Happy first day of spring! I hope the snow is gone wherever you are from. Here, winter likes to stick around a bit longer, so it doesn’t feel like spring yet, but the hope of spring has definitely arrived! ☺️
I am now a few weeks into Immersion! I have been enjoying it so much and I wanted to share with you how it’s been going! A little disclaimer… I went into this course with a background in Adobe Illustrator, but I went in with the preconceived idea that it was a frustrating program (for me). Illustrator was only used for very accurate lines and shapes and the odd design assignment… but not much else. It was never a place where I felt I could freely express myself. My instincts always took me to Photoshop for my more elaborate illustrative work.
After working through the first couple modules, however, my eyes have been opened to what Illustrator is capable of. I have barely been able to sleep because of how excited I have been, thinking about how my illustrations can be translated into this program (and all the possibilities that come with it)! I have been reminded of the power of vectors and how they allow you to work with your artwork in countless ways for any application you can think of.
I am a big fan of using colour in my work, so I enjoyed taking my time with the lessons on creating colour palettes. I even created one using pictures of my sweet little kitties as source images. I just love the different colours I pulled out (the amazing neutrals from Matcha, the sweet pink from Paska’s nose and the gorgeous greens from his eyes). I also feel more confident in putting together a strong colour palette, increasing my understanding of balance and contrast, and this is something I will be able to apply across my entire practice.
Also… the recolour artwork tool is SO much fun! I could spend hours playing with that one… 😅 My sweet little Matcha has been keeping me company while I work through each lesson, which I’m thankful for! 🥰
One of the book recommendations is “Show Your Work” by Austin Kleon. I was able to snag it from my local library and it has been such an encouraging read. I feel more prompted to try and document my days in the studio, paying special attention to my process work. Picking up pencil and paper again felt so refreshing, and sketches also make for very interesting process photos. It has also been fun to start thinking about my first collection and what kinds of motifs I will need. For now, I’m just sketching some leaves and berries! 🌿🍓
The final lesson in Module 2 prompted us to create an art print using all the knowledge we’ve gleaned and combining motifs we’ve created along the way. The first image in this post, as well as the one below, are the result of that exercise. I still cannot get over the fact that these were made in Illustrator. The idea that I can still get that painted, hand-drawn look in such a concise and unforgiving program still blows my mind a little bit! I am so excited to keep exploring further to see how my illustration style will adapt with these new tools I’m adding to my toolbox. ☺️
