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Kelly Canby

Kelly Canby

Kelly Canby - Children’s Book Author & Illustrator, Australia

The creativity of Perth-based illustrator Kelly Canby seems to know no bounds. She’s been a graphic designer, florist and painter, and has 25 children’s books to her name. With top-notch illustration skills and vast experience, she’s the ideal choice for children’s publishing, editorial and advertising projects.
Kelly’s books combine fun story ideas with intriguing characters that are easy to relate to. She’s an artist who loves making things and taking on new challenges. Throughout 2012, she created an illustration every single day and blogged about it. Born in London, Kelly moved to Australia as a child. Today she’s inspired by Edward Gorey, 70s Disco, Art Deco and the Woodstock era. Majoring in Illustration, she gained BA in Design from Curtin University from Perth, Western Australia.

Approach

Working in ink, paint and coloured pencils, Kelly puts play at the centre of her process when developing stories and illustrations. From cutting up her pictures and putting them back together to trying out clashing colours, she uses experimentation to drive her creativity.

Styles

There are two main styles in Kelly’s portfolio. One consists of tight pencil work with lots of fine detail and the other is looser, using washy inks. In each case, her characters and settings are fun, whimsical and easily relatable.

Client list

Kelly’s clients include Allen & Unwin, Fremantle Press, Bloomsbury, Oxford University Press, Orion, Hinkler Books and Penguin Random House.
Children holding fish
Kelly Canby
People in green dress
Kelly Canby
Children scared kid
Kelly Canby
Animals giraffee eating
Kelly Canby
Children in graveyard
Kelly Canby
People war is over
Kelly Canby
Fashion beauty portrait
Kelly Canby
Children in the room
Kelly Canby
Book Covers The Boggart
Kelly Canby
Lifestyle Peuliar sound
Kelly Canby
People man with ghosts
Kelly Canby
Children and ghost
Kelly Canby
I wanted to sincerely thank you for your efforts with the activation. We couldn’t be happier! Especially as you have the biggest bay of the series, I was astonished you could do it in under 3 hours. Well done and thank you!
Jocelyn Franciscus, NDS
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