ladybird Archives - Lizzie Harper

Hay Festival Mug Design

Posted on 3rd June 2022 in Current projects and news

Hay Festival approached me early in the year, to see if I could come up with a design for the Hay Festival 2022 commemorative mug. I knew it was a big ask – a landscape full of local flowers and animals with Hay bluff behind, and plenty of references to the festival. I also knew […] Read more

Ladybug entomological illustration by Lizzie Harper

Equipment: How to Choose a Waterproof Pen and Ink for Watercolour

Posted on 23rd December 202023rd December 2020 in Illustration Equipment

Equipment: How to Choose a Waterproof Pen and Ink for Watercolour is a guest blog from KT of Goldspot pen shop. Ink and watercolour is a classic, intriguing combination that creates some really amazing effects when accomplished with the right tools. Black outlines define a beautiful watercolour painting that jumps off the page! Fig illustration […] Read more

Step by Step Ladybird Watercolour illustration

Posted on 17th March 201618th December 2018 in Zoological step by step

I was recently commissioned to do an entomological illustration of the Seven-spotted ladybird Coccinella septempunctata for a birthday gift. Gathering reference As always, the first step is to assemble your reference. I use as wide of a range of reference as I can; this decreases the chance of “copying” mistakes, and helps show the main features to […] Read more

The Ups and Downs of an Illustration Career

Posted on 29th January 20169th September 2021 in Scientific Illustrator out and about

Life as an illustrator I am, and have been, a free-lance natural history and botanical illustrator for about 20 years now; and it is by no means an easy career path to plough. However, in today’s blog I’m going to explain some of the drawbacks, then show why being an overworked and underpaid illustrator is, […] Read more