Welcome to the Plum Family, Jordan Wray!

We are very excited to welcome the fabulously talented Jordan Wray to our punnet of Plums... get to know him in our Illustrator Interview! 

Where do you live/work?

I live in Canada and the UK, what I love about living in two places is the change of scenery and culture. Living in England I was born and raised in Sheffield, Yorkshire where the Peak District is right on my doorstep and Yorkshire puddings are always on my plate!

Whereas in Canada, I live in Vancouver where the mountains and pine forests call me to run with the wolves and be wild. In each country I work from home where I have learned to transition my nightwear into day wear…that’s right, the glory of writing and illustrating in my pyjamas all day has got the better of me!

What do you like about working there?

The thing I love the most about working from home is the fact I can switch myself off from the outside world, close my door and play my music and really get into my little whimsical world of creativity. Also the fact I get to sit at home with coffee and my cat, Iver!

What do you love most about being an illustrator?

The thing I adore the most about being an illustrator is how I get whatever happens in my head out onto paper, it’s almost as if I share my world with everybody to see which is quite amazing actually, especially when I receive a new brief and how I interpret or visualise a manuscript.

How do you work – what are your techniques?

The techniques I use to create my work are both digital and hand drawn. I feel the world is so full of technology these days that I like many others desire to get back to more natural, artisan-like roots and creating hand drawn compositions gives an unpolished, imperfect look which I love!

What is your favourite thing to draw and why?

My most favourite thing to draw must be animals. I’m a HUGE animal lover and love the different personalities that shine through when watching them. I always try to capture this in my character designing and my main subject for this is my little cat, Iver.

Do you have a particular favourite character that you’ve illustrated?

I don’t really have a specific character I have illustrated which is my favourite but in my first authored book, ‘Rosa Draws’ the characters from Rosa’s mind are pretty out there, whacky and really fun to illustrate! I mean, who wouldn’t love to draw a plum-tastic moose?

What or who are you most inspired by?

I’d say nature. I’m a huge, huge fan of nature. To get my creative juices flowing, I love to go on long walks with my music where I collect pinecones and inspiration, shells and ideas. The world around me is definitely something that feeds my creative process.

Do you have a favourite illustrator?

I don’t necessarily have a favourite illustrator but what I DO find fascinating is setting up workshops in Waterstones or other bookstores for kids to join in with. My latest workshop was a ‘create your own charater’ crafternoon session and I LOVE seeing what the kids come up with and how their minds work.

What do you like to do in your spare time when you’re not illustrating?

Away from my desk, as mentioned I do love going on long walks but if I don’t feel like using my legs on a hike I tend to go travelling, surfing, longboarding, taking care of my houseplants, taking photos or simply sitting on my windowsill and daydreaming.

How did you get into illustration?

Illustration has ALWAYS been a huge part of me, since being small I was always found with colour pencils in my hands either drawing small critters or writing little stories.

I took my love for storymaking into adulthood where I studied Illustration at Plymouth College of Art and after receiving a First Class Honours, landed my first ever illustration job, designing greeting cards for Hallmark where I worked for roughly two years before plunging into the world of freelance.

What are your three top tips for aspiring illustrators?

Oh this is a tough one!

Okay so, my first tip would be to stalk. Stalk, stalk and stalk. If you have your heart set on a company you want to for with or for, don’t leave them alone! Ask about potential internships, freelance work or positions coming up in the near future, your determination will get you further than your actual work will.

My second tip is to use your time wisely. In the rare case of sat twiddling your thumbs between briefs, make sure you practice and brush up on skills you haven’t used in a while or take the time to create something new or use a material you have never used before. This is always great to show clients that you’re versatile or that you have a new style which could fit one of their briefs…It could also take you down a new avenue of developing your style and creative identity.

Finally my third top tip is keeping your confidence. The publishing world can be quite competitive at times and you may get many setbacks or rejections of manuscripts and portfolio viewings. Keep your chin up, put that smile back on your face, get back to the drawing board (literally) and persist to kick ass!

What were your favourite books when you were younger?

The books that I always remember reading as a child are the ‘Dilly the Dinosaur’ books by Tony Bradman. Back in the 90’s my teacher first started reading these books to us in class and I LOVED them so much that my mum and I HAD to go out and by them so that I could hear the same chapters twice in one day, once at school and again at bedtime.

What was the last book you read? What did you think? 

The latest book I read was ‘Wild’ by Cheryl Strayed. It’s definitely a tear-jerker I must admit but the journey the main character goes on, through the desert, mountains and pine forests of the Pacific North West (from California to the boarder of Canada) is so eye opening and profoundly adventurous, it was difficult to put down! I’m actually finding it hard to find a next read to live up to it.

What are your aspirations for the rest of the year?

For the rest of 2019, I’d say my aspirations are to eat less doughnuts (way less) and to try and be a better adult!

What’s your ultimate dream?

Oh, this is to definitely one day visit the moon!

Welcome to the family, Jordan!

Welcome to the Plum Family, Ana Duna

We had a chat with our amazing new illustrator Ana Duna, and got to know a little more about her life!

