About me

I am an illustrator specialising in images for children and the young at heart. I love creating fun characters that have their own personalities, quirks, and little worlds to live in. My work uses bright colours and lots of texture.

PostsProjectsExperienceTeam

• Hi! I've just updated my profile as well as my website. I have new projects, including my first published kids book! Would love feedback.
• Any advice for running children's illustration workshops?
• Hi everyone. I have just updated my illustration portfolio website and I would love a bit of feedback. It's helenpanayi.com

Projects

• 6

  What Makes a Lemur Listen?‘Just like all ring-tailed lemurs, Maki liked to bathe in the sun and huddle under the moon. BUT one thing Maki DIDN’T like to do, was LISTEN!’ Join Maki on his adventures through the Madagascan forest, where things may not be as they seem. Can clever chameleon, Sofina, help Maki to listen when it matters the most? For children, this charming story is about a loveable lemur who learns to listen. For adults, the text explores neurodiverity, demand avoidance & alternative parenting styles. -----
• 2

  Lex the Shark NerdLex is CRAZY about sharks. They're a shark expert and they're ready to tell you everything they know about the coolest creatures in the sea. Character designs, and picture book artwork including cover art. Plus a fun sticker activity kit.
• Florencia and TootCharacter studies and pages of a children's story. Florencia and her trusty sidekick Toot are travelling into the past to save the last of the Dodos from extinction.
• Puff and FluffCharacter design work for a children's picture book about Puff and Fluff, two adventurous bunnies on a hunt for a magic treasure.
• 15

  THE EASY CLASSICS EPIC COLLECTIONIllustrations for a set of ten classic stories, retold for a young audience and published by Sweet Cherry Publishing. The Easy Classics were adapted for middle grade readers and include colourful covers and lots of internal illustrations throughout each text in black and white. The collection will be published over the course of 2021. Available on Amazon and at Waterstones. More info at sweetcherrypublishing.com/the-easy-classics-epic-collection
• 4

  Jason and the Golden FleeceA book cover and some inner images for a retelling of the greek myth, featuring the hero Jason and his quest for the Golden Fleece. Aimed at middle grade children the inner images are greyscale but still show all the action. I've included some character sketches too.

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Projects credited in

• 52

  any segment magazine issue 01 previewDuring a time where recognition for artists is becoming harder and harder, even when the market is saturated with such talented people, I decided to create a side project in order to give people wider recognition and deserving publicity associated with their fabulous work, a project that included a celebration of the modern art world and all the perceivable delights that come with it. It was also started in support of charity, for those who may be suffering the most at this moment. In the first

Work history

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IllustratorFreelance
Jan 2019Loughborough, United KingdomFreelance
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DesignerSwim England
Nov 2015 - Jun 2020Loughborough, United KingdomFull Time
In-house graphic design, working across multiple brand styles on a wide range of tasks. These included awards and certificates, venue dressing and print items for national events, printed and digital marketing materials as well as corporate branding and documents.

Skills

• Illustration
• Adobe Creative Suite
• Character Design
• Painting Illustration
• Graphic Design
• Hand Drawing
• Book Illustration
• Editorial Illustration

Education

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1st Class BA Honours, Visual CommunicationLoughborough University
Sep 2011 - Jul 2014Loughborough, United Kingdom