Hello everyone, we have a lovely colourful illustrator now in the shape of Madi! Aiming squarely at her target market with her playful renderings Madi has that attention to detail that children love, coupled with a sense of fun and a good eye for composition. Children's illustration is not just about explaining the concept or story, it is a chance to elucidate on the world around you and bring attention to something new. It is more of a conversation, as these powerful messages convey not only your subject matter but acres of hidden background information about your culture, society, what is to be expected, what is fun. It is this rather unique position that gives an illustrator an amazing opportunity to teach but also the child will learn a little bit about you in the process. This is why it is so great to see Madi has that delicate touch and the attention to detail that grounds her illustration in the cloak of normal life. She feeds something magical into a scenario that is easy to relate with, which is how you go about crafting something special and this is why we remember illustrations we saw decades ago in vibrant detail. Madi is definitely one more to add to a powerful clutch of new children's illustrators we have been lucky enough to feature, and she is sure to do well in the future.
Who are you:
Hello you! My name is Madi. I love to cut and stick and draw and collage and colour-in. I graduated from the Arts Institute at Bournemouth in 2009 with first class honours in Illustration, and I'm currently based in a little town quite near to Bournemouth. I also like teeny tiny sketchbooks, pink wafer biscuits and odd socks.
What do you do:
I am an illustrator; I create images. Although I am interested in all areas of illustration, much of my work is aimed at children - I love designing playful characters and creating imagery to capture a child's imagination. Creating characters is one of my favourite parts of illustration, and it takes up a lot of my time. I also love to experiment with hand-drawn typography, and sometimes include it in my work. I also spend my time collecting paper which I think I might be able to use in my work; pretty decorative paper, old magazines, wallpaper samples, old envelopes - pretty much anything. Paper is a big part of my work, and the patterns, textures and colours often inspire me to create an illustration.
How did you start:
I always loved drawing when I was a younger, and art was always my favourite lesson at school. I used to spend my spare time writing stories and illustrating them, and then I'd make them into little books tied together with wool. I studied Fine Art through my school years, but become a little more experimental during my art foundation year, and as the course progressed, I realised that I was much more interested in becoming an Illustrator; from then on my work was always focussed in that area. I then studied for a degree in Illustration, where I developed my style into a more recognisable collage and mixed media based approach, as opposed to the purely painted imagery I was creating when I was younger.
A Personal statement about you or your work:
My illustrations are playful, intricate and imaginative. They are mainly created using a combination of collage and mixed media, incorporating a mix of found papers and fabric with hand-drawn elements and typography. The majority of my work is created by hand, although the final illustrations are composed digitally. I love the actual cutting and sticking side of creating an illustration - that's the fun part!
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