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Sarah Jane Docker | Illustrator

@sarahjdocker

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✏️ Illustrator + writer of things
🌈 Connecting you to others, yourself & wonder through art
📕 Rep’d by Enrichetta Frezzato
📧 [email protected]

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A gentle hug (in art form) for you 💛✨

For anyone who needs a little reassurance as we head into the darker and colder months of the year 🌞 Take care of yourself and your loved ones ❤️

A quick animation I made using my Cosy Camper illustration and some hand lettering drawn with one of the new @procreate brushes 🖌️ maybe ten frames? Repeated on a loop 🔂

Who needs to hear this right now? 🤗

#cosyanimation #affirmationart #cosyart #cosyillustration #campervanart #mentalhealthart taken in The Lake District by @sarahjdocker

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a year ago

“In a world where you can be anything, be kind” 🦋 💛 Nothing big and fancy to share today, just this frame-by-frame animation I made using illustrations from my last comic which you guys seemed to like (as was for a good cause) ❤️🦋

There are around 63 frames in this 15-18 seconds, and a whole lot of love. Can you tell I am an illustrator, not an animator? Anyway. I hope you had a lovely weekend!

#illustration #simpleanimation #picturebookillustration #childrensillustator #linework #lineart #expressiveart #comicart #kindnessquote #bekindquote #ukillustrators #ukartists taken in The Lake District by @sarahjdocker

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a year ago

This year I realised during a workshop, that all along my intention with illustration has been to connect people more to each other and themselves ✨ To tell stories that explore human nature (and classic ole nature 🌲) while also putting everything I have inside (my emotion-fullness, observations, empathy and silliness) into something tangible that people might also see themselves in.

Because being human can be HARD!! And often we feel like we are the only person here doing it for the first time. We aren’t. 👭👭👭

I used to think that feeling things very deeply was annoying but choosing to use it and share it this year has let me turn it into something that has been useful, and I have never felt so seen and supported in an online space! I hope I can turn this feeling of support into something that makes you feel seen and supported too.

I realised too, that I couldn’t even try to connect people with my art as well as I wanted to, if I was not showing the human behind it all, me!! And despite how it might look, that felt and still feels scary sometimes 👻 (hi stage fright)

AI might be able to make pictures. It might be able to make art, and videos of pretend humans who feel real, but what’s missing? Me, and you!!

So while there is always a lingering worry in the back of my mind about what the future holds for illustration commercially, commercial value isn’t all there is to art (though it’s great to you know, pay the bills), my feelings on it have been eased this year by the fact that so many of you have shown me that you care about human-made illustrations and stories - and the intention behind them.

🧠 And I don’t think that humans will evolve quickly enough to ever not crave human connection, intention and nature (and human-made art, in whatever form) ✨

I made this post as a way to say hi to the people who’ve joined here lately and to share a bit more about myself (as all I share is work-focused right now)

I think in the age of AI, it’s nice remind you that there’s a human here, still👋 ❤️

Thank you for being here, and sharing this corner of the internet with me! 🌍 ✨

#ukillustrator #artistlife #artistsonig #ukartists #humanconnection #humanmadeart taken in Cumbria by @sarahjdocker

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a year ago

Happy #peachtober friends! ✏️ I wanted to join in again this year but I don’t have the time to fully commit to the challenge SO along with some new Peachtober sketches and drawings, I might use it as a chance to share some older art, process or sketches of mine that you have never seen before relating to the prompts.

Annnnnd, I do have a new sketchbook (not this one, this is one that lives in my van and comes out only whenever I see some thing fun to capture like a tiny girl running through the forest with an oak leaf umbrella) so having some prompts to get back to playing with in my art will be nice.

Here’s day one, from the archives. ‘Oak’ 🍂 ❤️ A mixture of pencil crayons and wax crayons, and anything I could find at the time. 🖍️ What’s your favourite tree?

#peachtober26 #drawingchallenge #charactersketching childrensbooks by @sarahjdocker

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15 days ago

Happy autumn equinox, friends ❤️🍂 wishing you lots of good stuff for the season ahead ✨🍂🙂‍↔️ How are you marking the change in seasons? I have swapped my wardrobe out and went for a very autumnal walk 🍄

#autumnequinox #autumntime #fallequinox #illustrationart #affirmationquotes by @sarahjdocker

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22 days ago

I’ve been sitting on a spooky secret!!! 🎃

A little surprise to fans of Toby, @sallydohertywrites has written a short story to accompany the trilogy 🍁 🍂 and I got to illustrate the cover 🎨

Sally came in with a really strong idea for this one, so we didn’t do as much exploration as usual but I thought it might be fun to see a peek behind the curtain on the run up to it’s release nonetheless 📕 This was heaps of fun to explore and paint. I hope you like it too!

Not pictured are, photos of me and my partner running around the room trying to find the perfect Toby pose, skeleton sketches, and battles with getting the colour JUSTTTT right 🖍️

I love illustrating for spooky season, and working @sallydohertywrites is always a dream.

