Saturday 14 November 2015

Troll Magic ♥

hello darlings, I'm here to tell you about a very exciting project I worked on recently.

In October - November 2015 I collaborated with Pin Club: a UK based monthly subscription service offering limited edition enamel pins, featuring original artwork by various artists and illustrators.

I exclusively designed a super-dee-duper rainbow haired troll pin for the November subscription, limited to 200 pins and sold to customers all over the world.

and HERE IT IS!!!


Isn't it utterly glorious! This is the first time I've ever designed an enamel pin so I had NO idea how the illustration might work out, but they pins turned out perfect! Seriously the detail is amazing, and the colours are so bright.

The troll pin was the largest one produced by Pin Club to date, measuring 39mm and using 10 individual colours, manufactured using soft enamel and black nickel on an iron base including a rubber clutch back.


I'm also happy to say that almost 90% of the pins were sold out within the first week of availability! Usually each month there are 100 pins available but there were 200 of my design and people LOVED it! It's been so much fun seeing people post photos of their new pins on Instagram and leaving lovely comments about how much they like the cute troll design.


Look, I even made a funky troll pattern using the illustration I drew! I'm so pleased I took the time to message Pin Club and talk about the possibility of a collaboration after spotting their profile on Instagram. They were super enthusiastic about my work and after giving me a week to come up with something I ended up drawing the troll overnight, I was so excited at the thought of seeing one of my illustrations as an actual enamel pin people could wear!


The enamel pin game is something I've wanted to get into for a while, but pins aren't cheap to manufacture and there's always a risk that your design might not turn out the way you'd hoped. This was a great opportunity to get paid for a design while not having to worry about manufacturing or packaging costs. It was sort of like my print-on-demand deals with Society6 and RedBubble, I supply the artwork while they manufacture and ship the goods.


To be honest I think I was most excited about getting my free pins in the post! I was sent 5 of the troll pins including one ultra special and rare one with a tiny red gem on its tummy! These were limited to three pieces only so I feel super honoured to have one, plus red is my favourite colour so it was a double win!

Unfortunately for all of you lovely people, the troll pins have now SOLD OUT completely! But don't despair just yet because I'm giving one away in my Instagram Giveaway!


along with a heap of other neat stuff of course. But if you want to get your hands on this pin then you're going to have to follow me on Instagram + follow the rules of the giveaway to be in with a chance of winning!

the Giveaway closes TOMORROW NIGHT at midnight so you'd better get a move on!


Oh and if enamel pins aren't really your thing but you still want to express your love for trolls another way then behold... the sparkliest, cutest and most magical teeny tiny troll necklaces! 


That's right, i'm not just drawing trolls, i'm also turning them into necklaces and brooches! These tiny trolls come strung on silver plated curb chain, ready to complement your outfit in the kitschiest of ways!

But I also have slightly larger brooches and necklaces in another trio of tantalising colours. 


Why trolls you may ask?

Trolls were a big part of my childhood, I remember having dozens of them in all shapes and sizes littered about my room in little clusters of fluffy haired cuteness. I used to love brushing out their hair and dressing them up in cute outfits, then I would line them all up in a rainbow display. They're all in a box in the attic and i'd love to get some down to add to the collection of stuff (aka junk) on my desk, but I can't bring myself to go back up into the attic after I nearly fell from it last time (that's a story for another day I think!).


It's hard not to like these kitschy little trolls though isn't it, they have a kind of gormless look to them, it's very sweet and they're so friendly, then there's the magical fluffy hair! My point is that there's nothing terrifying about pudgy plastic trolls. At primary school a friend brought me a traditional Norwegian wooden troll back from her trip to Oslo and it was so sinister looking that it's been shoved away in a cupboard ever since!


My first shoplifting experience involved a troll. Now before you start calling the police I'd like to point out that I was only about fifteen-months-old at the time and safely strapped into my buggy. However this did not stop me from grabbing a pink haired troll in a white polka-dot dress off a shelf in a shop and quietly holding onto it for the rest of the day. By the time my mum eventually realised what i'd done, i'd been happily chewing on one of the trolls' feet and had slobbered all over the dress, so suffice it to say, we did not return the troll. The weirdest part of the whole thing was that the troll spoke Danish when you pressed it's tummy.


So yeah, I suppose you could say that I like trolls. So i'm super glad I got the opportunity to design a cute rainbow haired one to be made into neat little pins. 

And i'll shut up about it now and say goodbye!

do come back again soon...

