Blog Archives

29 JUNE

6/29/2020

Just a little vignette I designed for the book this week, with cute bunnies by moonlight. The work is going really well, and I have been having fun designing a pattern using lots of little elements which appear in the story. I have also started on the design for the book cover, recovered some some missing text from the author and hand lettered the last page to match the first page. I see the hand lettered pages as being a sort of voice over introducing and closing the story - in the voice of Tom Baker!

22 JUNE

6/22/2020

Left: an umbel drawing which I have been working on for the children's book this week.

Above: I particularly love the wild romantic treatment I gave it, using a couple of filters - it's kind of Granny's attic and old books. It puts me in mind of cyanotype photography.

It won't be long until the illustrations are finished and I will be able to share full pics with the author's blessing. I am so looking forward to that, the book has been years in planning and now it's becoming real!

Thanks for visiting, see you next week!

15 JUNE

6/15/2020

A version of the pattern from the sketchbook pages I showed here last week, placed against a mossy background.
A real quickie today because I am full steam ahead and getting near to finishing the children's book illustrations!

Thanks for visiting, see you next week!

7 JUNE

6/7/2020

This is one of my digital sketchbooks. I am full-on with the children's book illustrations at the moment so there isn't much time for anything else, but occasionally I like a little light relief. Throwing together a simple pattern is great fun, and sketchbooks like these make it easy. Each image is drawn in Procreate on its own layer, so I can easily copy, paste, and rearrange different elements to play with different patterns. The sludge-green background is so I can spot any unwanted marks and tidy edges nicely.

Thanks for visiting, see you next week!

1 JUNE

6/1/2020

Another pattern this week for my Redbubble Store - birds and potted plants gardening, inspired by the fact that I have been doing a lot of gardening recently. I was delighted to launch this one on the full range of 'kids' clothing' as well as home décor, adult apparel, accessories - and of course, socks! I do love the socks.

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Welcome to my illustration blog, where I share what I have been up to during the week.
I illustrate under the pen-name of Binky McKee, McKee being my mother's maiden name. Binky was the name of every single cat my great-grandmother kept - about 40 of them during her 94 years of life.
Currently I am working on illustrating a children's book, pattern making, and of course I can't resist a good Instagram challenge such as Folktale Week or Inktober.

I hope you enjoy your visit!

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I keep lots of scrapbooks and sketchbooks where I develop ideas and design little creatures. Here's a peek inside one ...

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As you may know, I am also known as Heather Eliza Walker.
Click the image if you would like to find out more and visit my other website.

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Instagrams
HeatherElizaWalker
Binky_McKee

Redbubble Shop
BinkyMcKee

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This time, take a peek into my ceramic design sketchbook. I actually made some of the mugs, but I kind of prefer the drawings! The plate designs are painted on paper plates, a most liberating process.

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These watercolours are from my pattern sketchbook. I used coloured wax crayons to resist the washes of watercolour, also home-made rubber stamps dipped in bleach then printed on crêpe paper - the bleach takes out the paper dyes.

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A sketchbook I used for mark-making with unusual objects - corks, seed-heads, feathers, home-made rubber stamps, my fingers and lots of flicky things ...