Make Art That Sells Week 3 - Scrapbook

Whew! I've been so engrossed in my Lilla Rogers class, that I barely have time for anything else (just ask my family). I really love how it's pushing me out of my comfort zone. Having to post my work alongside so many talented individuals forces me to ask myself if I'm submitting the best piece I possibly can in the time allowed. Each week I love seeing all the different approaches to the same assignment.

Last week we covered The Scrapbook Market. I must confess, I rarely look at the scrapbooking section in the craft store. I barely get my photos downloaded into iPhoto, never mind print them out and arrange them artfully in a book with patterned and embellished papers and cool dew hickies. And, to top it off, she asked us to draw vintage typewriters and cameras. Right there and then, I knew it would be my least favorite week in the class. Lilla kept saying how 'fun' and 'easy' these items were to draw. Easy? Umm, not for me. Give me a dog any day...

Nevertheless I tried. And tried again. I wasn't so successful with the typewriters. I had a few cameras that were passable. But, designing the page was actually pretty fun. I put a mid-century spin on it with some retro shapes and fonts. I snuck my line-drawn cameras in with color and pattern as camouflage. In the end, I was satisfied with my work. It made me realize I can, and should, do more with hand drawn images. Was it gorgeous and layered with dreamy washes like many of the other artists' work I saw? No. But I think that's not my style—even though I admire that quite a bit.

Make Art That Sells B - Week 2 - Baby Apparel

Did I say how much I love my Lilla Roger's class, Make Art That Sells? I mean I really, really love it! The graphic designer in me responds well to the specific assignments and the concrete deadlines. Last week we explored Baby Apparel and were asked to create camping-themed clothing for babies. So many fun possibilities and so many ideas! I have many more concepts I'd like to execute at a later date, but here's what I came up with for class:

Final submitted for Lilla Roger's class assignment

Alternate colorway

Alternate colorway for girls

Back to School!

Last week, at the very last minute, I signed up for Lilla Rogers' Make Art That Sells online course (Part B). I think it was the fact that she's covering the Paper and Baby markets that sold it for me. Here I am, 10 days in, and I couldn't be happier—I'm like a kid in a candy shop. So much gorgeousness and inspiration, not only in the course material, but also from all the amazingly talented students who are also taking the class.

Week 1: Paper
The first assignment was to create candy and ornament icons, and from those, design two holiday cards, choosing one for final review. Below are a few snippets from my process, as well as the final card I submitted for the brief.

Some of my sketches and inspiration

Snowman rough

I'm fond of this snowman, but I didn't feel it fit the original assignment of incorporating icons. It's something I'll come back to, however. I'd like to add texture in the scarf and fine-tune the background.

Ornament card

I was trying for the retro vibe in this card. The  ornament shapes are fun, but ultimately, I cast it aside in favor of Hot Chocolate.

My final. All in all, I'm happy with how it turned out. And Lilla featured it in her review, so what could be better than that?!

French Lessons

It's no secret that I love French Bulldogs. Really love them. I don't own one—yet. Perhaps someday soon. But in the meantime, a girl can dream, right? And of course they all speak french…

Foods of Endearment

For a while I've been wanting to create some cute designs that illustrate the silly names we call our babies, children, significant others. Isn't it funny that so many of these pet names relate to food? I think these would be adorable on baby onesies and feeding bowls—maybe cards? I have a few more ideas in the pipeline: pumpkin, jelly bean, gum drop, cupcake, buttercup. I guess those will have to be in my next post. Along with a NO PEANUT icon for my daughter who has allergies. Enjoy!

Animal Types

Using type symbols, characters and patterns to create some math critters.

Geek Repeat

Back in June I created a pattern for the Geek Chic fabric competition at Spoonflower called 'Math Mob'. I really love the characters, created out of math symbols, and wanted to create a collection based around this design. I think these patterns would be great as notebook covers, what do you think?

Feel free to check out my Spoonflower Studio here. I'm still a newbie, but should have more in the shop soon!