Wednesday 11 November 2015

Now Fight ♥

hello chums, today it's going to be an Illustration post because I FINALLY finished my new 'Babydoll' fanart piece...


for those of you unfamiliar with her, Babydoll is a character from the 2011 movie Sucker Punch.

Now you probably know by now that I'm kind of a big Fangirl and that I often Geek out over all sorts of things (books/TV shows/movies/games/people etc) and that from time to time I like to draw characters from Popular Culture to show my appreciation for the source material. Well that's why I drew Babydoll! Also I really like Emily Browning, the Australian actress who plays Babydoll in the film.


The movie Sucker Punch often gets a really bad rep, it's looked down upon as nothing more than a video-game style fantasy movie for teenage boys. It was pretty much universally panned by critics which is ironic because I would bet money that had the film been gender-swapped, with an all male leading cast instead, it would have done much better at the box office! Just think, they keep churning out films like the Expendables series (who cares?! I DON'T) but heaven forbid someone release a female action movie.


 Anyway i'm getting into RANT territory here. Because if you watch it, and I mean really pay attention, look past the skimpy costumes (which DO make sense within the storyline I promise) and flashy gamer style graphics and what you have is a FEMALE led film about a group of young women working together to fight corruption and oppression.

It's one of those 'guilty pleasure' films for me but in truth it shouldn't be a 'guilty' one at all. I mean it has dragons in it for crying out loud! And pretty girls fighting and generally kicking ass all while looking GORGEOUS. It's completely unbelievable of course but who cares; the leading lady is a tiny girl wearing a sailor outfit. She has tiny cute plastic charms hanging off her gun while she shoots the living crap out of various baddies. How can you not love this film?!


Right anyway, enough about the film. If you've seen it and you liked it... GREAT! If you watched it and hated it, then 'oh well, never mind'. And if you've yet to see it, try not to take it too seriously and just enjoy the visuals! It also has a pretty killer soundtrack, with some brilliant mash-ups and remixes.

Back to the drawing now. I meant to have her finished in time for Halloween but I was so busy with other projects that I only managed to finalize the design a few nights ago. As always she's my take on the character, so she looks like a Candy Doll and she has tattoos.


I was going to add some ombre colour to her hair but I settled for keeping it simple in the end. By that point i'd added so much detail to the outfit and weapons that I figured it didn't really matter what colour her hair was! In the movie her gun and sword both have intricately engraved designs on them, featuring cute characters and flowers. I recreated the design for the gun but the sword was even more complicated so I skipped it. I'm SORRY!


The tattoos are simple but reflective of the film's storyline. The quote 'If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything.' is one of my favourite lines from the film. The swallow represents her inability to escape from the confines of the asylum, the knuckle duster is there because she's such a badass, and the bunny because it's a symbol in the movie, painted onto one of the girls' weapons.


You can see the texture in the clothing better here. I don't always add loads of texture or detail, sometimes I just keep simple gradients or flat colours but I added in some texture for the skirt and top for this one along with some contrasting stitching which took FOREVER to do.

Am I boring you yet? Anyway, the design is all finished now. I uploaded it to the usual spots online including my Society6 and RedBubble stores.


Personally I quite like the design on the tank tops, they look like the sort of thing a Girl Gang might wear to go out and cause havoc. 

So yep, a new illustration, hop y'all liked it and if you didn't, I don't particularly care! ^_^


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in other news, there are only FOUR days left to enter my mega Instagram Giveaway...



I'm giving away a literal HEAP of cute stuff + extra goodies have been added to the bundle. To enter you must be following me on Instagram + follow the rules HERE

and on that note i'll say au revoir for now, hope to see you here again soon.

bye

Thursday 5 November 2015

Giveaway Time ♥

hello dearhearts! Back again so soon! Must be a special occasion... and as you might have guessed from the title, i'm currently holding a little giveaway.


It's been quite a while since I last did one but I thought it was about time I gave away some cute goodies again. So to celebrate finally reaching 1000+ followers on Instagram, i'm doing a super cute Girl Gang themed giveaway!

This time however, the giveaway is being held exclusively on Instagram, and to tempt you to enter, here's a list of everything i'm giving away to ONE lucky winner...

a lucky troll necklace in YOUR choice of colour
a Girl Gang patch + Candy Doll Club rosette
a sheet of 12 girl gang stickers
a Custom glitter brooch with any words or phrase of your choosing
a Candy Doll vinyl sticker + official membership card
a  hand screen-printed felt  candy doll patch
a Candy Doll Club postcard
a set of 4 circle stickers
+ a cupcake badge, candy doll club badge, mini stickers AND a super special BONUS surprise that i'll be revealing next week! oh and some sweeties.

