Southland born-and-bred Bella went to Menzies College in Wyndham, then attended SIT for three years (2019-2021) to complete a Bachelor of Screen Arts (Animation). “I specialise in hand-drawn 2D animation; [it] was always a passion,” she says.
The SIT degree set up the foundation for where Bella is now. “[After graduating], I knew I wanted to go into the animation and art industry, but I wasn’t ready to leave Southland, so I set up my own business, All the Bells and Whistles.”
Bella has a variety of work that crosses her desk – illustrations, cards, murals, and graphic design for businesses – letterheads, logos and business cards. “I’ve also done character design for people wanting to create their own TV series.”
“I don’t like to stick to one thing in particular; I like to dabble and try out different things. It’s been a lot of fun, bringing … peoples’ ideas to life. The work is certainly not boring; everyone has different ideas.”
Most of Bella’s work has come through word of mouth from friends and family. One of the more high-profile projects that arrived via family while Bella was in her final year at SIT was the opportunity to illustrate the recently released children’s book, Opie, the very stubborn donkey, by local author, Sarah Auld.
Although the book already had some illustrations, Bella was brought into the project specifically to work on the character design and blend them with the background scenery. She was able to show the author the body of work completed during her degree, which helped to secure the job. “Sarah seemed really happy… I started working on it while doing my third year. We managed to get a nice combination of the hand drawn and the digital and tried to preserve the hand-drawn look to it.”
And Bella completed the book cover, complete with stubborn donkey, where she stuck to the hand painted, water-colour aesthetic. Having grown up in rural Southland, she had the right local knowledge to produce the character images. “It shows how much personal experience … goes into this type of work. The artist needs to [know] that type of environment for themselves, to be accurate.”
Bella acknowledges that her degree has helped to fine tune her artistic abilities as well as develop other soft skills such as communicating with clients.
“Anatomy, composition, perspective tend to be the three more difficult things to learn; while the internet is great … having the input and guidance of a tutor is superior to that, who can point out what needs to be improved or fixed or could look better.”
Another attribute Bella fine-tuned at SIT was budgeting. “I managed to graduate without any student debt. Zero Fees helped a lot with rent and living costs,” she says. Starting a business without any debt has been a game changer; Bella had already bought a drawing tablet and was ready to go upon graduation.
Still living near her parents in Edendale, Bella acquires her work mainly from the Southland area. “Edendale works well; it’s central to both Gore and Invercargill.”
“Most of my classmates have moved on – up north and some to Aussie, to city locations. It’s been quite nice staying here and being that option for local people looking for artists. I’ve been a good alternative.”
Bella shares she’s been able to make career decisions based on what makes her happy. “It’s a little bit cliché, but I’m working and doing a job I love. I’m working in an industry I’ve always loved since childhood. It was cool to go and get the experience [at SIT] and now I’m living out my childhood dream.”
To check out Bella’s work, Opie, the very stubborn donkey, by Sarah Auld is sold at Young Reflections and Windsor Stationery - Invercargill; Riverbooks and Gore Paper Plus - Gore. Look for All the Bells and Whistles on Instagram @bellsandwhistles147