“No one knows witches exist, and Toby is desperate to keep it that way. But Witch Bumble’s flying dog has escaped, and the town warden will soon have him in her clutches.

When the spell to rescue the bird-dog goes haywire, it unleashes a band of Halloween creatures on the streets of Brickdon. Is it too late to protect the witches’ secretive world and save Toby from turmoil? Somebody stop that skeleton!”

Are you excited for autumn? What’s your favourite autumn book? 📕 🎃

#kidlitartist #childrensbooks #chapterbook #autumnreads #illustrationprocess taken in The Lake District, Cumbria by @sarahjdocker

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a month ago

For you, from me, live from a rainy 6+ hour car ride 🚗

I wanted to tell you why I’ve been so quiet on here this year, I thought about telling it in many ways, but I think this actually sums things up. I find it very hard to put new art out into the world when the world around me is so busy, so noisy, so full of new things put onto my plate to absorb and to learn. It’s been a year of new responsibility, new paths, new people and lots of busy-ness.

The ideas wait for me in these quiet places, places I haven’t had much chance to spend time in this year. But they will always be there, and I am making more time to find them. ☁️ ❤️ Where do ideas find you? How are you lately? I’ve missed you!

✏️❤️ love, Sarah

#sketchbooking #artideas #artblock #quietmoments #storyillustrations taken in The Lake District, Cumbria by @sarahjdocker

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a month ago

My favourite illustrations (did I say it enough times?) from What Are You? written by @i_be_da_storyteller illustrated by @sarahjdocker 📕🖌️

I couldn’t think of a better place to go through these than by the sea 🌊 so come and sit with me! ☕️

I’ll explain where I’ve been and what I’ve been up to this year in another video soon (recorded but I haven’t got time to edit just yet), but first I really wanted to walk through some of these illustrations with you guys because so much soul was put into this story and I recently received some copies to keep on my shelf forever. 📚 It always feels super special adding another book to the collection and I am a little proud of this one (pardon me) I hope that you like it 💛

As you will know I worked so closely with @i_be_da_storyteller on the research and history for this story and Ildulce has talked about it all so well on her page and with others (take a peek) — so here’s just a quick dive into my illustration details. 🧑‍🎨

What’s your relationship with the sea like? Where do you come from? 🌍 💛

#picturebooking #artdetails #kidlitart #childrensbooks #ukillustrators by @sarahjdocker

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3 months ago

They long to be, close to you 🌷🙂‍↔️

I sketched this one up for Peachtober last year and have been slowly chipping away at it for a while now. I’m not super stoked on it, and think I might have overworked it, but I had fun. And that was the whole point. ❤️

When is the last time that you were able to make something just for fun?

(Peep my grandmas initials on the hankie 🌳 hi grandma!)

#kidlitart #childrensbooks #childrensillustrator #cuteillustration #childrensbookart taken in The Lake District, Cumbria by @sarahjdocker

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4 months ago

When I was little I would write letters to the fairies and they would write back 💌

I used to think they’d wear flowers as dresses and hats (especially fuschia, bluebells and buttercups)🌷 The bluebells have all started to sprout here this week, and it reminded me of this little sketch I did a couple of years ago. She definitely has a story (if I listen hard enough)

I havent been as active on here lately in an effort not to burn out as I‘ve been getting settled into the swing of things in this new chapter of my own story. There are lots of ideas and stories stewing in my brain and my sketchbook though, which I can’t wait to sketch up and share with you!

I should recieve copies of What Are You? soon too, which are full of lots of little details I’m yet to share. 🐟

For now here’s a little sketch. I hope you are well 🙂‍↔️🌷 speak soon friends!!

#ukillustrators #charactersketch #faeries #faeriefolk #kidlitart taken in The Lake District, Cumbria by @sarahjdocker

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6 months ago

Happy publication day to ‘What Are You?’! 🛶❤️🌊🌍 it’s here!!!

I’m so excited to be able to share this with you and to know that it this story is finally out there in the world. 🌍 🙌 this was such a wonderful project to work on. Thank you @booksandthingspub and @i_be_da_storyteller! 🌷❤️

📕@booksandthingspub
🖊️@i_be_da_storyteller
🎨 @sarahjdocker taken in Cape Verde by @sarahjdocker

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7 months ago

May your unknown be kind 💫🌟💛

As I was warming up today, some words finally fell out of my fingertips to go with the sketchbook animation that I shared the other week (maybe I will make it into a new video with words soon?).

I haven’t been able to focus very easily this last week, spinning a lot of different plates as I get ready to take a new big step of my own next month. 🛶 ⭐

If you’ve been here for a while you may know that my journey in creating art started at a very young age, as a tool toward joy and processing my emotions 🎨 so, this is me still using art in this way, in my little sketchbook some nearly 30 years on. These personal pieces seem to resonate the most with y’all so I hope that this one feels like a comfort to you as it did me. Lots of love!

❤️

#comicartist #poetryart #comfortingart #comforting #sketchbooking taken in The Lake District, Cumbria by @sarahjdocker

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8 months ago