I am a graphic designer, illustrator and website designer. My illustration work covers a lot of subjects and a variety of styles. Many are pure digitally generated vector illustrations produced using Adobe Illustrator. They are quite different from the motoring subjects, which are based on relief printing techniques.
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My Technique
My motoring subject illustrations are produced as relief print/digital hybrids. The images start hand-drawn before being transferred onto lino or vinyl. The images are hand carved, remembering to do so in reverse! Each illustration can consist of as many as five carvings, one for each colour in the composition. Each of the colour carvings is then printed by hand in black.
At this point, the process goes digital. Each print is scanned as a high-resolution greyscale image.
Using Adobe Indesign, the images are imported, and being greyscale, I can apply colour to them. Making the images transparent, I overlay them to produce the final composition.
Products
I can then output digital artwork in various formats depending on the final product. I produce Giclée art prints and greeting cards. Using carefully selected online print services, I can obtain top-quality printing and small print runs at competitive prices. It means it is possible to only hold small stocks of greeting cards. Giclée prints I buy on demand, although I can order three prints for the same price as one, building up stock as prints are ordered.
More recently, I have offered some images for sale on T-shirts. The T-shirts are produced by a print-on-demand service that integrates with my website and the store on Etsy. While I sell cards and prints only in the UK, the T-shirts print-on-demand service fulfil directly from locations globally.
Customisation
Customisation is possible because of the way the artworks are produced. There is flexibility in digital artwork using elements in layers. Often prints are bought by or for people who once owned the model of the car depicted. If their car was a different colour to my illustration, I can easily change it. I am often asked to add the number plate of their car too. This I add as another layer to the artwork.