Spoonflower is bringing back the weekly design challenges! They are great at coming up with creative prompts, this week it is Floral Dinosaurs. I decided to go with a minimal design, using Illustrator to create these two cute dinos and the almost Scandinavian floral accents. I really like how this turned out and will have it up in my Spoonflower shop. It could also be very cute as a print as well, the beauty of a vector illustration is you can always resize it to fit your project.
April is here and it has brought some wild weather with it. From snow to sleet to 70 degrees, what won't April do? I whipped up this little graphic for April featuring a feathery rain cloud + bold rain drops. Things are feeling pretty monochromatic lately so using only the blue seems fitting. Here's to the clouds clearing and the beauty of spring emerging soon.
Cute little rabbits have been apart of Easter decorations and spring celebrations ever since I can remember. When browsing Pintrest this week for some spring inspiration I saw a pin about what to feed your rabbit. This inspired me to draw this little bunny pondering his favorite food. Surrounded by basil and cabbage leaves, cherry tomatoes, an apple slice, carrot, and a celery stalk, the design began to take shape. Happy with the sketch, I cleaned and colored this in Photoshop to create this illustration fit to print for Easter cards.
“ka·waii
1. the quality of being cute, or items that are cute. Origin: Japanese”
I designed this Kawaii Pets surface pattern design for a recent Spoonflower design prompt. Japanese anime and Kawaii culture came into my life once I started watching Studio Ghibli films like My Neighbor Totoro and after a trip to Japan that really ignited a love for all things Kawaii. From toys to stationery, this style makes me smile and fills my work space and home with a fun, positive energy.
This weekend I was inspired to study hummingbirds. With their bold, beautiful colors, and spirited personalities, they seem to embody spring for me right now. I wanted to draw them and capture the spirit of movement without loosing too much detail. Sketching them with quick lines and spring, pretty colors seemed appropriate. I drew these three birds on my Surface Pro using the pen in the Bamboo app. It was really nice to get the lines just right using my reference photos of right there in app. I also really liked the intuitive, transparency of the marker setting to add just the right amount of color to finish up the sketch. I can see myself continuing this study working in watercolor, and working in Illustrator to create a surface pattern design for my Spoonflower shop.
Here's to studying something new, and stretching our creative muscles.
“March is a month of expectation”
Bright, pastel colors are here! Today I was playing around with wet media brushes in Photoshop and created this bold graphic for March. I have been seeing a ton of St. Patty's day and very Easter looking graphics out there for March, and I wanted something a little different. This has the classic pink/blue/green color theme without being overly festive. My desktop will be happy with this, and maybe I will print out some little cards as well.
Happy March!
“I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden.”
I was just on a flight, flipping through the new Better Homes & Gardens magazine and noticed all the springtime products and garden goodies! This year we are finally able to have a small garden on our balcony and I can't wait to get it started. Feeling inspired I whipped out my notebook and started sketching. This floral sketch looked really nice when I later traced it in Illustrator, so I made a little note card. It will no doubt remind me spring is coming, even if it is still cold outside.
Here's to a plentiful spring ahead!
I love Valentine's cards. Cute, witty, little cards you give to your loved ones. This year I used the Bamboo app to draw a few, then I did one by hand and finished it in Photoshop. It was cool to see how true to my hand writing the Surface Pro 4's pen tool showed up in the first three. The one I did by hand (the llama) and colored in Photoshop looks pretty similar. These are ready to print and mail!
“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”
I have always loved drawing, painting, and doodling and until now haven't really shared them or my creative process. I am starting this blog with the intention of doing just that, plus connecting with other artists and being inspired to create even more. You can follow me here or on Instagram!
Here's to a creative year ahead!
