my first zine! (it involves sloths...)

a couple of months ago i wrote this little step my step* zine about how to become one with the sloths, and now i've finally gotten around to fully illustrating and finishing it all off! it's taken time (mainly because i've been lazy...) but better late than never, eh? definitely better to have been finished before my move back to uni in a week's time!

if you'd like to read more about my zine or perhaps purchase it, head over to my etsy listing here :)

*disclaimer: this is a very sarcastic step by step guide, please do not take any steps literally...

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"every girl needs a superhero"

it was one of my friends' birthdays at the very end of august, and instead of opting for the 'safe' birthday present option (which last year was a bottle of cherry sourz, typical student essential) this year, i decided to think more in depth about what it was that my friend actually liked, and from there went on to produce this necklace and birthday card.

if it's not already obvious, my friend really, really likes superheroes. i remembered a shirt she wore once that said "every girl needs a superhero" on it, so i used that as my inspiration for the necklace design, which is supposed to capture superman flying through the clouds to save his damsel in distress (or whatever it is you call them these days,) aw. i really liked how all the components sit when worn under a necklace, so hopefully my friend will like it, too!

the card is a pretty simple idea, just a line up of some of her favourite superheroes (minus iron man who wasn't 'man' enough for me to be able to draw him... sorry emily, if you're reading!) wishing her a super birthday... brilliant use of words, i know. big buff men (which is essentially all superheroes are!) aren't really my forte, so i went with what i knew and decided to cute up the superheroes as much as i could while still having them look somewhat... super? either way, i'm pretty pleased with how they all came out, a challenge i was very glad i pursued!

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HUGE etsy shop sale!

hello all!

as of late i've had a load of ideas for new illustrated items to be featured within my etsy shop, however before i set about pursuing that project, i think it'd make sense to first sell all the stock that i currently have lying around in my bedroom to make room for the new products i'll be creating! so, to attempt to achieve this, i'm having a huge sale over in my etsy shop!

i'm offering up to 50% off jewellery and stickers, and you can pick up items from as little as £1.50. you can even get a hold of my favourite three charm necklaces for only £5 (which look really dainty and sweet under collars, by the way!) don't forget that you can also get an additional 10% off sale items until the end of august by using the code 'THANKYOU10' as a thank you to all my 200 instagram and twitter followers!

although my shop doesn't state that i offer international shipping, i would be more than happy to. so if you're an international follower and you would like to purchase any items, drop me an email at robynmakesthings@gmail.com and we can arrange appropriate shipping costs based on your order :)

thank you all for your continued support, it really means the world to me. i really hope you all enjoy my creations as much as i enjoy creating them in the first place!

shop my sale items here!

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a tea party with alice

here's my most recently completed commission, a sidebar portrait for the lovely alice over at teapartywithalice.com. i've included some snaps of my illustrative process (i mainly post these on my instagram) as it's something i've never really done before, and i must say that i really have had so much fun playing around with gouache and i think it's finally become a staple part of my portrait style. 

i'm still open for commissions, so if you would like one for yourself (or maybe even as a gift to another!), please feel free to drop me an email at robynmakesthings@gmail.com to discuss my working methods and pricing :)

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dance, magic, dance!

 

just popping by to post another gouache portrait i've completed recently! this time of david bowie as the goblin king from the film labyrinth, which i watched while at uni and felt instantly inspired to one day recreate the characters from it. i do plan to more simply illustrate characters such as ludo (who is just adorable!) and create a whole set of them, but i thought i'd start out here as i'd been meaning to redo a bowie portrait at some point anyway after growing more and more displeased by my original aladdin sane illustration!

i was pretty pleased with this illustration on paper, however i don't feel as though the scan does it any justice *sigh*, such a nightmare when that happens! obviously i've room for a lot of improvement when it comes to portraits, however i do believe i'm slowly getting better at creating depth which is a lot easier to accomplish with gouache paints (my soft spot for them is rapidly growing.) i suppose i've just got to keep practising and practising!

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get 10% off in my etsy shop!

i reached 200 followers on both my twitter and instagram accounts, so to say thank you to all of my followers i’m offering 10% off all items in my etsy store until the end of august when you use the code ‘THANKYOU10’ at the checkout :)

if you don’t already and would like to follow me on those social media platforms, you can find my twitter here and my instagram here!

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playin' with gouache

after seeing so many good things done with and said about gouache paints, i decided to hop onto the bandwagon and purchase myself a set of them. after my first play with them, i wasn't overly impressed - they just seemed to produce the same effect as watercolours but with so much more effort needed to work with them - but i persisted and played some more and i think i may now have developed some sort of understanding that may help me to work with them in future. i doubt i'll ever work solely with gouache, but i like how opaque the colours are so they could come in handy to use alongside my watercolours and pencils!

while experimenting i decided to work with marina again because she's very, very lovely looking and i always find it rewarding to draw attractive people. hair aside, i think i'm pretty happy with this piece.

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