Nandina Vines

My name is Nandina Vines, and I’m a freelance illustrator, located in the beautiful Hunter Valley in NSW Australia. I have been drawing my whole life, and so I decided to study art at University. After completing my degree in Visual Arts, majoring in Flora and Fauna Illustration, I found employment as a graphic designer.

I enjoyed a long-lasting and fulfilling career as a graphic designer working in many different areas of design including the media, a charity organisation and a large vehicle sales company. I currently work part time for a printing business creating items such as logos, business cards, posters, brochures, flyers, t-shirts and so much more. I love my job as graphic designer and I always push myself to give the client quality, creative work.

When I’m not working as a graphic designer, I am constantly illustrating, whether it’s for my own children’s stories or for other children’s authors. I have just completed the illustrations for Watching Through The Day by Julie Thorndyke. I am currently illustrating dinosaurs for another author.

Whilst I am skilled in traditional media, my experience as a graphic designer working with computers developed my love for computer based creative programs such as the Adobe Creative Suite. Experimenting with Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop became my passion and the mouse my preferred drawing tool. I have now progressed to using a WACOM drawing tablet and pen to create my illustrations and I am teaching myself to draw on an iPad. I am a self taught, digital illustrator with no particular style or “signature” style. I enjoy exploring new styles and experimenting. I prefer to stay flexible when it comes to style so that I can produce illustrations to suit different stories.

I love to learn and belong to a some online illustrator groups where we share ideas and advice. I am constantly trying to improve my skills, learn something new and develop in my style and techniques.

I have been passionate about children’s stories all my life, this comes from my late father who was a strong reader and encouraged me to do the same by joining me up to our local library when I was a child. I grew to love books and reading and getting lost in the imaginary world of children’s stories. Many family photos of me when I was young, show me with my nose stuck in a book! I actually wrote and illustrated my first children’s book when I was around nine years old. I folded it and stapled it like a real book. I still have this somewhere and will post a photo of it when I dig it out of the archives.

My personal life includes a home in the country surrounded by bush and kangaroos, a wonderful, supportive husband, a beautiful teenage daughter and my fur babies, two horses, two dogs and two cats whom I love to draw. I love to ride my horses in the bush or just walk in the bush. I find being in the bush somehow “grounds” me. I find it healing. I recently acquired my motorcycle licence and enjoy riding along country roads.

I love drawing for children. I love their imaginations and the delighted expressions on their faces when listening to stories.

Please feel free to contact me if you have a story that you require illustrations for or take a look at my website nandinavinesillustrator.com. Because I work digitally, I can work with you no matter where in the world you are located. Because of my graphic design skills, I can also layout your book ready for print. I look forward to working with you.