An Inspiring Visit from Illustrator Emily Fellah

We were delighted to welcome illustrator and artist Emily Fellah into school for a series of creative and engaging workshops with our Year 1 and Year 4 pupils. Emily is well known for her lively sessions, which give children a real insight into the world of character design and visual storytelling, and her visit proved to be both inspiring and memorable.

Emily began each workshop by sharing her own creative process, highlighting an important message for young artists: drawings rarely turn out perfectly on the first attempt. She demonstrated how illustrators build characters step‑by‑step, starting with simple shapes and gradually developing detail and personality. Pupils were encouraged to experiment, take risks and add their own ideas, helping them understand that creativity is a process rather than a finished product.

A particularly popular part of the sessions was Emily’s imaginative “character maths” approach, where different ideas and concepts are combined to generate fresh, original characters. Alongside this, Emily shared examples of beautifully illustrated fiction, giving pupils a valuable insight into how illustrations bring stories to life.

In Year 1, the focus was on designing robots. Using a range of shapes, the children explored how small changes could give each robot its own unique personality. The pupils thoroughly enjoyed experimenting with their designs and took great pride in their finished work, gaining confidence as they saw how illustrators transform basic shapes into lively, expressive characters.

Year 4 linked their workshop to their current Geography topic on the Amazon rainforest. Inspired by the biodiversity and rich imagery of the Amazon, pupils created artwork based on rainforest themes, combining their geographical knowledge with new artistic techniques.

The workshops provided a fantastic opportunity for pupils to learn new skills, express their creativity and gain a deeper understanding of the artistic process in a meaningful and enjoyable way. A huge thank you to Emily Fellah for delivering such an exciting and inspiring visit, which our pupils will remember for a long time to come.