Skip to content
Close Search box
Vicky Morse Design

Vicky Morse Design

Illustration and Design

Search
  • illustration
    • Home
    • characters, kid lit & people
    • editorial
    • florals
    • food
    • product & pattern
    • scenes & settings
    • toys & games
  • about me
  • let’s connect
  • Accidental Vix Prints
  • Shop
  • clients and collaborations
  • sketchbook
  • sewing
  • newsletter

food

I love nothing more than sitting in a local cafe, with a coffee steaming away on the table as I sketch. Now that we’re able to (at the moment) go out again I’ve found that I sit sketching my environments and tasty treats as my mind wanders and the pressures of the world are taken off briefly.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

instagram

vickymorsedesign

vickymorsedesign
My time might have been sucked into a vortex of dr My time might have been sucked into a vortex of drawing but I had the best week creating this. Well, once I'd worked out how to stop the monochrome half looking unfinished thanks to my fab critique group.

My personality and life flowed through the pen when drawing this because it's got plants, and lots of them, a pattern that I've resurrected from my archive, bold but not overly saturated colour, and a vintage vibe. 

Safe to say I'm happy with this, and grateful for @MakeArtThatSells and @Zoe_Tucker_Design for the text. 

(Swipe to see how the monochrome line drawing bursts to life with Grandpa's memories)

[ID: A double page spread for a children's book illustration course shows a mum holding her arm out in exasperation with a tan coloured line drawing of a wall full of objects. This morphs into the right hand side which is full of deep colour behind Grandpa in a chair looking nostalgically into the distance, with his grandson hugging him over the back of the chair. Where mum just sees 'things' Grandpa brings everything to life with the memories and stories he associated with them.] 

#MakeArtThatSells
#ChildrensBookIllustration
#IllustrationCourse
#IllustratingForChildren
#ChildrensBook
#ChildrensBookArt
#KidsbookIllustration
#KidsBookstagram
#IllustratingChildrensBooks
#PictureBookLove
#KidLit
#ForTheLoveOfBooks 
#RaisingReaders
#KidsImagination
#PictureBook
#BookIllustration
#IllustrationPortfolio
#ThroughTheEyesOfAChild
#PictureBookCharacters 
#CharacterDevelopment
#CharacterCreation
#StoryBookArtist
#ArtChallenge
#GrandpaIllustration
#InteriorIllustration
I used to sew kids clothes to sell but now sewing I used to sew kids clothes to sell but now sewing is my creative escape. You can't get much cuter than sewing a quick teddy bear out of old school uniform for our local hospital children's ward. This is a lovely idea organised by some parents at school. I especially loved sewing the face, knowing a child will hopefully look at it and smile.

What do you do in downtime?

[ID: Carousel of 3 images sewing a teddy bear from a green school jumper with red cheeks and ears, and a seagull print long t-shirt]

 #CreativeLife
#CreateEveryDay
#CreativeHappyLife
#DocumentingMemories
#YorkshireLife
#SmallBusinessLife
#CreativeWomen
#CreatingIsMyTherapy
#FemaleFounder
#BeBoldBeCreativeBeYou
#SewingBears
#UpcyclingSchoolUniform
This was one of those unexpected pieces that came This was one of those unexpected pieces that came from having some bonus free time when my daughter was with my parents over the weekend. 

Maybe it's my brain trying to tell me that I'm feeling blinded by the lights, and surrounded by all the noise of the world and feels like it never stops raining (metaphorically, although we've had plenty of rain here the last few days.) 

Maybe it's a hint that I need to get back to designing some patterns, but I'm overwhelmed with where to start - do I tidy up old patterns, start new ones, begin contacting companies for licensing? (You can guess which one of those is the scariest part!)

Or, just maybe, it's all of the above. Either way it was good to have a bit of fun and play with an urban night scene, and teaching myself to animate it, albeit crudely with my current skill level.

[ID: An animated dark street scene illustration, with lashing rain over bright neon signs displaying orange, hot pink, teal and green patterns and flickering in the night.] 