Where do you live/work?

Right now I am living in the wonderful city of Granada in Spain, where I also work from a little studio I have set up in my house.

What do you like about working there?

I love working here because it is a very peaceful place with a lot of green areas and magic places but also it is pretty lively and the people here is very kind, also it is so sunny most days!

What do you love most about being an illustrator?

I love my job, it allows me to read so many stories and imagine in my head each scene and each character however I want… and having the possibility to actually bring to life those images is so magical.

How did you get into illustration?

The third year of my Fine art studies I moved to England and I had a drawing teacher that gave me a lot of freedom to research my own interests so I don’t really know how but I discovered the work of a few illustrators and suddenly I realised that it was an actual career I could pursue so I dedicated that year to study other illustrator’s works, visit bookshops, write and draw a lot.

How do you work – what are your techniques?

Usually I would start with very tiny sketches made in my sketchbook trying to figure out character design and composition of the page and once I have this clear y like to work directly on Photoshop, which is great because it gives you so much freedom to experiment; I finish the sketches digitally, then I do the line work and finally I work on the color.

    When I get stuck and need a bit of inspiration I like to go back to gouaches, which is my favourite traditional medium because it allows you to get so many effects, I particularly like to combine them with pencil colors, the textures that you can create are so interesting and painting traditionally is quite relaxing for me so I like to do it from time to time.

What or who are you most inspired by?

I get inspiration from so many things but I guess most of it comes from the observation of little things in everyday life; I also like to get inspired by the mood and the color palette of good films like Wes Anderson’s and so many other great directors that use color in super clever ways.

Do you have a favourite illustrator?

Honestly I have so many, I absolutely love Quentin Blake, I mean how can someone be so talented? I also adore Ronald Searle and his illustrations full of personality, and I find Sempé’s drawing so charming! I also enjoy many contemporary illustrators like Carson Ellis, Marc Boutavant, Julia Sardá, Benji Davies, Sebastien Mourrain… their work is to die for!

What is your favourite thing to draw and why?

I really love drawing kids and animals, I particularly enjoy drawing facial expressions since I feel it is the best way to express emotion and I love how easy it is for the reader to empathize with the characters and engage (or get involved?) with the different situations that they are living. Humour has also always been an essential part of both my work and life, I love to have fun working and I particularly enjoy creating interesting characters and the worlds they live in.

Do you have a particular favourite character that you’ve illustrated?

Yes! I really loved Poliche, the main character of the book “El Pampinoplas” published by SM. He went to visit his grandfather to the countryside and although he thought it was going to be utterly boring it ended up being a complete adventure!

What do you like to do in your spare time when you’re not illustrating?

Catching up with friends is always a good idea, makes you laugh and refills your energy, just what you need after a long day working; also going for walks by my own listening to good music is very nice and another thing I like to do is going to my theater classes, it is so magical getting to be another person for a couple of hours!

What are your three top tips for aspiring illustrators?

Have fun drawing, draw a lot and never give up!

What were your favourite books when you were younger?

Roald Dahl stories made me travel to so many places, I enjoyed those books so much.

What was the last book you read? What did you think? 

It was Just Kids by Patty Smith, a really inspiring book about young artists living in New York, I loved the creative atmosphere about it.

What are your aspirations for the rest of the year?

I hope to work on some exciting projects! And if possible, travel a bit because it always brings me new ideas.

What’s your ultimate dream?

To spend my life doing the things that I love to do and surrounding myself with good people that I love, simply that :)

Welcome to the family, Ana!

Meet the Plums: Emily Hamilton

We caught up with our lovely illustrator Emily Hamilton: learn more about her in our interview here!

Where do you live/work?

I live in North Devon, surrounded by little green hills and a big rolling ocean. I’ve got a little studio in my house which is filled with pens, pencils, paints, paper and occasionally two small humans who want to see what I’m up to.

What do you like about working there?

I love North Devon (apart from the summer traffic on the tiny roads!). I have a lovely network of family and friends and I love the wild outdoors and how easy it is to get into nature. It’s pretty magical having an array of beautiful beaches to enjoy and fun waves to surf. I draw a lot of inspiration from the area I live in and it’s a very lovely community – everyone knows everyone else, which is (usually) a good thing!

What do you love most about being an illustrator?

There are so many brilliant things about being an illustrator, I still have to pinch myself when I think that I get to do this as a job! Drawing has always been one of my favourite things to do – I’d sit for hours when I was little writing poems and illustrating them. Now I get to do it in my own house, sometimes dressed in my pyjamas and always with a big mug of herbal tea! I can fit it around my little family and I love being able to take a sketch book with me to capture anything that might inspire me when I’m out and about.

How do you work – what are your techniques?

I like using a range of mediums. My regular go-to’s are watercolours, inks, gouache, pencils, pastels and fineliners but I love to mix in things like collage or anything else that I think might look fun. Nowadays I often finish off a piece of work in photoshop or in procreate on the ipad – I like the extra elements that working digitally can bring but I always want my work to have a natural, hand-drawn feel to it.

What is your favourite thing to draw and why?

