Kirsten Hamilton

MA Children's Book Illustration

This is a series of spreads from my comic book Strange Times which I worked on every day throughout the first lockdown. It became a part of my routine, and is even depicted in the comic itself.

The panels show one of my average days in lockdown, time feeling inconsistent, and the small details that effected my daily activities. The surreal colour palette came naturally to me, because the tight restrictions and minimal interaction with others made me feel like I was living in a dream, or purgatory. When I would leave the house to go for my daily walk, I experienced every moment, every sight, smell, taste, sound, and touch with acute detail, and wanted this to be a brighter and more colourful series of panels to portray this.

I was studying my Masters in Children’s Book Illustration at the time of the first lockdown, and found these organic colour palettes that emerged really helped my confidence with colour in my picturebooks. Even though that first lockdown was an incredibly tough time, it allowed me to relax with my illustration, and explore avenues I had not had the time to do previously.