Love Your Body campaign poster

December 6, 2012July 7, 2013 | Anna Cull

Love the shape you're in – mixed media, 297 x 210 mm, 2012. — Love the shape you’re in – mixed media, 297 x 210 mm, 2012.

Here is my entry for a poster competition run by the NOW Foundation promoting the positive, healthy, inclusive portrayal of girls and women. Yes, another competition. It’s been a busy month.

My aim was to put a positive spin on the idea of body types and to create an image that would make people smile. All too often, we hear ‘pear’ and ‘apple’ shapes (et cetera) described as problems that require fixing in some way. Instead, celebrate your shape because it’s all natural and naturally beautiful. Love the shape you’re in!

The fruit characters are ink and acrylic — one is a self-portrait : ) The background collage was created using paper and gesso. I added the heart spotlight in Photoshop.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

November 30, 2012July 7, 2013 | Anna Cull

Here is my entry for this month’s Tigerprint design competiton. The theme, Coming Together at Christmas, provided an opportunity to explore what Christmas means to me and to look at what things provide those “I love Christmas” moments.

For me, it’s about connecting with family and friends. When they are far away, coming together at Christmas also means sending handmade cards through the post (yes, the old-fashioned way). It’s one of my favourite things about the season.

My ‘Poles apart’ design features nine little scribble birds/animals (representing countries all around the world). I imagine them on wrapping paper, gift tags and bags. The design looks particularly festive in red but I’ve also made a bright green version and one using a brown paper background (see below).

I think my two favourites (penguin and polar bear) would also work as cards. The ink drawings have been scanned and turned into vector images. The backgrounds are a mixed media and digital collage of vintage stationery. Sometimes it pays to be a magpie : )

A model mouse

October 8, 2012January 20, 2014 | Anna Cull

Pirate Mouse model — plasticine and wire, 75 mm tall, 2012.

I made this quirky little fellow when I was designing the Pirate Mouse character. He helped me to figure a few things out, such as how to draw a mouse in pants and a waistcoat without losing his essential mousiness.

Rose and Violet

September 7, 2012February 8, 2014 | Anna Cull

My first tattoo design! This is a commission for a mother whose daughters’ middle names are Rose and Violet. I’m really happy with the flowers and the overall design, including the heart-shaped violet leaf.

As I was sketching, the violet slowly transformed itself (quite inadvertently) into a pansy but I changed it back again for the final design.

Barcode

August 8, 2012July 7, 2013 | Anna Cull

A recent post by seattleinspired reminded me of a barcode I designed for a student project this time last year. The brief was to design a logo and six labels (previously posted here — underneath the Chef labels) for a boutique bar and brewery. I imagined the bar, The Old Mill Brewers, as an old, converted textile mill and decided to make women my target market (and why not?). I looked at a lot of William Morris textiles before drawing the finches and ingredient illustrations which became the logos and menu pattern. For example, those are hops that the little birds are sitting on.

Della’s Pots

August 5, 2012September 16, 2014 | Anna Cull

A business card for a local potter. The main image is based on a photograph of one of Della’s teapots which I’ve reinterpreted and layered over a hand-painted background. The Della’s Pots logo has been created using the client’s own handwriting.

Della’s Pots background – acrylic on artboard, 105 x 160 mm, 2012.

The background is acrylic paint applied to artboard with a palette knife. The plan was to make a texture reminiscent of the turquoise glaze Della uses on her pots.