The Story Behind the Art
Holly and Josh combine their unique expertise to craft their illustrations. Holly's initial sketches set the foundation, which Josh then traces and adds with vibrant watercolours, breathing life into each piece.
The Creative Duo
Joshua Forster
The idea of illustrating came about when his tutor proposed adding some artwork to his food ordering app. This led to his collaboration with Holly.
His journey started during his Nutrition degree, where he began a blog. This sparked an interest in web design and pushed him into the worlds of graphic design and coding. Today, he uses these skills to create illustrations alongside Holly.
Holly Hipwell
Holly began her journey with life drawings while attending art classes at university. Despite her limited mobility and vision due to Friedrich's Ataxia, a diagnosis she received at the age of 10, her resolve to draw and paint remains strong. Drawing inspiration from Impressionist painters and abstract art, she holds an experimental approach to her craft.
Holly shares, "My art is a playground for different mediums and techniques. It's about fun and expressiveness, not confines or limitations. My aim is to engage the viewer's curiosity and imagination.”
With her condition progressing, she continuously seeks fresh, innovative ways to adapt and evolve her artwork. Her experimental collaboration with Josh became a surprise success, spurring her to create more images for him to digitise.
This teamwork gives their art a distinct style and profound story that cannot be duplicated or automated.
More on Holly
Join us in exploring Holly's story in our featured video. Gain insight into her personal journey and day-to-day life. To learn more about Holly and her experiences, watch the video.
What makes us different
Our illustration process combines traditional and digital techniques. It begins with Holly creating an original sketch on paper, laying the foundation for the final product.
Once the sketch is complete, it's handed over to Josh. Josh digitises the sketch on his iPad, replicating every line Holly initially created. The next step in the process involves a careful selection of watercolours. This stage is crucial as it breathes life into the digitised sketch, introducing a range of colours that add depth and dimension to the image.
Once the final illustration is complete, it is ready to be applied to a variety of contexts. Whether it's a logo, a T-shirt design, a vector graphic, or a piece of wall art, our illustrations offer a unique visual element that is adaptable and versatile.
The Sketching Process
Each illustration starts with an idea. After having a rough idea, Holly will attempt a few initial sketches, until she is happy with the outcome.
When she's happy with her final result, the sketch is handed over to Josh to digitise Holly's creation into the final product.
As can be seen, Holly's erratic drawing style is what gives each individual piece its charm.