Lydia Leneghan

Illustration and Set Design

Illustration - BA (Hons)

School of Design

lydialeneghan@hotmail.co.uk

lydialeneghan.co.uk

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Model posing in a crouched position in front of a painted backdrop. She is surrounded by oranges and tulips.

Set design and dressing for fashion photography

Bio

Lydia Leneghan is an illustrator from Northern Ireland who has a keen interest in folk art and set design. Inspired by her natural surroundings in the Mourne Mountains, much of her work features strong natural imagery such as plants and animals. Growing up in a community rich with folklore and mythology has also greatly inspired her work, which has strong themes of death, rebirth and magic.

Combining her love of films and her multidisciplinary approach to creating, she has explored set design and set dressing for both film and photography.

Set Design for Photography

Above are my final photographs for my photography set design project. I designed and painted large scale backdrops, curating them to their own unique themes which I then accentuated through the location of the shoot, props and costumes.

Model sits on the grass with her legs crossed, juggling oranges. Behind her is a blue painted backdrop of foliage, and she is surrounded by orange tulips, wooden crates and oranges.

set design and dressing for fashion photography

Model stands holding and orange in front of a blue painted backdrop. At her feet are oranges, tulips and wooden crates

set design and dressing for fashion photography

Set design and dressing for fashion photography

Model sitting on a stool looking off to the left. Behind him is a green and yellow painted backdrop of seaweed, and the sea and sky is visible in the background. He is surrounded by fishing nets and is holding a bouquet of flowers.

Set design and dressing for photography

Model sits on a stool with his legs crossed, holding a bouquet of flowers and smiling. Behind him is a yellow and green painted backdrop of seaweed. At his feet are fishing nets.

set design and dressing for fashion photography

Model throwing a bouquet of flowers in front of a yellow and green painted backdrop

Set design and dressing for fashion photography

Tarot Cards

I collaborated with Illustrator and Graphic Designer Sacha Brice to form The Blackwood Collective. Together, we designed and Illustrated a set of tarot cards inspired by folk horror themes, such as mythology, death and nature. I focused my illustrations mainly on Irish mythology and folklore, such as the Banshee and Puca beast. To the right is my collection of final tarot card illustrations, and below are photographs of the final printed tarot deck. I also experimented with transferring some of my designs onto sweatshirts, which are also displayed below.

A collage of my collection of tarot illustrations

Set of my illustrations for a tarot deck with my Blackwood Collective

Illustrated tarot cards are spread over a table, surrounded with gemstones and candles

Final outcome of our Blackwood Collective's illustrated tarot deck

Woman sitting on her knees in the grass, wearing a black sweatshirt with a tarot design printed on it

A sweatshirt printed with one of my tarot illustrations

Model is wearing a red sweatshirt with a tarot illustration design, smiling at the camera

A sweatshirt printed with one of my tarot illustrations

Final outcome of our Blackwood Collective's illustrated tarot deck

Folk Art

To the right and below are a collection of some of my folk art illustrations. Heavily inspired by nature and mythology, much of my illustrative work explores these themes in a wide array of mediums and techniques. I have experience working with screen printing and Lino printing, as well as digital art, as is shown below with my album illustrations.

Collage of various folk inspired illustrations

Collection of my folk inspired illustrations

An illustration of a skeleton with flowers and leaves coming out of its ribcage, and its liver exposed.

Single cover for the song "The Mess Inside" by The Mountain Goats

An illustration depicting an angel with her arms open and chest cut open, exposing her heart. Below her, brightly coloured figures try to reach for her heart

Single cover for the song "Children of God" by AJJ

Stills from my short film "Table Manners"

A masked man in a suit stares into the camera. He is sitting at a table lavishly set with candles and flowers. The backdrop is a painted wallpaper with a floral pattern

Still from my short film "Table Manners", a project to experiment with set design and set dressing

Actress stares into the camera, in front of her is a plate with a jam tart on it. The table is lavishly set with candles and flowers, and the backdrop is a painted wallpaper with a floral pattern

Still from my short film "Table Manners", a project to experiment with set design and set dressing

Actress holds a hand over her eye and is eating a heart with her other hand with a pained expression on her face.

Still from my short film "Table Manners", a project to experiment with set design and set dressing

Set design for film

This is a still from my short film "Table Manners". For this project I designed and painted the floral wallpaper backdrop and a set of plates that were used as props. I also curated the hair, makeup and costumes of the actors to compliment the set up of the frame, as well as all of the props for the table setting.

Still from my short film "Table Manners", a project to experiment with set design and set dressing

A table setting featuring a pink painted plate with pomegranates on a red velvet tablecloth

Painted plate prop design for film set dressing

A table setting featuring a blue painted plate with vines on a red velvet tablecloth

Painted plate prop design for film set dressing

Prop Design

For my set dressing project, I also designed and painted the prop plates that were featured in the film. I designed each of the plates to reflect the themes that were explored in the film, such as eye motifs to display the feeling of being watched, and pomegranates to establish a connection to Persephone, the Goddess to the underworld who was tricked by Hades through eating pomegranate seeds, which reflect the themes of deceit and consumption that are explored in the film.

A table setting featuring a blue painted playa with eye motifs on a red velvet tablecloth

Painted plate prop design for film set dressing

Lydia Leneghan

Bio

Set Design for Photography

Tarot Cards

Folk Art

Stills from my short film "Table Manners"

Set design for film

Prop Design

Lydia Leneghan

Related student work

Sacha Brice

Related topics

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