So for a chance to win ALL of this neat stuff... here's what you have to do.

first of all, get yourself over to Instagram and FOLLOW me @jade_boylan

then RE-POST the Giveaway pic and TAG it with #candydollclubtreats

then you can also TAG a friend for an extra entry! if you want to

The giveaway closes on Nov 15th at midnight GMT.

it's open worldwide but giveaway-only Instagram accounts will not be counted. This is for people that actually LIKE and WANT my stuff, not sneaky chancers!

You can enter as many times as you like and i'll pick a winner using random.org on the 16th

altogether there are over £20 worth of goodies up for grabs, and everything is SUPER CUTE AND LOVELY!

so you know what to do, go visit my Instagram page and enter the giveaway!

and that's all for tonight, i'm off to watch the Fireworks in Ramsey

cheerio!


Tuesday 3 November 2015

Support your local Girl Gang ♥

that's right folks, i'm back again at long last, after a quiet week spent making things and reading books 84 and 85 of my 2015 reading challenge!But because I love you all, today I took some time out of burying my nose in book number 86 to stop by and put together a quick post for your delectation...

anyway, today I want to share my brand new Girl Gang patches with you all!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/254354279/girl-gang-woven-patch?ref=shop_home_active_5

that's right, I finally got some PROPER patches made, featuring one of my Candy Doll Club designs. The woven patches were professionally made in the UK and they are so NICE! I really love them, i'm super pleased with how they turned out, the detail is really good!


since my work is ALL about Girl Power, the design features a mix of cosmetics and weapons, perfect for any aspiring Girl Gang leader or member. And naturally it all comes woven in pretty pastel colours!

https://www.etsy.com/listing/254354279/girl-gang-woven-patch?ref=shop_home_active_5

The design is a slightly tweaked version of the one I designed for circle stickers back in May this year.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/234742829/girl-gang-3-sticker-pack?ref=shop_home_active_17

https://www.etsy.com/listing/234742829/girl-gang-3-sticker-pack?ref=shop_home_active_17

As this was my first foray into patch design, I wasn't sure how they would turn out; I had visions of them being illegible or wonky or something. But considering the intricacies of the actual design, it turned out really well as a woven patch! And the patches look PERFECT on my Girl Gang vest (if you're surprised that I own one then you really don't know me at all...)


The Girl Gang vest is a constant work in progress but i've already amassed a pretty sweet collection of patches from some of my fave Girl Gang artists and designers including a bunch of my own designs as well, because if I can't self-promote on my own clothing then where can I?!


I'm really happy with how people have been responding to the patches, so far i've had 100% positive feedback from Candy Dolls all over the world and I sent out the first batch of orders earlier today. If you think you'd like to add one of my patches to your collection, or you know someone who might like them, they're available to buy HERE + I send out cute freebies with every order!

* * *

in other news, it was Hop-Tu-Naa (or Halloween, if you prefer) this past weekend, and of course I got dressed up and walked around town like a prat! BECAUSE IT IS TRADITION!

 Unsurprisingly I dressed up as a Ghostbuster (just like last year) only this year I updated my outfit to include a skirt + some other additions, so I guess I went out as a sort of retro style Ghostbuster, complete with voluminous petticoat, customised converse shoes, epic back patch, personalised name tag + an official Ghosbusters trainee ID badge!


To my surprise (and delight) when I met my friends in town for lunch it turned out that my friend Simon had dressed up for Halloween as well. So he was the Babadook while I was a slightly terrified trainee Ghostbuster! Simon's costume was a hit with shoppers in Strand Street, he scared a few small kids, one boy high-fived him and some women even stopped to have their photo taken with him.

I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed by how few people had bothered to dress up this year, considering Halloween fell on a Saturday i'd expected to find town full of people in costumes. As it was there were plenty of kids dressed up but very few adults. We did bump into a group of teenagers dressed as a whole host of brilliant characters including the Doctor (from Doctor Who...), the Joker and Harley Quinn AND Supergirl + Ash from Pokemon and a few others that even I'm not geeky enough to know!


here's a close up of my 'uniform'. All I need now is a proton pack, PKE meter and ghost trap and i'll be all set!

here's hoping that next year more people dress up so I don't look like such an eejit wandering around in costume!

and on that note i'll say goodbye for now.
So until next time, cheerio and thanks for reading!