My Mission

To create illustrations which help purposeful people and organisations fulfil their vision for positive change, particularly in areas relating to the environment, health and learning.

I aim to align and collaborate with my clients to develop engaging visuals which help them to share a story, show a journey, or communicate ideas with their specific audience. The ultimate goal is for my illustrations to help inspire action, for the benefit of people or the planet, or both!

What are you looking for in an illustrator?

Do you like the look of my work, and want to find out if I’d be a good fit for collaborating with you and your organisation?

I’m proud that the following list is derived from a selection of comments made by some of my past clients. 😊

Are you looking to collaborate with an illustrator who will…

• Take the time, care and attention to understand what you’re trying to achieve, and just ‘get you’

• Be easy and enjoyable to work with

• Be creative, professional, communicate clearly and stick to a schedule

• Guide you through the whole illustration process, providing a smooth approach to all stages of your project  - from initial consultation and discussing the brief, through the initial proposal and sketch stage to development of final artwork

• Embrace and interpret the brief well, with an excellent ability to capture the complexities and subtleties of your project and really bring the concepts to life

• Welcome your input at various stages within the process. Listen to and value your feedback, but also be happy to push back, challenge where necessary and offer alternative solutions if needs be.

• Be thorough, patient, not phased by the need to satisfy multiple stakeholders and have great attention to detail

• Create artwork that exceeds your expectations, that you’ll be excited to share

Honestly, I’ve not made it up! It’s all backed up here on my TESTIMONIALS PAGE, along with many more kind words… take a look!

Working with an illustrator should be the fun part of your job, right?

I’m here to try and make that the case, and for the process to be pleasurable.

(When I say fun, I’m not saying it’ll be all laughs - I take my work pretty seriously, work hard and am a bit of a perfectionist to be honest... but hopefully you know what I mean!)

I love to work with purpose-driven people with a vision, people who I naturally get on well with. I think it’s important to be on the same wavelength and this is usually the case if we share the same sensibilities. I love a brief to get excited about, especially when it’s for something that will make a difference. I’m keen to help make your vision become a reality.

My approach is always developed with the specific project in mind. Your content or subject matter may have an underlying seriousness, be a bit dry or ‘worthy’, but I will always try to bring some fun into my concepts and visual style. I love colour, organic shapes and incorporating a hand-crafted feel where possible.

If the over-arching aim is generally to communicate your positive vision, I believe the best way to do this is to create beautiful and engaging work, which connects with your audience on a human level.

Would you like to find out more about the way I work?

I’ve written a blog post which shows clearly the various stages I follow with my clients, for every creative project. It’s based around the idea of a tandem ride and includes a downloadable ‘Project Journey Route Map’ - Read more here

Also, I’m currently taking an in-depth look at the sustainability of my business, and working towards ensuring I’m doing the best I can for people and planet. It’s still very much a work in progress, but you can find out more about this here

BACKGROUND

Since graduating in 1996 with a BA(Hons) in Graphic Design, I worked doing design for television before starting up independently as Carys-ink. My background in design has had an important influence on the way I work, particularly in applying concept based thinking to every project.

I am a member of the Association of Illustrators, the trade association for illustration and also Bristol Creative Industries.

I live and work in Thornbury which is not far from Bristol, with my husband Christian and our two teenage sons. I enjoy family time and try to maintain an active lifestyle with running, playing tennis and riding my bike. I care about the world we live in and like fresh air, particularly the crisp, sunny kind.

USEFUL FOR CLIENTS ( & potential clients)

A resource of useful articles relating to illustration and design and working with creatives. You may find something interesting that relates to your project here