Toronto Illustrators « Alison Garwood-Jones

Dear Facebook

Originally published in January 2020 in Blog, Comic, Graphic Recorder, Graphic Visualizer, Illustration, Toronto Illustrators

How I learned to create a Gif

Originally published in January 2020 in Blog, Toronto Illustrators

“If you deal in quality, not awards, what you do will always feel real.” This is what happens when people’s determination to produce gets greedy and misplaced. Switching gears. Understanding how to tell your stories in multiple formats is a power thing. Hats off to Melissa Lee (@MelissaLeeDesign). Through her @Skillshare class, “Create a Hand-Drawn […]

The Queen’s Speech

Originally published in December 2019 in Blog, Graphic Visualizer, Racism, Toronto Illustrators, Visual Storytelling

The Sound of Music and Love Actually, yes, but the Queen’s Speech is not normally part of my appointment television habits at Christmas. This year, I watched it twice. The pacing and coordination with the b-roll cutaways felt especially poignant. And I’m not talking about the drone shots of ancient castles and verdant hills, or […]

In the Spotlight: KBarlow Design

Originally published in December 2019 in Blog, Toronto Illustrators

As a #bossbabe, I can’t do everything on my own. I’m already the executive editor and artist in chief for all of my websites, but I still have a beginner’s grasp of code. Yes, coding is on my list of things to keep learning, but in the interest of time and my sanity I choose to […]

The truth about the world

Originally published in December 2019 in Blog, Illustration, Toronto Illustrators

Pen Jar Productions is featured in the Toronto Star

Originally published in December 2019 in Blog, Illustration, Toronto Gifts, Toronto Illustrators

A little dance around my drawing desk! A year and a half into my illustration biz and I have my first serious piece of earned media, as the PR folks like to call “press.” Thank you, writer and artist, Mary Vallis (@maryvallis @canadianstitchery). This means a lot. I will be tabling tonight and tomorrow […]

Sunday Sketches

Originally published in December 2019 in Blog, Graphic Recorder, Illustration, Toronto Illustrators, Visual Storytelling

Algonquin Island Christmas Boutique

Originally published in November 2019 in Blog, Holiday Gift Ideas, Toronto Illustrators

I love it when I get up early to make art. I especially like imagining the features of my city through line and colour. Reading about Toronto in a novel or seeing its what makes it unique through an illustration is a really good way to step outside of our ourselves and our routines and […]

Who knew?

Originally published in November 2019 in Blog, Graphic Recorder, Graphic Visualizer, Illustration, Toronto Illustrators

I met my friend Sam for lunch last week. We caught up on work and life. Then he told me that walking into his living room and seeing the Watches Pillow I made for him was like receiving a little jolt of Wes Anderson. I’ll take that! The things you learn about your designs from […]

30 Gift Ideas For The Month of November

Originally published in November 2019 in Blog, Toronto Illustrators

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE: Every day for the month of November, my store Pen Jar Productions will be posting a different Holiday Gift Idea. I like coming up with designs that make people smile or sit up. It makes me feel like I’ve just looked you in the eye and found a way to turn down the volume […]

Alison Garwood Jones

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