The Cold Never Bothered Me

Original poster artwork.

Winter seems to be in it for the long-haul. I’m in the last leg middle of my second winter after my move from Los Angeles and it doesn’t seem like the cold will be letting up any time soon. Fortunately the last few days have been warm sunny.

I hear this winter has broken all sorts of records: Snow (it would seem) every other day. Several days with -26 degree wind-chills (today is a balmy -13 degree with the wind-chill). Snowvember! The list goes on and on. Good thing the “cold never bothered me anyway” or so I tell myself.

This wintry piece was inspired by the lyrics from ever-popular Let it Go song from Disney’s Frozen. I created it using several programs and started off with a sketch on paper. I’ve included some of the steps below:

The original sketch with pen and paper.

Once the sketch was finalized, I took it into the computer where I used several programs to get the lettering “just right”. Manga Studio by Smith Micro is a fantastic program for sketching or inking AND it can work in vector and pixels. The program seems to be under-appreciated and under-used in the art community. My artistic best buddy uses the program all the time and puts out amazing work. It’s a GREAT program and version 5 is a huge leap from version 4.  I used Manga Studio for most of the original hand lettering and sketching.

Lettering almost finalized and color swatches are in the corner.

I then took the file into Adobe Illustrator to clean up the letters and curves. I wanted to leave some of the hand-lettered feel, so not every curve and flourish is 100% perfect. Once the lettering was finished, I took the file into Photoshop where I added the colors and final touches. Here is the finished piece again:

Look for prints in my Etsy Shop soon.

What do you think?

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NEW Birthday Cards Added to my Etsy Shop

As I was looking for a birthday card for a friend’s youngster the other day, I found myself at a crossroad between “girly” and “just-for-boys”. It would seem that most children’s birthday cards are highly gendered and pretty sarcastic. I wanted a nice card for a nice little girl who isn’t into princesses or shopping yet. There were none to be found.

I took it upon myself to make a set of three birthday cards for boys or girls (and unisex!) that are cute but not overly-cute; boyish but not brutish. I mentioned them in an earlier post…

It’s no secret that I like cats. I designed these cards to have a retro feel with the bold, iconic illustrations of boy cats and girl cats. I gave each card a hand-lettered message that says “Birthday Girl or Boy” and “Happy Birthday” for a gender neutral option. I am very pleased with how they turned out.

Wish “Happy Birthday” to a boy or a girl (or adult!)

*Also available in lime green and other colors!

Blues and greens for the Birthday Boy

Pink or red for the Birthday Girl

I styled the design after 1950’s-style cartoon characters with the simple eyes, bold lines, and bright colors. Each cat is holding a cupcake in one hand and a present in the other. The hand-lettering gives the card an informal feel that lends itself well to children’s cards. They are, however, not overtly childish, so you could send one to an adult too!

They are available in my Etsy Shop and every card is printed by me and hand scored. Each comes with its own envelope. Other custom-colors can be created upon request.

Spooktacular Package Design

Wouldn’t you want to purchase a box of “8-Count DraColour Crayons”?

I have been having a lot of fun designing packages lately and this is one of my favorites. With Halloween around the corner, I couldn’t not make something Halloween-ey. This fun design for a box of crayons takes advantage of the product window to showcase both the item inside and to reinforce the design of the Vampire. Text on the package is fun, playful, and simple enough for a child to get the message. Yet enough information is conveyed for adult customers too.

If you remember the Cat’s Meow Tea package design project that I did a few weeks ago, I kept the color palate consistent among the designs. I would really like to do more designs like this so stay tuned for more!

Gone Bananas for Dried Fruits

These SWEET designs will really stand out on the shelf!

I don’t have too many vices, but this project combines two of them.

1: A love for dried fruits and nuts (especially in the form of TRAIL MIXES! Yum!)

2: A fondness for the font Lobster (and its many variations) which, while no Comic Sans, does seem to be a little too popular in some design circles.

While my love for dried fruits is not really a part of the design process, the decision to use Lobster as the main font for these packages was a conscious one. I chose the font because it is easily accessible, legible from a distance, and tasteful. It’s also very versatile; I wanted lovely ligatures, not sad serifs.

This design is meant to be used on a number of different dried fruits as seen in the above image. The colors are meant to be changed to suit the overall color of the fruit, while the clear window in the center showcases the quality of the fruits inside. This helps the retailer merchandise the products either all together, or with other brands (within the same types of dried fruits) and this package will still pop. This could also be amended to include organic varieties.

The Cat’s Meow

This really is the Cat’s Meow!

I designed this package this week. It was made using Photoshop and Illustrator and was an exercise in package design and branding. The concept behind this project was to make a package for an herbal tea that would also fit within a larger “Cat’s Meow” brand.

I wanted to come up with an iconic look with a nice color palate that would stand out on the shelves. Porthole-style circle on front and side of label showcases the herbs that are featured in this herbal tea, making it easy for customers to pick what best suits their needs. I have more fun ideas in mind.

Look for more to come!