This is Sian Ellis

The portfolio of Illustrator Sian Ellis

Tag: yorkshire folklore

Haunted Maps

Posted on by sian

Update

The ‘Haunted Maps’ Kickstarter campaign is now LIVE and FULLY FUNDED! It hit it’s funding target in an incredible 33 minutes ????????

More details available at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thisissianellis/haunted-maps-illustrated-maps-of-ghost-stories-and-folklore

New Project

I am super excited to announce a brand new project that I’ve been working on; my Haunted Maps series!

I’ve kept this under my hat for a while now, collecting stories and coming up with the perfect format for this project before sharing it with the world, but it’s finally ready!

The Haunted Maps are a series of illustrated regional maps featuring folklore, hauntings and curious sites. In a nutshell, these maps function as both beautiful wall art and a handy map with which to help you plan your next weird adventure, by showing you which stories and sites are local to eachother. Plus, alongside the release of each illustrated map will be an illustrated zine to tell you a bit more about each story. Think of it as an Alternative Lonely Planet Travel Guide (although each zine will be sure to make for a really interesting folklore read whether you plan to visit the destinations or not!)

The idea for these maps came from my love of folklore and my love of weird days out, bringing them together to create the kind of map that I dream of packing in my suitcase and hanging on my wall. The zines are compendiums of illustrated strange stories, the kind of zine that I’d find impossible to walk past on a shelf in a store. If you also enjoy folklore and visiting weird places, then these maps are totally for you too!

The reason that I’ve chosen to turn to Kickstarter for this project is because the maps will take a lot of work. I know from writing my folklore zine ‘Tell the Bees’ just how much work it takes to research, write and illustrate folklore stories. By launching the project via crowdfunding it will allow me to throw myself into this project and these stories; to pause my commission work and dedicate time to creating these detailed, magical guides. Plus it will generate the funds to print the maps and zines, so that I can send them out to backers and have some to take with me to Christmas markets too. I have two successful previous Kickstarter campaigns under my belt and I just have to have faith that there are enough people out there who would love to see these maps and their accompanying zines come to fruition.

Plus, if you back the zines via Kickstarter there will be all sorts of exclusive goodies up for grabs. Prints based on the map’s stories, stretch goals like bookmarks and stickers, and a chance to have your name forever printed on the map or zine. I’ll also throw in some super limited really special rewards, like the chance to get your hands on a personalised folklore mini map designed just for you.

To be the first to find out when the Kickstarter goes live, join my mailing list (I promise not to spam!) below

I’m really buzzing for you guys to join me in this illustrated journey of the bizarre, and I hope that the idea of holding these maps in your hands is as exciting to you as it is to me!

Stay tuned, wish me luck and tell your most curious friends!

New for Summer 2024; Tell the Bees Patreon Subscriptions

Posted on by sian

In July 2024 I’ll be launching a brand new subscription service for the zine ‘Tell the Bees’ via Patreon. Tell the Bees is a catalogue of bizarre stories from folklore, fiction and history. I spend countless hours researching, writing and illustrating every issue. Each issue includes a plethora of interesting and unusual tales such as ghost stories, strange history and local folklore. I include the stories from my research which I find the most interesting, creepy or compelling.

From July you will be able to access the Patreon at patreon.com/tellthebeeszine

After much research and deliberation Patreon seemed to be the best way for me to administrate zine subscriptions going forward. It will also provide a user-friendly interface to share a look behind the scenes into how the zine is made. This includes extra stories, sketches and a look into my library of vintage folklore books. It’ll be a look into the weird world where ‘Tell the Bees’ is made.

Patreon Memberships and Subscriptions

There will be tiers that include physical copies of the zine which will be sent out on a quarterly basis and also a tier that includes access to behind the scenes content only. The latter tier is perfect for those who’d like to support the zine without a physical subscription to the zine. There will also be tiers that include a whole host of extra goodies such as stickers and bonus zines. The zines will still be available for sale individually on my Etsy shop and at Redbrick Market Sheffield.

As the zine is a quarterly release, the monthly Patreon tier charges have been priced in accordance with the monthly membership fee model. This does mean that you will still be charged during the months where a zine is not released. However, these months will still include extra content being posted on Patreon so that you can get a fresh ‘Tell the Bees’ fix every month. 

I am launching this subscription model as so many of you have asked me about this previously, but in doing so this is a huge support to the zine. It allows me to have some foresight as to upcoming zine sales which allows me to dedicate more time to researching, writing and illustrating the zine. 

For me Patreon is also a perfect place for me to share stories that didn’t make it as far as the final edit, as well as showing you some of my resources and photographs from my research trips around the North of England.

A new chapter for ‘Tell the Bees’

‘Tell the Bees’ folklore zine is a real labour of love, and a lot of work goes into making every issue. It’s mind blowing that enough of you have supported the zine since it was first published in July 2023 that one year on a subscription model is something that makes feasible sense. I appreciate everyone who has taken the time to read my zine and for every single review that’s been left and the wonderful things that readers have said. I hope that by launching a Patreon page and subscription service for ‘Tell the Bees’ it can make getting your quarterly copy easier, share more insight into the background of the zine and the stories it contains and also allow the zine to continue to grow, leading it into bigger, better and weirder territories.

From July you will be able to access the Patreon at patreon.com/tellthebeeszine

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