YOU CALL THAT DRAWN?

I have made just over 6 months worth of cards so far! I can't believe this project is going by so quickly.

In the beginning I was so excited to start, but by the time I hit the second month I was a little overwhelmed. I was worried that I would lose the passion and be phone-ing it in before the year was up. BUT I'm very happy to tell you that my fear had no legs to stand on. I'm just as fired up as ever.

Now that I'm more than halfway done I've noticed a distinct shift in my cards. I've been drawing less.

This project is called Drawn & Delivered because when I first got started I wanted to push my simple pen to paper drawing skills and embrace my style. In the beginning that's what I did, and for some cards I still do that. However, more and more I am using my drawing skills to sketch my cards before I make them. The cards I send out are more constructed and designed rather than drawn. I am really pleased with this revelation because it means that I'm growing and trying new skills for my willing recipients and that I'm not putting unnecessary rules over this project. This sense of freedom has started to combine with my design work too. I like to take my time with different analog mediums before going digital. You learn so much as a designer just by drawing or trying a new skill.

With that, here's a collection of cards that I've made that push the term drawn a little further.

A little 'muppet' card with googly eyes and purple felt. Perfect for a toddler to laugh at. This design is so simple and so much fun!

I have been very interested in playing with color and texture, especially as a way to show energy. The concept of this card is to send a friend some extra energy.

This probably looks familiar to you, yes, it is an Adventure Time themed card! I think that show is so good. If I had kids I would for sure watch this show with them happily. I liked the idea of using Jake, the dog (side kick to twelve year old main character, Finn) as the focus. Instead of drawing, I cut construction paper out and layered it to make this card happen.

This card is a lot more conceptual than anything else I've done to this point. I loved using uncommon materials, in this case cardboard, to convey a message of positivity. This card relies on symbolism and metaphor. It's funny because it almost felt like cheating going in such an unconventional direction, but as I got going I had the biggest smile on my face. I want these cards to be fun, dang it! Especially fun for me to make. I like to think that this sense of fun is received by the recipient of the card.

NEW FROM MY STUDIO: 2015 CHRISTMAS CARDS

My greeting card factory switched gears about a month ago into a foray of designing cards for Christmas when a friend asked me to design their cards this year!

I was floored! Getting asked to do something that I'm nuts about is one of the best feelings I know.

This opportunity gave me the chance to not only create unique customized designs BUT it gave me the chance to really think about how I set up contracts, timelines and how to best schedule myself. My freelancing heart felt empowered as heck!

A little more info about the cards:

Lately my work has focused on drawing by hand so as I got started I knew that I wanted to use hand drawn elements as the anchor point for this set of cards. What that meant was drawing, A LOT. I bet I used 20 to 30 pieces of paper to write the words 'Merry Christmas' in different ways and draw Christmas trees, wreaths, poinsettias, etc. Once I had a lot of options I looked everything over. It looked like the floor in our apartment was carpeted by Christmasy drawings! I starred the ones I thought would work, photographed them and then used my computer to bring it all together.

This process did take time but it was thorough and I was so thankful to have as many resources as I did to work with. Without further hold up, here is each card I designed in better detail

The cards:

I ended up using a combination of brush lettering, brush pens, calligraphy, and paint brushes for this set.

Looking back, I like that the set is varied in texture but maintains a similar color palette.

I also enjoyed creating a set that has a slightly varied visual tone which ranges from elegant to whimsical because chances are that the card recipients are not all the same ;)

Thanks for reading about my latest card project! If you need holiday cards this year, let me know :)

DRAWN & DELIVERED ROUND-UP 2

Hello, card lovers! I thought I would take the time to do another Drawn & Delivered card round up since I've made quite a few more since I shared my first batch.

COLORING CARDS

The concept for this mini set of cards came from coloring books. These cards were made for two young brothers and because of that I wanted to make the cards fun and interactive. I remember getting cards as a kid and being very underwhelmed by the experience unless it was covered in glitter or had money inside. Ha!

To take advantage of this coloring book concept I used both the front and back of the cards to create the scene. I wanted to give them as much room to color as possible! To create the textured contour lines I used my trusty Pentel Duopoint brush pen.

The older of the two boys was sent the bird card which involved more detail and smaller shapes. This was to encourage the use of MANY colors because using all of the colors in the box of crayons is the goal, right? ;) 

The younger boy was sent the dinosaur card which has less detail and large shapes, perfect for kids who are still getting the hang of their fine motor skills. Their facial expressions are way goofy but dinosaurs are just goofy in general so, I'm okay with it.

THE MAC DADDY

This card was one for a good friend of mine and fellow macaroni and cheese lover. As I was drawing some rough drafts of this card I drew a huge macaroni noodle and the absurdity of it make me laugh. Before I knew it, I was cutting out the shape from the card form and drew on some sun glasses and before my eyes the Mac Daddy of Cheese was born!

The base color came from a Crayola crayon, color: macaroni and cheese (of course). The outlines were done with a Faber Castell fine point black marker. Sunglasses were painted on using Speedball black calligraphy ink. That rad chain? It was also painted using Speedball calligraphy ink, this time featuring the color gold in all of its fancy schmancy glory. The inside was written with a Tombow dual brush pen.

LIKE PEAS & CARROTS

When the recipient of this card requested something that focused on love and marriage I noticed that the delivery date was scheduled for right around the time they were to be getting married! I was so surprised that the scheduling worked out like that. Couldn't have planned that better!

I oped to take an alternative route to the traditional imagery associated with love and looked for pairs that went well together. Peas and carrots stuck out right away. I love the colors and drawing them in a way that used their form to spell out the words was so much fun. The final was a result of using colored pencils, a black Micron pen, and green calligraphy ink.

So that wraps up this round up of cards!

I continue to have so much fun drawing and sending these guys in the mail. Each card is exciting to make as I come up with new ideas and techniques to practice. To everyone who signed-up, I can't thank you enough. The privilege has been all mine!