Custom Wedding Chalkboards: Process

I am so excited to share these new custom pieces for a wedding with you!

I was recently asked to make chalkboards for a wedding. Each chalkboard was hand-drawn by Yours Truly. I am quite pleased with how these have turned out! These were a joy to make and are something that I look forward to making for other happy couples in the future.

 

Some people have asked “How did you do it?” Well, loads of practice, a T-Square, Chalk, and chalk markers. Here are some progress shots showing the beginning sketches and the final pieces.

Bar menu work in progress

In-progress shot of the Julia Child piece. Here you can see my super-cool crafting gloves that help keep my hands warm and keeps them from leaving marks on the chalkboard. And my favorite markers. :-)

 

Julia Child Quote: work in progress

 

The chalk works, well, a lot like the layers function in photoshop…unfortunately there’s not “undo” button here. A steady hand and reliable preliminary sketches are quite important.

Nearly done…but still a ways to go! :-)

Here you can see the sketches made in chalk on the left and the final drawing on the right. Throughout the lettering process, I made some slight changes to the size and shapes of the letters. Before I got to this phase, I did several measured layouts on graph paper. Once I got the design just the way I wanted it, I drew it on the actual chalkboard.

Julia Child Quote: work in progress

Advertisement

Rise and Shine It’s Daylight Savings Time

With the extra hour today, I made this cute little illustration. Lovely little typography  sketch.

Save the Dates

I was asked to design Save the Dates for digital distribution (the bride-to-be wanted to email them to friends and loved ones so that she can spend more money on the wedding invitations). After a few sketches, she approved this design and layout:

 

I created this design that features Peonies, a favorite flower of the couple.

The design was created using original floral illustrations and existing fonts.

Share the Love

Working on a new typographic illustration for Valentines Day! I hope to color this and make it into cards and prints. 

The Fearless Flyer

This illustration was made this week to be used in some printed signage and decorations for our Fearless Flyer. I sketched this fine flying fellow using pencil and my trusty Papermate Flair. (My favorite affordable felt-tip pen for inking detailed black and white drawings.)

I love his iconic Steampunk vibe.

He will  be colored and printed in black and white.

Typography Illustration: Do your best Part 2

Happy Friday! In a previous post I showed some of the steps I take to create a typographic illustration. Now I will show you some of the steps I take to color a piece!

 

I generally do a quick thumbnail off to the side (or make a photocopy) to make sure the colors I use work in harmony. If you are working digitally, you can easily change the colors in photoshop, but with traditional work, it helps to work out your colors ahead of time.

 

 

I decided to use circus-inspired bold colors to match the bold fonts.

 

Once you have decided on your colors, start blocking them in. I always make sure to have another piece of paper under my drawing to help absorb some of the marker that bleeds through.

I use a variety of pen and marker types for my illustrations. Copic and PrismaColors are favorites of mine, but I also use Sharpies. Many of the colors you see in my finished illustration are a combination of several colors. Another useful tool in my typography illustrations is a chalk marker, which I use for the highlights on letterforms.

The finished illustration!

RIP Starman

 

“The stars look very different today…”

 

If you know anything about me (or have ever taken a road trip with me) you’ll know that I LOVE  David Bowie. He has been a favorite of mine ever since I saw the film Labyrinth as a young girl.

 

I remember one of the first items I ever borrowed from the library by myself was an audio cassette of Let’s Dance. I listened to that tape for hours. I had been raised on a wholesome mix of Motown and The Beatles. This Bowie fellow really rocked my world. The next day,  I rode my bike to the library and checked out all the other Bowie albums they had available. From then on, I’ve been a huge fan.

I was so excited for with the news of Black Star this weekend.

 

Tattoo-inspired illustrations in memory of David Bowie.

 

Today, I am heartbroken over the news of David Bowie’s passing. My heart goes out to his family, his friends, and his fans. A small tribute to one of my heroes.

 

Happy Holidays

Happy Monday!

Today, a quick sketch today to wish you HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Black ink on craft paper.

Getting in the Halloween Spirit

I’ve been trying to design new holiday greeting cards. This one is a fun tongue-in-cheek card that I would even consider sending to some of my girlfriends not around halloween.

Available now in my Etsy Shop!

Each card is hand-embellished with rhinestone stickers.

 

Tattoo You: Nerdy Tattoo Designs Part 3

If there’s one thing I love it’s video games! If there’s two things I love it’s nautical tattoo designs and video games. I’m always thinking of fun tattoo ideas that would not only look nice as a piece of body artwork, but could be framed and hung on a wall.

 

I made a series of fun, clean, nerdy Tattoo Illustrations that I will be showcasing in the next few posts. Each illustration was made by hand using pen and paper, and a variety of markers including Prismacolor, Copic, Sharpie, and others.

 

In a previous post, I showed you Pokemon-inspired illustration. Now, on to a design inspired by the game that I spent countless hours mastering as a youngster: The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time.

 

In Progress. Loving how this one is turning out.

This illustration is inspired by classic nautical tattoos. The ribbon and phrasing are similar to the Sailor Jerry style. The imagery is taken from the game itself. A fun play on the theme of the game, where time truly waits for no man. A tattoo worthy of the hero of time!

The fate of the forest, nay, the world, depends upon thee!