#ArchitectureHunter
#ArchitectureIllustration
#TravelIllustration
#TravelDrawing
#ArchitecturalIllustrator
#CreateEveryDay
#CreatingIsMyTherapy
#NeonSigns
#EastAsianStreet
#StreetIllustration
#NightSceneArt
#NightAnimation
#GIFIllustration
#IllustratedGIF
#AnimatedNightScene
#NeonSigns
#NeonLover
#SurfacePattern
I wasn't having the best start last week so I allo I wasn't having the best start last week so I allowed myself an hour to myself to get lost in my thoughts.

I sat in @TheGreenhouseIlkley and sketched a familiar figure (I think she will know who she is if she sees this.) The colours and atmosphere has changed a lot since it was Daniel's, which still remains my fave cafe in Ilkley, but there was something calming about sitting in a more muted environment and viewing the world in this instance.

It's ok to take time to recharge, especially after the state of the world recently but I'll save that for a future post.

[ID: Pencil and coloured pencil sketch of a lady with head in her hand, writing in a notebook, sat at a table. In the foreground is a mug full of cutlery on a table, and paper towels on a roll.] 

#CreativeLife
#IllustratorLife
#IllustrationArtist
#CreateEveryDay
#CreativeHappyLife
#DocumentingMemories
#YorkshireLife
#IlkleyBusiness
#SmallBusinessLife
#CreativeWomen
#CreatingIsMyTherapy
#FemaleFounder
#IlkleyArt
#Sketchbook
#DocumentingMemories
#CafeSketch
#PortraitSketch
Character design is definitely my most challenging Character design is definitely my most challenging aspect of children's books at the moment. So @MakeArtThatSells was a great opportunity to evolve and experiment with these characters for a text by @Zoe_Tucker_Design.

I had fun thinking about the characters and their activities, and think my fave to draw was dancing Grandpa! The right music brings out the best in us, and for me holds some of the most important memories.

Nico's love of painting rocks was inspired by my daughter, and Grandpa's hat was inspired by the first flat cap I sewed for my son.

[ID: Textured off white paper background, with 'Nico' and 'Library of Things' hand lettered in textured block font. Nico, a young child, sits painting rocks in the bottom left corner. Grandpa and Nico are holding hands and dancing in the centre. Nico is jumping into the page and popping bubbles coming out of a gramophone on the bottom right.] 

#MakeArtThatSells
#ChildrensBookIllustration
#IllustrationCourse
#IllustratingForChildren
#ChildrensBook
#ChildrensBookArt
#KidsbookIllustration
#KidsBookstagram
#IllustratingChildrensBooks
#PictureBookLove
#KidLit
#ForTheLoveOfBooks 
#RaisingReaders
#KidsImagination
#PictureBook
#BookIllustration
#IllustrationPortfolio
#IllustrationArtist
#ThroughTheEyesOfAChild
#PictureBookCharacters 
#CharacterDevelopment
#CharacterCreation
#StoryBookArtist
#ArtChallenge
#MATSICB9
#OldCharacter
#ChildCharacterDesign
#DancingGrandpa
Remember those sketchbook pages of sharks? Well, w Remember those sketchbook pages of sharks? Well, what started out as a doodled page of sharks has become a surface pattern design which I now want to get printed to make my kids some summer clothes! Or, maybe myself a dress...

We were discussing in @RelishYourCreativity how important it is to carve out time for personal projects and it's so true. A quick warm up sketch page has produced one of my fave patterns in a while! I am now going to allow my self half an hour a day before I start at my desk, for no pressure creative time! 

When we were in lockdown I was homeschooling the kids, and working around that so I made an agreement with my husband that I would have a sanity hour each day to just let all my emotions out through the page. I think I might still need that even though things are much calmer with the kids at school (until the summer holidays!)

Do you have breaks in your day to reset?

[ID: Repeat pattern of sea creatures, including great white sharks, hammerhead sharks, crabs and fish. With bubbles floating between seaweed silhouettes, set against a mint background.] 

