My Creators

Donna Davidson & Vlad

Author
  1. She was born in Raigmore Hospital, Inverness, Scotland.
  2. Her favourite animal is a cat.
  3. Growing up she supported the football teams Aberdeen and Manchester United.
  4. Her favourite colour is red.
  5. Her family originally come from smaller Scottish islands called Rona and Raasay.
  6. Her favourite hobbies include reading and doing jigsaw puzzles.
  7. She likes to go cycling and to play badminton.
  8. Her favourite holiday is going to visit her nieces and nephew in Australia.
  9. She is named after her Papa. His name was Donald and he sadly died just before she was born.
  10. Her favourite thing to eat is curried mince and peas.
About VladBlogs
10 Pets10 Books & Authors

Amy Scott & Tisso

Illustrator
  1. She was born in Edinburgh, Scotland.
  2. Amy has one brother.
  3. Her favourite animals are giraffes.
  4. Her favourite colour is lilac.
  5. Growing up, Amy wanted always to be ‘an artist’. This has developed into illustration and portrait work since her late teens and now she runs her own business doing what she loves.
  6. Her favourite childhood memories are family holidays in Scotland, up North near Aviemore and also on the West Coast in Ardnamurchan.
  7. She loves spending time with her dog, Tisso - going on walks and playing in the garden.
  8. Amy loves going on sunny holidays!
  9. Her favourite type of food is Japanese.
  10. As well as illustrating, she also runs a business with custom art work such as pet portraits.
About TissoBlogs
About AmyMy Website
  1. He was born on the 21st of May in 2021.
  2. His first toy was a funny little monster teddy.
  3. His favourite thing to eat is Dreamies.
  4. His favourite toys come from the GoCat bird range.
  5. His favourite place to sleep in winter is in Donna’s bed, under her legs and lying on the electric blanket.
  6. His favourite place to sleep in Summer is on the top perch of his cat tree. Catching the rays coming through the window.
  7. He likes to watch cat tv.
  8. He has a OneFastCat cat wheel that he has never used!
  9. He loves to watch the birdies that come to the window bird feeders.
  10. He likes to have a cat stick each night before bed. Which he expects you to hand feed him.
  1. Goldie the goldfish – This is the first pet I ever remember having. I think we won him at the shows in Portree. In the 80s there used to be an event called Skye Week. It would have lots of activities for the community. There would be treasure hunts, the pipe band marching and lots of boot sales and other things to do. I’m hoping it wasn’t me that came up with the name Goldie!
  2. Cheeky the cat – We got Cheekyy when I was two and he lived until I was 19. I was always told that we shared the same birthday. So Cheeky would get presents and his name on my cake. He was jet black. When we first got him, he accidentally got into a tin of white paint! He was named by a family friend’s son, Hector, who said to my dad, “that’s a cheeky cat!”.

