Mona and Layla

On the 30th of October, my nana passed away.

This isn't a self pitying, morbid post where I tell everyone about the pain it's caused me and how much I miss her. My nana died at 85 after having two heart attacks, breast cancer and at least one stroke. On top of that, she was diabetic, deaf and had alzhemiers. She needed a break.

So the picture... After I found out, I didn't cry, because it didn't get to me. Losing a parent before grandparents you rarely see puts it into perspective. I wasn't close to my nana, because she lived over 2 and half hours away trips were infrequent and unenjoyable. After Grandad passed away she was - understandably - always very sad. Trips ended in tears of sadness to see us leave.

It made me think. Aside from making cheese and vinegar sandwiches at their house, I had no real memories of my nana; just my nana.

What I drew wasn't a memory. It was something my dad told me a while ago, though he wasn't there; the three people involved have either passed on or are too young to remember. I was a terrible baby who never slept, and screamed all night. One the first nights I stayed over with my nane and grandad, my mum was trying to get me to sleep, but failing. She picked me up, and woke my nana, and said to her "Mona, I can't get my baby to sleep."

Since getting married, the poigniency of my mother going to her own mother-in-law to ask for help strikes a chord. My nana then helped my mum to get me to drift off. I like to think she managed.

So that's the image above. I feel there should be something around the figures, but night skies filled with stars are twee and cheesy. I'll think, though cheese and vinegar sandwichs is one possibility.

Layla is just a rough character I designed for the sake of using a pencil. Named Layla after my favourite cat at the cattery I volunteer at whenever I'm not at work.

Brief character history; Layla - obviously - is part cat, part human. Her parents were both human, her mother working as a vet. While pregnant, she was bitten by a cat infected with cat flu, which mutated the embryo. Scientifically impossible, but so is 98% of what we read and what we watch.

Contrary to stand mutants, didn't throw her out or lock her away. They loved her dearly, though didn't make her suffer the torments of public school and the outside world. Layla's mother homeschooled her daughter while working at the vet surgery, where Layla was soon able to work as her assistant. Also contrary to popular belief, she cannot understand cat language, and doesn't have any special powers over them.

Layla's father worked at sea, and during Layla's late teens his boat was taken by a major pirate gang. Desperate to find him, Layla joined the rival pirate gang, affectionately becoming known as "The Ship's Cat." Once again, popular belief is smashed into the ground as Layla isn't outcasted and given a wide berth by her ship mates. She is popular with all the sailors and crew, hard working and strong in the day and able to drink most of the cabin crew under the table by night.

Hull Animal Welfare Trust Curry Night

To get my husband and I out of the house for the last few weeks, we've been working at Hull Animal Welfare Trust, helping out at the cattery there.

Once the cattery manager got wind that I was an artist, she asked me to design a poster for their upcoming Curry and Quiz night. So I came up with this; drawn by hand, coloured on computer using Photoshop. They loved it, and I must say it's a far cry from the Times New Roman printed sheet of paper they had up before this.

Bron

Eli's Waving Children

My sister in law, Eli, asked me to draw a line of children waving and smiling for a church postcard. The theme was basically along the lines of "smile and the world smiles back." The children's arms are semaphore for "Give us a Smile!"

Denver Penny

Close to completion, A Day in the Life of Denver Penny will probably hit shelves later this year/early next. The images were produced in crayon and charcoal. These images are unedited and fresh off the drawing board:

Little Denver Penny eager to tuck into his favourite breakfast, Grandpa's omlette!

Denver is told about the upsetting mills, which give coins the raised edge.

Denver imagines his grandpa as a young penny, being packed into a roll by his parents,
ready to ship to the bank.

Grandpa Wheatley describes a school trip to Detroit Zoo, his destination as a youngster.

This wasn't a requested piece, but I thought a nice end to the book after the final page for the inside back cover. The piece is a bit special to me, as the two characters are based on my husband and me.

PANDA A-Buzz

In September 2008 I agreed to work for free for charity Parental Alienation Awareness Organisation. Work is still ongoing, with cartoon strips to feature soon. The character has been made into a stuffed toy and the website features digital posters of PANDA.

The final stuffed toy.

The original, initial design for PANDA.

PANDA turn around

Poster with caption: With so many people hateful and indifferent to your child in the world, why would you take away the one person that truly loves them? Both posters were handdrawn, finished in felt tip and editted and touched up on Paint Shop Pro.

Another poster, captioned: No child should be called a traitor for loving a parent.

