So recently I had two commissions land around about the same time – both completely different. One was a large (A3) reproduction of a much smaller (roughly A7) watercolour piece I had already created, the other was to create new illustrations for a ‘Body Peace’ workbook, which would support an online course that focused on self care and body image.

Over the next couple of blog posts I’m going to tell you about both of these commissions, starting here with the new ‘Body Peace’ illustrations.

Elspeth Alexandra (the client) approached me based on my work that she had seen on my Instagram. She’s a fitness professional, specialising in women’s health, particularly around the pre and post natal period (although not exclusively). The Body Peace course was a passion project of her’s and a bit of a branching out because it wasn’t looking to get women moving or moving better but rather to help them change their relationship with their body.

From initial approach to final printed product the Body Peace illustrations took around 4 months.

It was a wonderfully blank slate – the course was still a bit in flux when we started talking – it didn’t have a name fully worked out yet. There was no particular colour palate, font family, or illustration style which gave me complete freedom. Which is awesome, but also a bit intimidating…

Elspeth shared her draft course outline with me, which I read through a few times and then I began sketching. I tried out different ideas, different styles and ways of making images and sent them over to Elspeth to see if any of them sparked joy for her. Thankfully one of them did and so I took that kernel of an idea and developed it further.

Generally I work in watercolour and/or ink, but for this piece I felt drawn to make the images digitally – I can’t say why, it was just an intuitive step. And it worked out really well. Using a different medium was a sharp learning curve, but I think you can also make different things if you use different tools. With my daughter’s little tablet I sketched out the ‘blobs’ as we started calling them.

As we talked more about the project, it became clear that as well as illustrations it would be important to have design applied to the workbook to pull all the elements (visual and written) together into a beautiful and lovingly prepared course asset. A very long time ago I did graphic design work, so we decided to see if it would work with me doing the illustration and design work.

We discussed colour palette’s , tried a couple out, Elspeth picked one from Coloor and I started using that for the design work, but then we switched it around, and refine it until we both felt like we had something that really complemented the course vibe. We tried out the font she generally uses, but ended up picking something else that suited the feel of this course better.

I created several blobs, put the start of the workbook together, and then sent it over as a very early draft for feedback. There was no cover image (I’d do that last), and it was quite scrappy – not the sort of thing I’d normally send a client, but Elspeth and I have a close working relationship and so it wasn’t a problem. We tried out a few different ideas with decorative elements – from really ornate to very scribbly and settled on something minimal but with some flourish. Elspeth also asked for some blobs in specific poses, and I created these and added them into the workbook too.

We changed the colour palette towards the end of the design phase, and used the same palette for the design and the illustration to bring the whole workbook together.

From the beginning the aim was to give the course participants an asset that had had a lot of love and care poured into it, to help visually illustrate the love and care they could pour into their bodies if, and when they were ready. Having that guiding principle was so helpful in decision making for both of us

• Should the booklet be digital, physical? Having something physical to hold would feel more caring – so physical it was!
• Full colour, or colour cover with black & white interior? Full colour would show more care for the participants as it’s a greater visual feast
• What kinds of fonts would look best? Easy to read, ‘comfy’ feeling font with no scratchy/scrappy textures that could make things look uncared for
• and so on

Elspeth had some very lovely words to say about working with me on this project:

“I was very happy working with you – you had the right balance of imagination and listening so that you could get a good idea of what I wanted even when I wasn’t entirely sure myself. And I loved the outcomes!”

Elspeth Alexandra

Next week I’ll talk about the other commission – see you there!