    He had an eventful nineteen years. He moved several homes with us, and never ran away! When we lived at Woodside, (Auntie Katie and Uncle Alistair’s house) he would sometimes seek shelter in the shed at night. This was where Uncle Alistair kept his car. Cheeky would go climbing through the rafters and get his paws covered in dust. One morning when Uncle Alistair went to get his papers, his car was decorated in little white pawprints!
  3. Scotty the hamster – Unfortunately, I must take credit for this name. He was named after the character Scott from neighbours. I had a big crush on Jason Donovan at the time! Scotty’s claims to fame are biting my dad on the finger and drawing blood and his great escape. Gail Dunan, a family friend was babysitting me when it happened. It took forever to try and tempt him out from under the dishwasher!
  4. Tio the cat – Tio was named after the Aberdeen Football Club goalkeeper, Theo Snelders. As she was a girl cat we adapted the name slightly. Cheeky must have been about 10 or 11 when we got Tio. He wanted nothing to do with her and was very aloof. However, one day, they were both outside (separably and ignoring each other) when a huge stray cat appeared and started to threaten Tio. Cheeky jumped into action and scared the other cat away. He didn’t know we had seen it, but after that they were quite content to be in each others company.
  5. Giggsy the horse – Giggsy came to us as a rescue horse. He’d had a rough start in life, as the person who owned and rode him was too big for him and his back was damaged. As a result, we couldn’t actually ride Giggsy, but he was a lovely, handsome boy. I named him after Ryan Giggs and I recall being very disgruntled when someone said to me, “Jiggsy – what a lovely name for a pony”.
  6. Cantona and Keane – more goldfish!
  7. Buddy the cat – My dad and my step-mum got two kittens for my Dad’s hotel. I named them Bud and Becks – proper pub cats! Bud was such a lovely, long, cat that he quickly became known as Buddy!
  8. Holly the cat – Becks came to live with me at my mum’s house. My mum wasn’t so keen having a pet cat named after a bottle of beer, so Becks became Holly. It was around Christmas time after all. I’d recently been on a school trip to see Buddy the musical and was now a big Buddy Holly fan. So, I was very pleased with how that worked out.
  9. Abu the cat – By this time I had been introduced to the music of Elvis Presley and then along came Abu Elvis Davidson. I don’t think I have a big enough website to tell you all the stories about Abu. One that sticks out, is when I’d come home to Skye for Christmas, and I had taken Abu with me. At this point in time, he was a strictly indoor cat, as he was living with me in my student flat in Glasgow. It was a dark night, with heavy snow. I wasn’t in and my discovered that Abu was missing! She got my brother and her friend Brian equipped with torches and sent them out into the snow to search for him. They’d been out there for ages, and were frozen, when my brother Grant swept the torch over the house. Two bright emerald eyes glowed back at him from a bedroom window. Abu was sitting next to the radiator watching them search!
  10. Vlad the cat – Vlad lives with me in Dunfermline. He is an indoor cat and quite timid. He’s a very sweet little boy, but he doesn’t like sudden or loud noises. You can read more about him in this blog and perhaps you are thinking, what about dogs? Well, I’ve never owned a dog, but click here to find out about some important ones (insert link)
  1. The Famous Five series by Enid Blyton – My brother Grant owned all these books, and I started reading them after him. The first book in the series that I read was Five Get into Trouble. After that I was into the Famous Five computer books, choose your own adventure books, audio books and tv series. Even as an adult at Christmas I was gifted with Famous Five annuals, I’ve bought the books on Audible, and I’ve recently completed a lovely puzzle by Gibson which has all the front covers on. 
  2. The Lord of the Flies by William Golding – I read this when I was thirteen, and I just adored it. I think it captured my childhood love of adventures, children out on their own and islands and shipwrecks (well, plane wrecks). It felt like Famous Five for grownups! Again, I enjoyed both movies and my dad took me to see the theatre production at Eden Court theatre in Inverness. Again, it’s another audio book that I listen to.
  3. The Chronicles of Narnia – I think I was first introduced to this by the BBC production of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. I caught one episode of it after school (the one where the children discover Mr Tumnus has been taken). And those were the days if you didn’t see if you missed it! There was a shop in Inverness that sold video tapes and audio books. I think it was called Merlin’s. On a trip to Inverness this was my go-to shop. My Mum ordered the double video boxset of the series for me. Unfortunately, the shop went into closure before it was delivered. Devested isn’t the word! My love for the series continued and expanded and I continued to collect the audio books, videos, and DVDs as they became available. A funny story, when we were 21 myself and my flatmate had an animated discussion on whether Aslan in the BBC series was a real lion or a puppet. She insisted he was a real lion. We had a huge laugh when we checked. I’ll let you Google and decide. 
  4. The DCI Jack Logan series by JD Kirk – A detective series that is set in the Highlands with locations featured including Inverness, Fort William and even (briefly) the Isle of Skye. There are currently 15 books in the series (and another on the way) and another 4 in a spin-off series. I’ve read all of them. The characters are hilarious, and the stories are gripping. I don’t read these books. I devour them. A real easy read.
  5. The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling – What can I say that hasn’t already been. I was introduced to the Harry Potter series by a family friend, Blair Anderson who was about ten at that time. Blair, his sister, Emma and their mum, Norma were coming to Skye to stay with us for the family holidays. I knew Blair read the books and bought him the newly released Goblet of Fire book. Before he had even arrived on Skye, I had already read it all. I then went back and read the others. By the release of book five, my then flatmate picked up the midnight release on her way back from her waitressing job. I was probably hooked. I queued outside the local book shop in Portree when the final book was released. I was supposed to be going out to the local pubs with friends but was worried about hearing spoilers before I finished it. My favourite book in the series is Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, my favourite movie is Chamber of Secrets, and my favourite character is Tom Riddle.
  6. The Wishing Game by Patrick Redmond – I picked this book up in a Little Chef of a trip to Glasgow with my dad. Again, I’ve read every book by the author, and I enjoy his style of psychological thriller. Sadly, he’s not released a book since 2018. Fingers crossed we see something too. 
  7. Five Children and IT by E. Nesbit – Another classic that like Narnia I was introduced to via the fantastic BBC classics productions. I probably preferred the BBC tv versions of this and particularly The Return of the Psammead. Again, I had these on VHS and then DVD. I’ve also enjoyed watching the movies in later years, with Five Children and IT and even the most recent Four Children and It. 
  8. Two Brothers by Ben Elton – The book is set in Berlin. It follows two twin brothers raised in a Jewish family from birth to the rise of Hitler and the end of World War 2. I read it during a trip to Millport on the Isle of Cumbrae. The weather wasn’t great, so we spent a lot of time drinking tea, eating fairy cakes, and reading our books in the ‘tv’ window. The window looked out across the sea and to Largs and it captured the attention watching the scenery change with the weather. I remember just not wanting the book to end as I wanted to keep following the characters.
  9. The BFG by Roald Dahl – I’m a huge fan of Roald Dahl, so really this should be his entire collection. Of course, I have that on audiobook along with all his short stories for adults (which I recommend). If I had to choose one though, it would be the BFG. My brothers used to tease me by calling him the Big Friendly G**. This one stands out though as I enjoyed all the dream stories he created. And it features the Queen. This is another one that my dad took me to see the theatre production off. And for one of my birthdays, I went to see the most recent movie in the cinema. 
  10. Anything by Lisa Jewell – I’ve read most of her books. I do intend to get around to reading all of them. Her books are just real page turners and I fly through them. I just know when I buy one that I’m in for an enjoyable read and that’ll I’ll struggle to put it down. 
  1. He was born on 31st March in 2021.
  2. He loves to curl up in the corner of the sofa, on his blanket.
  3. Tisso loves food and will eat anything if you don’t keep a careful eye on him!
  4. He enjoys doing zoomies in the garden, and tearing up the grass.
  5. He is originally from Cyprus, but now lives with Amy in Scotland in his forever home.
  6. He likes watching football on the television.
  7. His favourite game is fetch.
  8. He runs really fast.
  9. Tisso loves all his toys, and loves to pull them all out the basket at the same time.
  10. He has ginger eyelashes, which we think are very cute!

