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2025 on Tumblr: Trends That Defined the Year
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Claire Keane
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PUT YOUR BEARD IN MY MOUTH
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Love Begins
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@harrie-leithillustration
couldn’t find a notes field on the order form but the Fool print order from Jey was indeed tumblr traffic from me (^: i actually home-printed a tiny copy of that piece for my personal RotE scrapbook but i’m so happy to get a nicer one and support your art all at once \o/
Aw yay, I hope it reaches you soon! I only just saw this, and can’t remember if I included any extras in your order, but you have my eternal gratitude XD
Spotlight On: The Fool in Fantasy
Following on from my last two posts about the symbolism and history of the fool as a character, I of course have to complete this spotlight with a shout out to my beloved Fool from Robin Hobb's epic fantasy series Realm of The Elderlings.
Reading these books was already a delight, satisfying my love of medieval history, misunderstood magic systems with tight restrictions, and deeply complex, imperfect characters. I really wasn't expecting to also come across the canonically non binary / gender fluid icon that is The Fool.
Echoing the jesters of European history, Hobb's Fool has status outside of normal societal roles. He is both an entertainer and deeply insightful, more honest than others at court, but rarely taken seriously. He is perceived as a freak by some, and treasured by others. Driving the plot forward by encouraging the main protagonist to journey into the unknown, the Fool also encompasses so much tarot symbolism it's like he's walked straight out of his own deck.
I drew this piece as an ode to how much I love this character. The joy in drawing for fantasy means I can lean on some medieval influences in fashion and patterns without having to worry too much about historical accuracy. Heraldic animals in the boarder link to different characters in the series, and the Fool's intrinsic connection to all of them.
~~~ Spotlight series This post is part of a series of spotlights on my artwork and some of the stories behind it. Search the tags leith spotlight and leith illustrates to see more of the series.
Prints Available Online You can purchase A5/A4 prints of this artwork on my website or Etsy store. (Add in the notes that you found me on tumblr for a free sticker with each purchase.)
Spotlight On: The Fool in Society
The role of the fool, or court jester, as an outlier to social norms dates back centuries. Monarchs of medieval Europe would dote upon such entertainers, who held the unique position of being allowed to make fun of royalty, without risk of punishment. In 12th century England, King Henry II couldn't resist a classic joke, finding great mirth in his jester Roland the Farter.
The image we retain today of a motley clad jester is deeply romanticised, largely in thanks to Shakespeare's portrayal of the fool in many of his plays. Feste from Twelfth Night, and Puck (though not literally a fool but full of similar vibes) from a Midsummer Night's Dream are two of my favourites.
I enjoy these characters the most for their ability to speak their minds, create chaos, and get right to a point. Just as their historical counterparts, they sit slightly outside of normal society, often communicating directly with the audience, offering glib comments on the plot, while visually standing apart from the rest of the cast in unusual colourful outfits I love to draw. As I look back on it today, as a creative neurodivergent queer person, it makes complete sense that I've always had a fondness for these non-conforming characters.
In celebration of my own relationship to the fool as a symbol, in 2025 I created a trio of pride jester prints to sell at Norwich Pride. My aim with these designs was to create three gender-ambiguous characters, using different pride flags to theme each of them.
I went on to add frames to two designs, harking back to my love of illuminated manuscripts, using symbols often seen in medieval heraldry. The limited colour palettes meant I could also convert the artwork into risographs. I love the slightly muted aesthetic of the final riso prints.
~~~ Spotlight series This post is the second in a series of spotlights on my artwork and some of the stories behind it. Search the tags leith spotlight and leith illustrates to read more spotlights.
Prints Available Online You can purchase A5/A4 prints of the artwork in this post on my website or Etsy store. (Add in the notes that you found me on tumblr for a free sticker with each purchase.)
Spotlight On: The Fool in Tarot
Now we've emerged from winter into the new beginnings of spring, I thought it fitting to share some insights into the tarot symbolism of the Fool; a subject who features often in my work.
In tarot, The Fool (sometimes known as The Pilgrim) is the first card in the deck. The beginning of an adventure. Among its meanings, it can signify a leap of faith, childlike wonder, seeking knowledge, and embracing change.
The Fool has resonated with me throughout my exploration of sexuality and gender. I created my first depiction of them as a self portrait for Behind the Flag, an exhibition and part of Norwich Pride 2022.
Here, that 2022 version of myself stands on a cliff edge, boldly clad in my binder and 'masc' pants, about to step into the unknown as I move forward into the next stage of my transition and self discovery. I'd only been out as queer and non binary for a year, so this piece was a celebration of that.
In my left hand I hold a stylus— the Apple Pencil I used to draw this piece, and which I so often use as a tool to uncover and process details about myself. In my right hand, I hold a pride flag, proudly proclaiming who I am, for all the world to see. At my feet grows a daffodil, symbolic of metamorphosis. The pose is an homage to the original Fool of the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot deck, the first deck I bought myself during a poignant trip to Massachusetts a few months before.
Spotlight series This post is the first in a series of spotlights on my artwork and some of the stories behind it. I will be tagging them all as leith spotlight and leith illustrates in a bid to be more organised with my posts.
Prints Available Online You can purchase A5/A4 prints of this artwork on my website or Etsy store. (Add in the notes that you found me on tumblr for a free sticker with each purchase.)
