Degree Qualified illustrator
About Emily McCann
Emily’s natural talent for illustration was first recognised at the tender age of 4 and continued throughout school, achieving A for Art at GCSE and A-level.
At Art college Emily gained a Distinction in BTEC Diploma in Foundation Studies in Art and Design.
Emily took her degree at University of Teesside graduating in 2004 with a first class honours degree in Graphic Design - specialising in Illustration.
Commercial illustrator
Emily has been working commercially as an illustrator since graduation in 2004, where she was 'spotted' by Hallmark Cards Plc at the New Designers exhibition in London. Emily also worked as a Graphic Designer for a leading printers (printing.com) in Birmingham. In 2005, to explore her created talents further Emily became Freelance setting up “Magic Pencil” Illustration. Emily has since worked for many companies in the greetings card, jewellery, gift, publishing and packaging industries. She has a great relationship with her customers, providing a friendly, flexible and efficient service
My Illustration Style
My illustrations are drawn by hand with pencil or ink, using a cute but quirky style and coloured digitally or by hand. Occasionally, my illustrations incorporate collage/scanned objects to add texture.
I can work in a various styles from sketchy/ quirky, to simple lines suited to baby books or toy designs and cute detailed pencil drawings which are great for fluffy animals!
I also use my graphic design skills to create brochures, leaflets and corporate branding.
Award Winning
In 2003 during my degree, Emily entered the Macmillan’s Children’s Picture Book Prize and was awarded highly commended out of thousands of entries.
A range of greetings cards I designed called Magical Kingdom for Twizler has been Nominated for The Henries 2009 in the Best Children's Range.
