Katie Bullimore

About the Project

These images are the outcome of a self directed project that I undertook while in my final year of university.

Brief

As a young Christian surrounded by retellings of the Bible that are either entirely dense texts, or written for children; it’s felt really important for me to make the scriptures accessible to the middle demographic that is often overlooked. Teens and young adults don’t seem to have access to the same resources in the church that the younger and older congregation do, so the aim of this project was to create the kind of Bible retelling I would have loved to see as a teenager.

Research

A lot of research went into classical art and how figures are posed in conflict to translate their relationship. As it was this research didn’t end up getting used, as I changed the cover at the last minute from a drawing of Cain and Abel fighting, to just a bloody stone on the ground! As well as classical art I obviously dug deep into a lot of religious art as well, and found the emphasis on light and shadow really interesting. I hope it’s obvious to see where this came into play in my final outcomes.

Process

Starting the project I knew I wanted a book cover and three illustrated pages by the end of it. My process of decided what these would be was to read the story as it’s told in the Bible and highlight the most significant moments. As well as this I chose the ones that had the most visual potential.

Insights

This project was essential to my development as an illustrator! It sort of woke up the passion I have for taking stories and making them accessible, or showing them in a new light whilst remaining true to the original text.

Distractions

At the time this project was taking place I was completing my final year of university during a global pandemic! Distractions included both the highs and lows of living in lockdowns that we are all aware of, but also the distractions of working at home. In the time I made this project I also watched the entire Star Wars franchise from start to finish.

Numbers

In total these drawings took 40+ hours, two laptops (one had it’s screen smashed), 25 hours and 7 minutes of Star Wars, upwards of 50 cups of coffee, and probably about 60 baths over the space of a couple of months.

Advice

Just because you spent hours on something doesn’t mean it’d good! I’ve spent hours on drawings that have ended up being bad, and minutes on drawings that have ended up being good. Don’t be scared to scrap things and start again.

Future

My short term plan is to get a job in the creative industry. My long term plan is to have a career in the creative industry!

Dream Commission

I would love to make album artwork for someone. I’m obsessed with the idea of conveying a mood and atmosphere through colour and line, so to be trusted by someone to do this with their work would be amazing!

Favourite Thing to Draw

My smelly greyhound, Merlin

Workspace

My workspace now I’ve graduated is my bedroom at home! There’s about 20 house plants, 30 books stacked up by my bed waiting to be read and a Paddington Bear teddy who plays music when you press his paw. Working on Procreate means I’m quite flexible in where I can work, which I quite often take advantage of by sitting tucked up in bed and listening to music as I draw!

Thanks

I’m honestly absolutely flippin’ thrilled to have won this award. It’s something I never expected to happen but now that it has I’m never going to shut up about it! Illustration is my entire life, so to be recognised for it like this honestly means the world. Obligatory thank yous to my lovely family and friends, boyfriend, pets, the staff at Prime Cafe in Plymouth for their coffees, my sisters boyfriend and his brother for posing with a bin to use as reference for the cover illustration, and of COURSE the AOI and Directory of Illustration. Thank you so so much.