Business Card Designs

I have been busy designing a Business Card for myself, I'm often asked for my details - so its about time I had some cards printed ready to hand out to anyone interested and all potential clients!
I wanted a double sided card, with both sides printed with colours to correspond with my website and the Candyreef brand. The decision to make the corners rounded was made early on as I felt this suits the soft lines of my illustration style. The Front Design was easy... the back was a more difficult decision.

I tried many designs and loved some of the simpler back compositions with clean lines of text and my logo. This would have been fine If I was promoting my skills as a Graphic Designer but as an Illustrator, I decided that the final card should include elements of illustration! I hope that my name will be associated with the image and style, reminding collectors of my work and what I can do. I used an existing illustration and changed the colour balance to blend with the background.

Starlet Rivalry Book Launch - 31/01/09

Rajesh Asan, Manj Bhandal and Jasi Nandhra wearing promotional T-shirts

I attended the book launch for Starlet Rivalry on Saturday 31st of January, this was held in Waterstones, The Chimes Shopping centre, Uxbridge - West London. I wasn't sure what to expect really and I felt a little nervous and excited to see what all the fuss was about! I was greeted by the author Puneet Bhandal, and piles of books ready to be signed. Puneet had fantastic promotional t-shirts printed for the occasion, modelled by friends and familly.

Author and Illustrator

It was great to finally meet Puneet in person, as we'd only spoken once on the phone before - the commission was carried out entirely by e-mail. The wonders of modern technology!

The launch lasted about an hour and featured a 'dress up in Bollywood-style' competition for younger readers, where the best outfit won the chance to have a character named after them in the next book and a Bollywood goody bag! The event also included a Bollywood Dance Performance, Bollywood Karaoke and the book signing.

Puneet is interviewed for Local Newspapers

Puneet has been busy promoting Starlet Rivalry and the Book Launch, taking part in newspaper and Radio interviews:

The Nikki Bedi show - BBC Asian network,
Dotun Adebayo - BBC Radio Ulster
Joanne Good and Simon Lederman - BBC London

View Newspaper stories and listen to Puneet's interviews at www.bollywoodseries.com or follow the link at the top of this page

Starlet Rivalry

I am proud to present my first commissioned Artwork for a teenage fiction book cover and 10 B&W inside illustrations...

Starlet Rivalry is the first book in The Bollywood Series - a unique collection of books by Puneet Bhandal.

This title was great fun to work on, Puneet gave me a copy of the manuscript with descriptions of the characters and a rough idea of what she wanted for the chapter illustrations. The rest was up to me! I know very little of the Bollywood film industry so this was an interesting direction for me which seems to suit my style perfectly, I have really enjoyed creating the stunning characters in their glamorous outfits.


I will soon be working with Puneet on the next title in the series so watch this space...

Big Book Of Fashion Illustration

My work has been published in the Big Book of Fashion Illustration by Martin Dawber and Anova Books.

Over 250 Illustrators from all over the world appear in this book, showing a great variety in style and technique. Many Artists use traditional skills including watercolours, pencil drawings, photography and collage. Others combine these skills with the latest technologies in digital media, with Adobe Photoshop, Painter IX and Macromedia Freehand.

Two of my Illustrations were selected and feature in the Sport & Leisure section. Other chapters include Womenswear, Menswear, Childrenswear, Youth Culture, Accessories, and Beauty & Glamour.

My work was discovered by Martin back in 2005 at my U.W.E Degree show in London. I was delighted to have my work published alongside so many talented and already established Illustrators.

There are no tutorials, how-to's or before and after images in this book, just page after page of beautiful, innovative illustrations. I recommend this inspirational source book to students, designers, illustrators or anyone interested with a passion for Fashion, Art and Graphic Design.

Introducing Candyreef

Hello, and welcome to my very first blog. The main reason I am starting this blog is to show off my vector based Fashion and Lifestyle artwork. I create my Illustrations using Adobe Illustrator and add finishing touches in Adobe Photoshop. I have been using these programs now for five years and I am amazed that I still manage to learn something new each time!
If you like my work and would like to see more or get in contact with me please visit my Candyreef website via the link at the top of this blog.