Back into my Illustration Groove

Good morning!

It's a short and tiny tree but it will do for our first married Christmas 

We most definitely put up our Christmas tree last night! We decided to just put the lights on it because we might be moving it to the top of our staircase since Andy has a tree that we still need to pick up from his parents house. Nevertheless, it was still super exciting to see the tree all lit up in our living room! I'll share another picture when we get the ornaments up!

The red cups are back!

Let's back up a little now. Yesterday afternoon was spent sipping coffee at Starbucks with Krystine while working on a project for work. We just learned earlier this week that we will be doing a collaboration design for our annual holiday gift for our clients. Each of the designers chose a month on Friday and then will design a calendar header for that particular month.

The end result will look something like this:

(source)

She chose October, while I went with the month of September, since it's my favorite month of them all. After chatting away while designing from opposite ends of the table, I came up with this. I'm still working on refining my tree and will add more leaves and branches, but this is the just of it! 

The apples/leaves signify Fall, while the cut-out letters reference the whole "back to school" craze that ensues the month of September. Do you think the picnic table needs something on top of it? Krystine and I were stumped by this and couldn't come up with a logical object to place on top. It's too early for pumpkins, and if I put a picnic basket, then I would need to add people to the scene.

Thoughts/suggestions are welcome!

While we were plugging away on our MacBooks, I mentioned to Krystine that sometimes I forget that I really enjoy design. I sit at my computer 40 hours a week designing all sorts of things but it is easy to forget what made you love it in the first place. For me, illustration is what gets me excited, inspired, and motivated and getting back into the groove of it all was a great reminder of this!

Alright, I'm off to wrap up some loose ends before hopefully heading over to the gym before 10am! Here's to being productive!

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Do you get excited for the red holiday cups at Starbucks? 
Is your Christmas tree usually real or artificial? 
Favorite holiday drink at Starbucks? I love the gingerbread one, only coming in second to the Pumpkin Spice latte!

May Day

The creative juices were flowing this morning and the above graphic was the result. This is what I do instead of showering and going to church. However, it's all good because Andy came over today and we watched the sermon online (err...listened to it while we worked on a puzzle that's been sitting on my table for the past month).

April really flew by fast--I can't believe that it is already May! I'm eagerly anticipating warmer weather and sunshine. This weekend last year, I ran my first race as a practice run for my half marathon that summer. I love looking back at how far I've come since a year ago...going from a 5k to being able to run 15 miles. My goal for this upcoming year is to focus less on distance and more on getting stronger.

 

Just about to cross the finish line!

Okay, back to May Day, does anyone remember this little holiday? In my neighborhood growing up, we all looked forward to May Day each year since it meant creating little May Day treats for your friends and then leaving them on their doorsteps. We always made such a game out of it--ringing our friends' doorbell and then running to avoid being caught. It was so fun to leave them guessing at who left the treats for them!

Combining my love for design and this childhood memory, I've enjoyed designing little May Day treats for my friends. I didn't get around to making any this year, but thought I'd share a couple projects from years past:

 

 

These were little fold-up cartons that I filled with candy and gum...there was a personalized note on the back, as shown in the first photo. In order to have these fold up correctly, I found a template online and then modified it to work with the look I was aiming for.

Last year, I decided to design little name tags and bake cookies for May Day instead of going with the traditional candy route. The design for each was the same, but each individual tag was a different color to help them stand out.

Well, I am hitting the hay early tonight in attempt to prepare for a busy week of work and wedding planning activities (invitations, meeting with our pastor, choosing wedding songs, etc.).

Did you celebrate May Day as a kid?

Step by Step: Illustrations

Want to learn how to draw a simple figure but lack artistic skill? In this post I'll break it down step by step for you. Just let me know if you have any questions along the way!

Start out by drawing a circle. Don't worry if your circle isn't perfectly round--heads aren't exact circles and a little lack of balance adds character. ;-)

Next, define the head with some little circles for ears and a "U" for a neck.

Some swoopy bangs and a little "poof" on top of the head add the start of any hair style.

You can get creative at this point--I'm going to add a ponytail but feel free to draw long hair with a headband, cute little braids, curls, etc.

See, that wasn't so hard, was it?

The face is pretty simple--circles and lines compose this happy little face. You could also add freckles instead of rosy cheeks if you so desire.

Next, we'll add some arms. You can bend the elbows if you'd like your character to be posing, otherwise they can be down at her sides.

Complete the shirt by connecting it on the sides and bottom hem. Adding easy circles for hands can allow the character to hold props such as a balloon, puppy leash, etc.

Add in some fun accessories such as earrings, a necklace, etc.

Now, add two little rectangles for legs.

Now, just add some shoes for walking and you're all set! 

You can also jazz up your drawing a bit by adding in more details or by coloring it in. I drew all of these by hand and then made them digital so they'd show up better. Believe me, it's much easier to draw with a pen or pencil as opposed to a computer mouse! 

There you have it--the basics of a simple illustration. Once you have the basics down, it is easy to add different hair styles, clothes, and backgrounds to create a variety of illustrations.

Do you like to draw/doodle?