Bunny in Ski and Snowsport Fabrics

November 24, 2022November 24, 2022 | Inspire by Kim

In the week leading up to Boston Snowbound Expo I brought my ski and snowsports fabric designs together in this ski bunny character.

The fabrics are all in my Spoonflower shop here. The fabric used is the Petal Signature Cotton.

The fabric designs used for the bunny are Ski Icons, Snow Crystals on Warm Colours, Ski Goggle Reflections, Ski Peaks, Ski Isometric Pattern, Heart Plaid and Ski Fun. He has a heart on one paw symbolising love and the sun on the other paw for light.

Here is the bunny as part of my display at Snowbound Expo at the Hynes Convention Centre in Boston, Massachusetts last weekend.

He was alongside the swatch book of my designs and on fabric samples used as tablecloth sections.

I chose from my 25 fabric designs to cut, sew and stuff this new character.

He started as a sketch, after taking shape in my mind for a while.

I planned the fabric pieces for contrast and variety.

After cutting all the fabric pieces, managing not to start sewing before I had done this, I then started to bring the pieces together.

I’m not the best at sewing but I wanted to show one way that the fabrics could be used, to help inspire people for their projects.

The shoulders and feet were particularly tricky.

When I previously made a stuffed character I struggled with the fiddleiness and small seam allowances. So this time I added interfacing on the reverse of all the fabrics to make them easier to work with.

It feels like magic to sew with fabrics that I designed. Thanks to Spoonflower for printing them so vibrant and detailed.

This little dude is set to travel. He got his eyes sewn on Monday and flew to the United States on Tuesday.

It was great to chat about sewing projects and discuss ideas at the booth. So he now just needs a name. You can email your suggestion or add it in the comments.

See this short animated video clip of him here. No sooner was he completed that he went off skiing! Animated in Aardman Animation’s ‘Animate It’ app.

The Inspire by Kim shop on Spoonflower has over 20 ski, snowsports and winter themed designs to choose from. Select the designs you wish to order, select the type of fabric from voile to velvet, decide the quantity, and Sooonflower print it on demand and ship it to you. Find my shop here.

I’m keen to see whatever is made in the fabrics so please share it on email to inspirebykim@outlook.com or on social media please tag it @inspirebykim

Thank you so much, happy making!

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Donut Decorating Illustrations.

March 1, 2022March 1, 2022 | Inspire by Kim

⚠️Warning, you may experience a sugar rush whilst ‘consuming’ this article.

As a private project for ongoing skills development I took the challenge of illustrating an excerpt from a new children’s book by author Zoe Tucker. An assignment from Lilla Rogers’ Make Art That Sells Bootcamp.

This first piece was a warm up exercise. It was fun to paint these sweet treats and illustrate their characters and interrelationships.

The theme if the story excerpt was about a donut, named Coco Moloko, being decorated.

I sketched out the action of the narrative (above), whilst Coco Moloko (below) pondered what look to go for.

It was therapy to work in the assignment as I was feeling helpless at the unfathomable unfolding situation in Ukraine.

Below is my final double page spread for the assignment. I enjoyed deciding which aspects of the text to illustrate, and to bring the character to life. And adding lustre to any illustration is fun.

Text copyright Zoe Tucker – contact Zoe if interested in publishing. http://www.zoetucker.co.uk

I created the elements of the illustration in watercolours and then worked with these digitally.

The second aspect of the assignment, this part set by Riley Wilkinson, was to take the donut character forward, and design a toy concept. If you like your donuts warm you’ll probably enjoy this comforting microwaveable plush design.

I feel that the assignment moved my work forwards, which was my objective, so I’m pleased with the outcome.

Wishing everyone a Happy Pancake Day.

See more of my editorial illustration work at here – Ski A to Z book.

Ski A to Z – Illustrated Introduction To Skiing published by Meyer & Meyer Sport (UK)

You read to the end! Thanks for your support.

Kim x

Ski Buddies Memory Game

December 7, 2021December 7, 2021 | Inspire by Kim

I mocked up this ski themed matching pairs game concept prompted by the Make Art That Sells Brief from Lilla Rogers and Riley Wilkinson.

This memory match game would be ideal for a snowed in afternoon, time relaxing in the chalet, or time at home dreaming about the next ski trip.

The concept uses illustrations painted in watercolours for the Ski A to Z book, composed into the game concept in Procreate app.

Here’s a time-lapse video of the mock- up process.

It feels great to complete this assignment, I had to put the Make Art That Sells Bootcamp brief to one side whilst completing the writing and illustrations for Ski A to Z.

These and 90 other illustrations bring the information and advice of the Ski A to Z book to life. Information and links to buy the book can be found here. The book is being published by Meyer & Meyer Sport (UK)