I’m enjoying drawing characters more and more – for a long time I found them frustrating and pretty tricky but as I’ve kept practicing they have become a lot more fun! I think my favourite things to draw are probably flowers and plants – I seem to end up doodling these whenever I have a piece of paper in front of me!

Do you have a favourite illustrator?

I have so many favourite illustrators and I discover more and more every day! My first and foremost will always be Quentin Blake – his illustrations were always an inspiration to me from the word go. I love Oliver Jeffer’s work, his illustrations are so clever. David Litchfield has such a wonderful, cinematic style – his book, ‘The Bear and the Piano’ is just beautiful. Alex T Smith and Lauren Child are in my top favourites too, and Rebecca Green’s characters and style are just wonderful. There are so many more – I could write pages but I’d better stop here!

Do you have a particular favourite character that you’ve illustrated?

I do like a little character called Eleanor who has a big curly top of hair – she was fun to draw. I feel like I’m still growing into my children’s book style at the moment and each character I create I like a little better than the last – I’m excited to see who else turns up in my sketch pad next!

What do you like to do in your spare time when you’re not illustrating?

I love getting outdoors. Jumping in the sea, going for jog or a walk, or just running about on the beach and in the countryside with my little family. We always usually manage to find a nice café to stop at for a pit-stop cup of tea too!

How did you get into illustration?

I was in Australia and looking for work, which was proving very hard to find! I ended up spotting a little ad in a newspaper which was asking for people to edit history books. I had an interview in a coffee shop, got the post and managed to persuade them to let me do the illustrations as well – it’s gone on from there!

What or who are you most inspired by?

I’ve always been hugely inspired by nature – there are so many wonderful and beautiful things in the natural world that get my creative cogs whirring. On the other side, Instagram and Pinterest are a huge source of artistic inspiration – they are a never-ending and constantly updated library of creative magic. I find it can be a bit overwhelming to dive in too deep though so try to limit myself to how much of a rabbit hole of scrolling I go down!  

What are your three top tips for aspiring illustrators?

1.    Never give up! It might feel impossible at times but keep on – if you work hard enough then you will get there in the end!

2.    Draw, draw and draw some more. It might sound obvious but the only way to get better is to draw as much as possible! I often find I can be feeling totally stuck but if I just make myself sit it out and keep sketching, a good piece magically appears when I’ve been despairing it may never!

3.    Be true to yourself. Its hard when there are so many incredible artists out there whose work you may love – its fantastic to draw inspiration from other’s work but at the end of the day you have to make sure that its your own style that you are creating and not a copy of someone else’s. If you love what you’re drawing enough then your own unique style will shine through. 

What were your favourite books when you were younger?

I had so many that it’s hard to say! We lived in Kenya when I was little and we had no television so mine and my brother’s treat every week was to go to the big bookshop and choose a book – we used to look forward to it so much! I absolutely loved anything by Roald Dahl, as well as all of the Famous Five books by Enid Blighton. I would always pick up anything to do with animals too – the Willard Price books about two brothers who travelled the world collecting animals were my favourites too. I’m enjoying reading all of these to my daughters now!

What was the last book you read? What did you think? 

I’ve just finished ‘Teatime for the Traditionally Built’ by Alexander McCall Smith. It’s from his No1 Ladies’ Detective Agency and I just love the series – I’ve read most of them a couple of times! They are set in Botswana and are so gently written with humour and a lovely simplicity that I find them a nice, calming escape when life is feeling a bit hectic!

What are your aspirations for the rest of the year?

To work hard on creating lots of children’s book work and draw as much as possible. I’d l also like to do yoga at least twice a week and manage to do a really good headstand!

What’s your ultimate dream?

To be able to work and illustrate whilst travelling – I’d love to go on a big, worldwide travel adventure with my husband and girls where we visit every country we can and fill up lots of sketchbooks with all the amazing things we see!

Introducing the Plum Awards!

We are absolutely thrilled to announce the official launch of the Plum Awards!

The Plum Awards is Plum Pudding Illustration Agency's competition, open to any currently unrepresented illustrators from across the globe.

There have been some great changes made in the illustration industry to ensure there is more representation from all backgrounds, and we want to do our part to continue that work.

As an agency that proudly represents illustrators from a vast variety of global communities, Plum Pudding Illustration is keen to reach out to as many illustrators as possible from a wider variety of different backgrounds and underrepresented communities from across the globe, and give them the opportunity to get their work seen.

So, we decided to launch the Plum Awards! This award will give illustrators, regardless of educational qualifications, experience, or background, the chance to work on a professional brief and get their work out there. From people who are already working towards a career in illustration to those who have the passion for drawing but may not have previously had the opportunity to showcase your talent, we want to hear from you all!

The Plum Awards competition deadline is 25^th March. The winner will receive a £300 cash prize, and the winner and selected runners up will receive portfolio reviews and guidance with Plum Pudding’s team of industry professionals. See below for details on how to apply, and good luck! 

**any work submitted for this competition will solely be used to announce the finalists and winner: Plum Pudding claim no rights over the works and no rights will be transferred. Any finalist or winning entry images shared will be fully credited to the creator**