DRAWN TO NATURE
A digital illustration featuring a colourful route through a number of Ribble Valley landmarks has sparked a wave of interest after the image was transferred to a lovely tea towel
When illustrator Sam Rudd decided to venture into the world of freelancing, her ambition was to illustrate children’s books, but an unexpected sideline became a big hit in the Ribble Valley over lockdown.
“When I became a freelance illustrator I took a number of on-line courses that help artists make their art more commercial. It gave me the idea of producing an illustrated map featuring all the places I visited with my son when he was younger,” explains Sam.
Using a digital app on her iPad, Sam created a hand-drawn route through the rural Ribble Valley featuring Clitheroe Castle, Bowland Wild Boar Park, the stepping stones at Whitewell, Sawley Abbey and Gisburn Forest where she and her young son would ride their bikes. The playground at Ribchester also features along with a trig point at Mellor and the river at Dunsop Bridge: “We have always loved walking so I included the trig point and we always enjoyed feeding the ducks at Dunsop Bridge.”
Sam decided to get the map printed on tea towels and began selling them through Clitheroe’s Platform Gallery as well as on her local ‘buy and sell’ site: “I couldn’t believe how popular it became!” adds Sam, who before the first lockdown featured her illustrations at local craft and makers markets.
Born and educated in Leeds, Sam went on to study Fine Art at Preston Polytechnic before joining Lancashire greeting card firm Hambledon Studios, where she worked as a trainee designer.
“This was before we had computers,” recalls Sam, who now lives in the Ribble Valley. “I used to make mock-ups of cards – prototypes that needed all the artwork to be really neat and precise so we knew what the finished product would look like.”
By the time Sam moved to another design job in Preston, computers were being introduced into the workplace as she recalls: “It was quite scary at first – we didn’t realise what a big difference it would make and the impact on jobs.”
Like her colleagues, Sam soon became accustomed to digital design and she became a skilled member of the workforce. But the introduction of technology eventually meant job losses and Sam saw more than a dozen of her co-workers made redundant: “There were just two of us left and that’s when I decided to become a freelance designer and illustrator.”
Initially finding it difficult, Sam soon began to gain confidence and began a number of courses: “When I started as a freelancer I soon realised that it was going to be harder than I thought as I’m not that great at selling myself! I found that I needed to be more creative.”
Sam enrolled on one of Lilla Roger’s courses to help artists make a living from their work, and for Sam it did indeed pay off: “I won a competition with a short animation I had created and the prize was a years’ worth of Lilla’s courses, which I thoroughly enjoyed and learnt a lot.
“I’ve also made friends with artists all over the world including Brenda from Colorado, Irene in London and Annie in up-state New York. It’s lovely as we all have a common interest.”
Last year Sam won first prize in the Templar Design & Illustration Awards in the Picture Book Category and since working as a freelance she has designed cards and other paper products for many UK and international companies.
Inspired by nature Sam continues to create cards, illustrations and tea towels, which are all brightly coloured and often reflect everyday life: “We have a dog that we got around four years ago, so she features in my work. We also love walking and have been doing a lot during lockdown! I love to see the changing seasons, the bulbs and daffodils peeping up at this time of year, so I take a lot of photographs. I’ll work on my iPad using an Apple pencil creating lots of different designs – it’s quite addictive and I love it, but my dream is still to illustrate children’s books.”