Showreel Link

I'm currently searching for my showreel to put on the blog properly, but for now:

HERE IS THE YOUTUBE LINK

I recently married, so my name has changed. My contact details are still the same, however I plan on correcting this soon.

Nain Rouge

My most recent publication, Nain Rouge, was released just a couple of weeks ago. Also by Josef Bastian (who has hired me for three projects thus far) the book has recieved good feedback so far. The website Blame the Nain currently has a free online copy of the book, and hard copies are available on Amazon (though at present the UK Amazon does not have them in stock.) Blame the Nain also has some of my pre production work. All images were produced in charcoal.

The evil Nain Rouge causes havoc in the museum.

The Thinker Statue, posessed by the Nain Rouge, comes to life to threaten Elly and Tom.

Prepared to talk, the Nain Rouge creates seats for Elly and Tom
with the books from the shop.

Tricked and defeated, Elly and Tom mock the Red Dwarf before he perishes.

With peace at last, Elly and Tom sit and decide that the good things
will last as long as they want them to.

Keith Doodle Saves Christmas

These are some of my favourite bits from my first published work, Keith Doodle Saves Christmas by Josef Bastian (available on Amazon and other online retailers.) The images were produced in crayon to create a warm yet edgy feel.

Lead character, Keith Doodle, dreams of becoming an artist.

Santa's assistant Grimble has an idea.

Keith Doodle enters his work at the Santa Drawing Competition,
which is surrounded by other elves interpretations.

Santa's mortal "helpers" - the men that dress up as Saint Nick around Christmas time - are used to rely messages to the elves who can help keep Santa's lists up to date.

Pinny Gig the Film

While my film will appear in the links on the side of my blog, I thought it a good idea to post it in a post of its own.




Alternatively, it can be viewed on YouTube by clicking here.

Pinny Gig Concept Art

This is concept art from my film Pinny Gig:

The main character - a guinea pig - drawn and coloured in Photoshop, with a nod
to Yoda from Star Wars.

Drums at an interesting angle, drawn in pale crayons on black paper.

The main character as famous, one armed drummer Rick Allen of
Def Leopard done in oil pastel.

My CV

A good place to start, I feel, is with my CV. As it gets updated it will get reposted.

Bronwyn Coveney


7 Ashdale Park, North Ferriby, East Yorkshire, HU14 3AS

Tel: 01482 631855 – Mobile: 07738352977

Email: biadragon@aol.com

Website: http://bronwyncoveney.blogspot.com


FULL, CLEAN DRIVING LICENCE

SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS

• BA Hons Animation, University of Lincoln 2005 – 2008
• 10 GCSE passes and 3 A Levels, Cottingham High School 1998 - 2005

WORK EXPERIENCE

• Student Crew at University of Hull, Hull. Jobs included; student mentor, Aiming for a College Education (ACE) ambassador 2006 - 2007

• Artist in Residence, Animation Workshop, Cottingham High School. Jobs included; art department 2007

• Kitchen Assistant, Brown’s Pie Shop, Lincoln. Jobs included; kitchen services 2007 – 2008

• Book Illustrator for ‘Keith Doodle Saves Christmas’ under the pseudonym Bronwyn Coveney, Freelance for J. Bastian. Jobs included; character and background design, final illustrations, cover art, digital editing 2008

• Character Designer and Cartoonist, Freelance for the Parental Alienation Awareness Organisation. Jobs included; character design, illustrate scripts in comic book format 2008 – completion

• Retail Assistant, Red5, Hull. Jobs included; customer service and interaction, cash handling, organisation of stock area, demonstrating merchandise, managing concession stand in House of Fraser 2008 – 2009

• Book Illustrator for ‘Denver Penny’ (working title) under the pseudonym Bronwyn Coveney, Freelance for J. Bastian. Jobs included; character and background design, final illustrations, cover art, digital editing 2009

• Book Illustrator for ‘Nain Rouge’ under the pseudonym Bronwyn Coveney, Freelance for J. Bastian. Jobs included; character and background design, final illustrations, cover art, digital editing 2009

OTHER SKILLS

My passion lies in animation, but I take enjoyment in other creative outlets too, such as illustrating, writing, music and theatre. I also take a keen interest in team and individual sports, including judo, kayaking, surfing and running. In addition, I have been a Brownie and Guide leader for a number of years, which demonstrates my role as a leader, listener and a trustee. In 2005, I performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which shows my ability to work as a team.

REFERENCES

A written reference is available on request.