It’s taken me four years to finally illustrate some accompanying settings to my Woodland Cottage. I’m excited to get prints of these ready for London MCM Comic Con this May. Hope you like them (:
Character Design Portfolio
I spent all of yesterday updating my portfolio and realised I've hardly shared any of this work on my tumblr, so here is part of the character design section.
All of these were commissioned pieces of work for D&D characters, with the exception of 'The Vampyre Knight' who is a sneaky fanart of Baz for a CORB 23 au where I wanted an excuse to draw pretty floral armour ⚔️
New Listings on Etsy!
I have finally done an organised thing (wildly out of character, I know) and to celebrate my shop update, I'm offering a bundle of my Simon Snow fan art for a discounted price.
Check out my Etsy shop for new individual listings of my fan art and other illustrations too (:
@leithillustration x Hive Mind Games x UK TIN present Stamp Quest 2024! We've teamed up with 25 other indie creators at UKGE to gather 3 amazing prizes. Seek out each quest giver, obtain their unique stamp, and return to us at 1-592 to enter the prize draw #StampQuest24 #UKGE24
I had a great time designing these visuals for Stamp Quest so it’s great to get to talk about it now. 🥰
If you’re off to UK Games Expo in a few weeks, come join our quest!! It’s a great way to meet lots of lovely indie creatives and you could win one of three prize bundles, all kindly donated by the vendors taking part.
Perfect hard drive stickers by @harrie-leithillustration I love these! 🥰
I’m a little biased, but I completely approve of these hard drive adornments 😁
🦊 🌈 A universal experience?
I got back from my first ever London comic con this week and it was a BLAST! I had to sleep for a few days to recover, but now I am back to drawing and feverishly catching up with everything.
Robin Hood was by far my most popular print at the con. I had no idea everyone would feel so called out by it XD it was truly wonderful hearing other people’s memories of watching the movie and feeling the same quiet fascination with him that I had, though it would be decades before I could put words to that feeling.
Currently, I’ve sold out of Robin Hood stickers and prints, but I’m ordering more, so those will be up on my Etsy asap. I’ll put a post out on here announcing my shop update as soon as it happens.
For those who visited my stall at comic con, thank you so so much for all your kind words. It was a wonderful weekend and I can’t wait to do it all over again.
Getting my signage ready for my next market. I was super excited when this got delivered yesterday and wanted to get a nice pic of it. My garden is still a little bare, so I added some extra foliage on Procreate. If only real gardening was this easy!🪴
Starting over with a new business name after 7 years as ScribblyRoo Studios was daunting, but I’ve never regretted it. While I’ve had doubts about putting my actual name on my artwork, deciding to use Leith was a big step for me as an artist and as a non binary person. Even when my first name didn’t feel like mine, Leith felt like my last name. To me it not only speaks of my family but of the trees my mum and dad planted in our garden when I was small, which grew into the woods that have always inspired my work and the magic I see every time I venture into a forest now. It is so wonderful to embrace Leith as a friend who has always been with me and as a reminder of home 💙🌱✨
I am collecting chaotic non-binary characters 🤫
Trying to decide whether to add a ribbon to this design👆 with something written on it like I did for my Loki stickers. Maybe something like ‘THEYs SLAY and are HERE TO STAY’ ??? Too much?
I haven’t played totk yet. Initially I resisted buying it until after a big expo I was selling stuff at, otherwise I’d run the risk of getting massively distracted causing chaos in Hyrule and get nothing done ready for the expo! Now that’s out of the way, the only thing standing in my way is a voucher that GAME wouldn’t accept so now I must go on a quest to another shop that might accept it. Urgh!
Anyway, playing Breath of the Wild gave me big feelings and I was absorbed in it around the time I was first coming to terms with being nonbinary. It felt good to be able to run around chatting up shark princes, diving off cliff tops in nothing but underpants, brandishing a leaf and admiring the dragon-riddled landscape… playing BotW was good too ;)
I tried to compress some of Link’s chaos energy into this illustration and I’m really pleased with how it turned out. If you like it, I have A5 prints of it available on my Etsy store.. though my Tumblr app won’t let me add a link to my post.. what’s up with that? :/
Chaotic Non Binary Link
✨This print is available on my Etsy store✨
I first started playing with the term chaotic non binary as a play on the alignment section of D&D character sheets. I thought it would be fun to think of as many characters as I could who give off this vibe to me. The beginning of my list went: Link, Loki, Double Trouble, Primordial Chaos, Fox Robin Hood, The Goblin King… Turns out they’re all firm favourites of mine, and some have been since long before I even knew the term non binary. I’m now on a quest to catch ‘em all illustrate them all.
So full of love for these guys! I need to do more drawings of them. Especially of softer, rounder Simon when he’s no longer malnourished from being in the care system :/
I wanted to give myself the challenge of creating a book cover design, and making the mock-up was fun. I’m not sure how I feel about the overall look.. maybe it’s a bit too busy? I really wanted to have Watford in the background and the dragon wings, and details like Penelope’s ring. Simon is secretly wearing his trainers but they got hidden by the title banner 🤦♂️
I love how much illustration is being used on the covers of YA fiction right now. Having my artwork on a queer YA book cover would be a dream.
It’s so lovely to see my fan art being appreciated on Tumblr💕 If you like this illustration, I am selling it as an A5 print on my Etsy shop (:
If you’d like a copy but you’re outside of the UK, dm me and I’ll work out the postage ✉️
