Holiday card published

Something exciting is that my holiday card was chosen to be published and distributed to internal recipients of the Parkland College holiday card. :)

I requested that a few extras be printed to keep in my portfolio. I'll show a picture once I get them!

Holiday card final

Here is the final versions of my holiday card for Parkland College. The front features Coby, the cobra mascot, enjoying his winter break at home. I wanted to keep the price down, so I put single colors on the inside and envelope. The only changes I will probably make is to make the inside design a little more balanced with the logo a little smaller.

In a couple weeks we will present our ideas to the college President and his assistant.

Holiday card: Proof

Here's a proof of the holiday card. I still have to design the inside, back and envelope!
This part alone took me like... 8 hours. But I like it!

Something I learned doing this illustration was for adding the glowing highlights from the fire. In a separate layer, I added highlights with a brush the same color as the fire, then changed the blending mode to "soft light" to give it a subtle glow.

Holiday card: Concept 2

Here's my next sketch. I was hoping to get an actual proof, but I didn't have as much time this weekend as I'd hoped, so this is all I have so far. I just need to "ink" it in Photoshop and add some color.

This weekend my class went to Weiskamp silkscreening and printed our Amtrak posters. I was really happy with how mine turned out, so I'll need to find a way to take a good picture or scan it in.

Holiday card: Concepts

Here are my best ideas for some whimsical illustrations of Parkland cobras in winter scenes.

The first one is my favorite, but I will probably add a window across from the snake to add more balance to the composition. The "snowsnake" one would be difficult to make believable. The third one is fine but I just don't like the idea as much as the first.

Holiday card: Inspiration

I like whimsical cards with illustrations, so for the Parkland College holiday card, I wanted to do something light-hearted and cheerful. In researching some ideas I remembered B. Kliban, who was famous for his cat illustrations.

I like to draw animals, so I am thinking of doing a winter-themed illustration with Parkland's cobra. Here is a couple examples of Kliban's work. I like how sometimes the cats have more cat-like characteristics and sometimes they are more human-like.

Kliban's art is very detailed in terms of style (especially his backgrounds), so I would like to do something more simple like this line drawing with crisp, light color:

Holiday card: Brief

Client: Parkland College (Champaign, IL)

Project: Holiday card illustration

Specifications: Create an illustration for the Parkland holiday card. The illustration shouldn't indicate any particular religious traditions as to be inclusive of the entire Parkland community. The card should reflect Parkland's culture, campus, and philosophy.

Reproduction: The art will be printed in CMYK on a card that fits inside a standard envelope and printable by Parkland's in-house printer. The envelope must include the Parkland logo and return address. The card must include the artist's name somewhere.

Justification: I like whimsical holiday illustrations, especially with animals. Parkland's mascot is the cobra, so I would like to do an illustration with the cobra in a winter-themed composition. Winter break from school is usually a relaxing, fun time and I'd like to relate that in my art in a humorous or light-hearted way.