I have always been an creative person, and used to say I wanted to be an ‘artist’ when I grew up. Little did 7 year old Amy know that there would be many different options to explore within this career choice.

As a child, I loved drawing characters, or creating ‘junk’ which consisted of old packaging, boxes, toilet roll holders and various craft materials being glued, painted and glittered all together to create a masterpiece. I would proudly show this off to my parents and they would marvel at whatever my latest creation was. I’ll always be grateful for them keeping random bits of cardboard and plastic on top of a wardrobe for me, and allowing me to show that creativity.

After school, I was delighted to be accepted onto the Animation Bachelors course within The University of Edinburgh. I learnt a lot here and also continued working as a portrait artist throughout this time. I completed a variety of projects, everything from working for D.C. Thomson’s ‘Beano’ to the government’s ‘loneliness campaign’ and many individual and group projects within the University too. Despite Covid-19 bringing my time at University to a very abrupt end, I was ecstatic to achieve a 2:1 grade. 

My portrait business (Amy Scott Art) has been a part of my life from around the age of 15. To start with, I received commissions from friends and family which I enjoyed and the portraits meant a lot to both myself and them. I create both people and animal portraits from photographs and am able to combine images to bring together people who may have never met in real life in one singular drawn image. In my early 20s, and through the use of social media, I was then able to build my business and have amassed thousands of followers across a variety of platforms. It means a lot to me to be able to create pieces for people which have great emotional value. These images are typically hand drawn with pencil on paper, whereas Allie Skye is digitally drawn in her books.

I have always enjoyed illustrating too, and when I saw the advert looking for an illustrator for the Allie Skye books I had no hesitation in applying. It was a wonderful coincidence to find out Donna lives close by to me too. The story of Allie Skye means a great deal to me, and I love being able to show some of the beautiful Scottish scenery to the world. Allie Skye is a confident, intrepid, enthusiastic young girl and I can’t wait for everyone to join in on her adventures.

The video below shows the process of creating Allie Skye’s animation you saw when you first came on the website – but it’s much, much slower in real life!

You can see more on my website at www.amyscottart.co.uk

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