Final Illustration for RNIB's Insight Magazine

I have now completed my sixth and final illustration for RNIB's Insight Magazine, as their Young Illustrator of the Year for 2014. My final piece is based on all of the achievements I have made over the past year; with becoming the RNIB's Young Illustrator contributing to many of these.

My illustration features my interview with Granada Reports and my article in the Manchester Evening News shortly after I became the RNIB's Young Illustrator of the Year, my artwork for John Lewis celebrating their 150th birthday in the summer which was displayed at the Trafford Centre, Salford Mayor Ian Stewart after his very kind tweets of support earlier this year, and an upcoming achievement when I visit European Parliament in November with the European Blind Union.

My illustration took a month to complete and was created using my signature mediums of black fineliner and coloured pencils.

I want to say a big thank you to the Insight Magazine team for their support and for the wonderful opportunities that being their illustrator has presented to me. I have enjoyed my time contributing to the magazine immensely!

Fifth Illustration for RNIB's Insight Magazine

I have now finished my fifth illustration for RNIB's Insight Magazine!

The theme I had to work with this time was 'Support at the time of sight loss' - so incorporated support from friends and family, a Doctor and Eye Clinic Liaison Officer (ECLO), and helpful information supplied through the internet, leaflets and helplines.

The illustration took the majority of the month to complete, whenever I had some free time as I've been so busy recently!, and was created using black fineliner and colouring pencils.

Fourth illustration for RNIB's Insight Magazine

I've now completed my fourth illustration for the RNIB's Insight Magazine, based on outdoor sports and activities. The illustration depicts my ongoing character (featured in all of my illustrations so far) in the centre riding a bike surrounded by an archery board, football and net, racket with a tennis ball and shuttlecock, and a cricket bat with a ball and wicket.

I wanted to use this imagery specifically to represent some of the sports that have been adapted for blind and visually impaired people; blind archery, goalball, tandem cycling, sound ball tennis and cricket. I have visually impaired friends who enjoy tandem cycling and playing cricket, so wanted to include those to represent their favourite sports and hobbies - as well as my own, which includes badminton (I don't mind playing occasionally, though I'm not very good! I much prefer to be hit by a lightweight shuttlecock than a tennis ball!) and blind archery which I have a new interest in.

You can read more about sports for blind and visually impaired people by visiting British Blind Sport, the International Blind Sports Federation and Metro Sports Club for VI People.

Third Illustration for Insight Magazine

I've now completed my third illustration for Insight Magazine's March issue!

The theme is 'preparing for adult life' and my illustration was created using coloured pencils and a fine liner. It portrays me in my high school uniform when I was a teenager, looking towards the future of adult life and the tasks it includes - food shopping independently, washing clothes, preparing meals safely, managing money and paying bills. These are skills that I'm still learning as a severely visually impaired adult. I currently receive help from an enablement officer based at Henshaws Society for Blind People, who visits me regularly to help me learn kitchen skills such as using appliances, pouring hot liquids, chopping, peeling and spreading, and working up to preparing small meals for myself safely and independently.

The February issue of Insight Magazine will be sent out very soon, so I will post a scan of my second illustration and my small article when it's released!

Second Illustration for RNIB's Insight Magazine

I have now completed my second illustration for RNIB's Insight Magazine! The next issue will be focused on accessible technology and digital communication, especially in the form of computers, smartphones, tablets, apps and functionality.

I decided to depict my iPad and my favourite apps and features. These include accessibility functions such as zoom and voiceover, iBooks - which is fantastic with its accessibility and customisation of the text size, background colour, font type, inverted options and is even handy as an audiobook if you have voiceover selected from the general settings in your iPad, the internet, games, Facebook and Twitter. All of these apps have a very clean, easy-to-use layout and each one is important to me for its specific use. I will also have a small paragraph explaining my favourite apps and features, with my headshot, along with other members of Envision.

This next issue of Insight magazine will be available in February 2014. For more information about the magazine and how you can subscribe, please click here. 

RNIB's Young Illustrator 2014 Competition for Insight Magazine

I entered the RNIB's Young Illustrator competition earlier this week, after spending most of the month working on my entry, and checked my e-mails just now to find out that I won! I'll be producing an illustration for every issue of Insight magazine in 2014 as the prize, as well as having my article included in next month's issue regarding the English campaigning network we've set up. alongside the RNIB.

The theme was "next steps", so I wanted to make it personal and show my own next steps for the future; completing my braille course, training for a guide dog, more campaign work (hence the image of Parliament) and mobility training with my long cane. I'm so thrilled, and very grateful to everyone at RNIB's Insight magazine for choosing my entry!