About me

My name’s Elaine and I’m an illustrator from Edinburgh. Working primarily digitally, I specialise in bringing engaging animal characters to life.

I founded LeopardyNonsense in 2019, when I started selling my work through print-on-demand site Zazzle. At this point I also took the plunge and changed my full-time job for part-time and went back to university (just in time for lockdown, unfortunately!) In 2021 I was awarded a distinction for my MA in Children’s Book Illustration at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan).

Since then I’ve had illustrations published in The Caterpillar, a children’s story, poetry and art magazine, and was the featured artist for February 2022 on the Dirigible Balloon, a poetry website for children. I also featured in the ‘pets’ edition of children’s story and poetry magazine The Toy.

In 2022 I was one of six illustrators commissioned to work on The Biggest Fan, a children’s book written by a group of boys from Broughton High School in Edinburgh and published by the Super Power Agency, a Scottish charity working to improve the lives and literacy skills of young people in Scotland. You can buy it online here.

This year I’ll be contributing to The Anthology of Amazing Aunties, a companion to The Bumper Book of Uncles, due out soon. I can’t reveal my design yet so watch this space…

Throughout this time I’ve been building LeopardyNonsense, always with the aim of making people smile with my cards and gifts. If they make you smile and there’s anything you’d like me to draw for you, please get in touch!

If you’d like to stay in touch, you can sign up for my monthly newsletter here.

And why LeopardyNonsense? If you meet me you’ll find out 🐆