #ink

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I’ve changed things up a bit so please let me know if anything’s a bit buggy or just generally annoying. I’ll be adding new illustrations to the portfolio section rather than the blog, and most of my sketches you can catch on Instagram 

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I’ve introduced a couple of new styles that I’m developing, but I’m still creating and working away in the same style that you’ve got to know. Please see my Bright page or visit the archived projects at the end of my portfolio feed

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So World Book Day came and went this year and I haven’t done one WBD event. I would have but I had deadlines building up like fruit in a sweet shop. I started my MA in Illustration earlier this year so on top of a huge educational project, I’ve got those uni briefs too. And then we adopted a pupsicle. A sausage shaped pupper. 

Meet Benny Rocket. He lives up to his name.

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Anyway, even though WBD has come and gone, I did a very quick reading-related warm-up sketch this morning – apart from that, my projects are all a bit top secret at the moment. I’ve opened up a section on here where you can find my R&E for my MA (if you’re that way inclined) and I’ll update you on my graphic novel adventures very soon. 

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I’m not a linear thinker and I’m more about dialogue and image than description. Writing descriptively feels uncomfortable, it’s not a good fit. The best engagement I can get is when a reader looks at something I’ve created and puts a different slant on it. That stimulates my mind and keeps me on my toes. A good way to do that is to attempt a wordless and laconic narrative illustration style.

Some of you know that I started my MA back in September, and it’s definitely encouraging me to try new and different things. Before I committed, I knew that the only way this would hold value for me was if I pushed myself in a different direction. But, because children’s publishing is where my heart is, that’s quite a difficult task.

I’ve enjoyed the research involved so far and it’s definitely produced a rabbit hole for me to get lost in. I found graphic novels down there thanks to my tutor, Kate. Until I started that research, my experience with illustrated books for grown-ups had been limited to Hellboy and Gemma Bovery (Posy Simmons), which follow a typical panel style. I love to read them, and the artists are crazy-talented, but I don’t feel compelled to create something in that style. 

A lot of the research I’ve been carrying out has been focused on dark and taboo issues within children’s books. Very far removed from what I do day-to-day. I tried to remove any opportunities for whimsy. I also made a conscious effort to not look at my close peers – the guys I interact with via social media or share an agent with. The next thing I did was like jumping off a cliff. I turned off my Cintiq and lined my ink bottles up. After lots of experimentation, I put another restraint on myself. No paintbrushes. The style of this illustration is informed by considerable research and I don’t want to write a lengthy post here. As soon as my research is graded, I’ll link it so you can read about that side of things, if that’s what floats your boat.

Here’s a piece I created for my MA ‘Prey’ 2017. Ink on paper

Colour Collective Dec 2017 #White. Digital

Christmas card, 2017.  Digital.

The post Different Illustration Style appeared first on Maxine Lee.

Here’s the latest batch – don’t forget to check out my Instagram for daily(ish) updates.

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The post Latest Speedpaints – September 2017 appeared first on Maxine Lee.

All between 10-15 mins. 

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Some speed-paint adventures from the last few days – all strictly 10 (squirrel) or 15 minutes. It’s helping a lot to enforce these mini-deadlines on myself. Procrastination is not winning this week. All posted on Instagram if you’d like more regular updates.

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My agent sent an email through asking me (for at least the third time) to upload recent work for my agency portfolio. I’m rubbish at admin so I never seem to get around to converting and cropping all the new spreads and that stuff just sits on my desktop, waiting.

Anyway, I delved in. I came across 42 new pieces of work that hadn’t seen the light of day yet and with a burst of pure enthusiasm, brought on by several spoonfuls of peanut butter, started work. About 2 months before, I started drawing character ideas for Dress-up Daisy. Her story is yet to be written but I know her character inside out. Daisy loves dressing up because that’s how she learns. She has to fully immerse herself in a character or a task to fully understand it. She’s fun, smart, sensitive and perceptive. And there she was amongst all the work on my desktop.

Just to add context, diversity is important to me. My aim as a children’s story-maker is to have characters in my portfolio that every child can relate to. Whether that character is part of a story or an illustration, I don’t mind. If a child looks at a range of my work and can’t relate to any of it, then I’m doing something seriously wrong. I decided I should start uploading some Daisy doodles to Instagram as that’s the most current stream of my illustration work and sketches. Here she is:

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So I go through my usual list of hashtags, things like #childrensbooks #kidlitart #characterdesign #sketchbook then I add #diversity and #equality. Then I delete them. Then I add them again. I search the tags and Google to try and find what the right ones are. I started questioning myself and wondering what others would think of me. I was tagging for the reasons I mentioned before. Did other people know that though, or did they think I was jumping on the bandwagon and using #diversity to get a pocketful of extra hearts on Instagram. I felt a bit icky.

I was genuinely stumped on what to do. After some anxiety filled conversations with myself (in my head, obviously), I posted with the tags. It stayed on my mind though so I headed over to Google to try and find some hashtags that were appropriate to what I’m about.

#booksforall

#childrensbooksforall

#diversebooks

#diversekidlitart

#iseeme

#inclusivebooks

#inclusiveminds (and follow @inclusiveminds on Twitter)

#inclusivechildrensbooks

#diversity

#equality

I say all posts because I’m more than one Twitter or Insta post. I draw all children. Not all at the same time and not just to prove a point. It doesn’t matter if I’ve just drawn a black girl, a white boy, a child in a wheelchair, or a child roller skating, as long as I draw them all. I want you guys to visit my website and look at my work. I want you to find a particular piece you identify with. You’re not going to do that if I’m only tagging images that comply with #inclusivity and #diversity. Those tags when you see them in my future posts are tags on me as an author and illustrator and the values I hold. Whether you’re a reader or a potential client, I think it’s important that you know what those values are.

Thanks for reading, I hope you’ll use these tags too. If you have any others, please leave in the comments or message me and I’ll update this list.

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20 minutes…You can probably guess what this one is all about. In other news, I’ve just eaten 3 apples.

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