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Illustrator and Picture Book Maker Emma Woodthorpe holding a copy of Our Dave.

I've always wanted to create books, all the way back since I was a fresh-faced teenager. But back then instead of illustrating them I used to spend hours filling notebooks with poetry and short stories.

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I studied English Literature at University and got a swanky First Class BA (Hons) degree (and even an MA in in Literature Studies!) from the wonderful York St John University. I have a lot to thank them for, particularly my personal tutor Roger Clark who always encouraged my thoughts and ideas and always brought out my very best.

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In the meantime I was always being arty and creative and eventually I realised that this is where I wanted to lay my hat. In around 2013 I started picking up a pencil again to give my illustration muscles a dusting off and I haven't looked back since.

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I set up my own indie-business in 2017 called Embers and Ink selling my own illustrated products. 

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In 2020 I decided to finally put pencil to paper and pin down that children's picture book idea that had been floating around my head for far too long. A rhyming children's picture book all about a special cat called Dave: our cat called Dave in fact!

The image shows Emma Woodthorpe while illustrating the picture Book Our Dave. On her desk, a cat - who is the real-life Dave - watches on. She holds a paint brush up for him to sniff.

We adopted Dave in 2014 from the cat shelter and knew that he was going to be a star. Now children all across the globe know his name.

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I'm currently working through all the other picture book ideas that have started floating around my head, and I'm here for it!

Join my Pencil Case Pals

Become part of my community of illustration friends over on Patreon. You'll see more of my process, hear juicy news and updates, plus get exclusive rewards on top.

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Become a Pencil Case Pal below and if you don't like it you can change or cancel at any time.

The image shows a close-up of Emma working on a pastel fox in her sketchbook.
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