#SurfacePatternDesigner
#ArtForLicensing
#FabricDesign
#PatternObserver
#WallpaperDesign
#HomeDecorDesign
#RelishYourCreativity
#SurfacePatternDesign
#PatternMaker
#PrintAndPattern
#VickyMorseDesign
#ArtForSale
#RepeatPattern
#KidsPattern
#FabricDesign
#BoltFabric
#SharkPattern
#UnderwaterPattern
#SealifePattern
#FabricDesign
#BoltFabric
#SharkPattern
#UnderwaterPattern
#SealifePattern
#PatternfiledApp
Ilkley has a tradition of opening the Lido for a s Ilkley has a tradition of opening the Lido for a summer solstice swim at sunrise. That time and temperature is not tempting enough for me but if you take away the time and cold it sounds amazing.

Would you be tempted by a 4.45am swim in the @IlkleyLido?

[ID: A framed sketched print of Ilkley Lido with simple lines, colour and 'blob' people sits on a wooden shelf] 

#ArchitectureHunter
#NorthEngland
#NotSoGrimUpNorth
#UKScenery
#ScenicBritain
#ArchitectureHunter
#LookAroundYou
#TravelIllustration
#TravelDrawing
#LandscapeDrawing
#GiftsForMen
#ArchitecturalIllustrator
#UKIllustrator
#IlkleyArt
#IlkleyIllustration
#IlkleyLido
#SummerSolstice
#RelishYourCreativity
Our garden has weeds a plenty but the butterflies Our garden has weeds a plenty but the butterflies love it. As I see them flutter past the window I can't resist looking up from my desk to watch where they land. 

I've noticed that in contrast to the purple flowers they seem to so love, all the butterflies we see tend to be orange, blue or white. As with most things in nature that seems to be intentional.

How could I not turn these butterflies from @jehane_ltd's #jehanestwelvedays sketches into a repeating pattern? I need to find a better way to add colour because Adobe Illustrator was not happy with all the texture and I can't get it into a swatch without crashing! But, I will persist.

{ID: Orange, blue and white sketched butterflies, with hints of colour sit against a textured muted green grey backdrop as a repeat pattern.]

#SurfacePatternDesigner
#ArtForLicensing
#FabricDesign
#PatternObserver
#WallpaperDesign
#HomeDecorDesign
#RelishYourCreativity
#SurfacePatternDesign
#PatternMaker
#PrintAndPattern
#VickyMorseDesign
#ArtForSale
#RepeatPattern
#ButterflyPattern
#BoltFabric
#CommaButterfly
#BritishButterflies
#MaleAdonisBlue
#ButterflyDrawing
#ButterflyIllustration
#PatternFieldApp
I think if I saw a shark, or any creature that siz I think if I saw a shark, or any creature that size apart from a manatee, in the water I'd be terrified (especially if they rolled their eyes the way they do where you can only see the white.) But their shapes, and grace as they move are captivating and I love drawing them. 

I'm getting back into the habit of filling pages of my sketchbook with black and white sketches as my warm up for the day. The @RelishYourCreativity group chat yesterday with @lorisiebert.studio was a reminder of how important this is in order to evolve and attract the work you want to get.

[ID: An open sketchbook in the foreground shows a page of great white shark sketches with a black marker pen. Interspersed with lettering practice. My fave @helenrussellcreations puffin mug sits in the background.] 

#CreativeLife
#IllustratorLife
#IllustrationArtist
#CreateEveryDay
#CreativeHappyLife
#DocumentingMemories
#SmallBusinessLife
#CreativeWomen
#CreatingIsMyTherapy
#FemaleFounder
#BeBoldBeCreativeBeYou
#WarmupSketches
#SharkArt
#DrawingSharks
#GreatWhiteShark
#findingcreativetime
#RelishYourCreativity
Load More… Follow on Instagram

Follow me

  • instagram
  • facebook
  • e-mail
All designs & art works on this website are copyright of Vicky Morse. Please do not copy, reproduce or alter artwork on this site.
 

Loading Comments...