Illustrator - Recent Grad

by Heather Taylor

My name is Heather Taylor and I am a recent graduate from Minneapolis College of Art and Design with a bachelor of fine arts in Illustration. My main focus in school was to learn as much as I could about illustration in general but I felt a keen love of children's book illustration.

My internship was spent with a small publishing illustrator named Jennifer Emery who showed me from start to finish the ins and outs of getting children's book work while she was working on her most recent book "Sheila Says We're Weird."

My own work includes designing logos and advertising spots from TK Production Studios, designing backgrounds for a small flash game used as a learning tool for Minneapolis College of Art and Design, designing t-shirts for Kudzu and Kidzu Play Company, and creating posters for various organizations.

While my freelance work has been focused around design, my own body of work remains mostly character based. I enjoy working with a variety of subjects from children's book to editorial. My work is also media driven so I work mostly in traditional media with emphasis on watercolor, gouache, oil and chalk pastel (pan, stick, pencil), and cut paper. But I also work extensively in computer art programs such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign.

If I were given the chance to audition for a children's book project, I would want to do a portfolio review as well as make sketches of characters and one full layout with a color study to show my ideas on the project and to see if my style would be what they are looking for.

I believe my style to be fun, happy, uplifting, bright, and engaging. My ideas for portraying emotion go beyond just making the character's face change. I believe the environment and atmosphere should also play a valuable part in making a specific scene work. My work in multimedia has challenged me to push these ideas and make them very much a part of my style. If you would like to see examples of my work, I keep my website as up to date as possible while making new works, both professional and outside studies: Heather Taylor: Illustrator.

If you would like to discuss my work or any other details please feel free to reach me by e-mail (htaylor1288@gmail.com). I appreciate your interest in my work and I look forward to hearing from you!