Jim and Birdie - a tale of two animals slowly realising the damage which comes with making assumptions.

Jim and Birdie at two characters I developed during a picture book illustration short course at UAL. The more I worked on their personalities and meaning, the more attached I became. As a result, they stand proudly as the characters of my first full picture book idea, both written and illustrated by myself.

Jim, an elephant, finds a new friend in the form of Birdie. Initially, their friendship blossoms as they paddle board, dance and camp. One day, Jim gifts Birdie his favourite flower as a sign of his deepening friendship. The next morning, however, Birdie has disappeared. No bird and no flower in sight. Where has Birdie gone? Which assumptions does Jim wrongly draw? How could they have communicated better?

The final illustrations for this book are created using mono print textures which I use for collaging. I subsequently add colour on Procreate, using a colour palette I developed during a workshop with Good Ship Illustration.