Creative illustration
Freehand artistry
Vector work is precise, repeatable and often exactly right. It is also, unmistakably, made by a machine's idea of a curve. When a project needs to feel touched by a person, that precision works against it.
Overview
What this service covers
This is our traditional-media work: ink, brush, pencil, watercolour and gouache, drawn by hand and then scanned and prepared properly for reproduction.
It suits book covers and interiors, packaging with a craft position, editorial illustration, lettering and identity work where the wobble in a line is the point rather than a flaw.
What we provide
Included in every project
Anything outside this list is quoted separately rather than assumed.
Ink and brush illustration
Pen and brush work with the line quality only a hand produces.
Watercolour and gouache
Painted artwork scanned and colour-corrected for accurate reproduction.
Pencil and charcoal
Tonal drawing for editorial, portraiture and book work.
Hand lettering
Custom lettering and calligraphy drawn for covers, packaging and identity.
Texture and pattern libraries
Scanned marks, washes and textures supplied as a reusable set.
Scan preparation
Artwork scanned at high resolution, cleaned and made print-ready.
Benefits
Why clients commission this work
Genuinely hand-made
Real media, not a digital brush imitating one.
Distinctive by nature
No two pieces identical, which is the reason to commission it.
Print-ready digitisation
Scanned and corrected so the paper texture survives reproduction.
Original available
The physical artwork can be sent to you or retained for exhibition.
Process
From brief to final files
Each stage has a clear approval point, so nothing large gets built on an assumption.
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Direction
Medium, palette and approach agreed with reference to the end use.
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Sketch
Composition approved in pencil before the final piece is painted or inked.
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Final artwork
The piece is made in the chosen medium, once, by hand.
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Digitisation
High-resolution scanning, colour correction and file preparation.
Who it suits
Typical clients for this service
Briefs come from single projects and from teams commissioning at volume.
Portfolio
A sample of this kind of work
A sample of studio work in this category.
Questions
Before you brief us
Anything not answered here, ask directly and you will get a straight answer.
Ask a questionReady to brief this project?
Send the details and a scope, schedule and fixed quote come back within one working day.