Happy Birthday to me!
I celebrated my birthday over the weekend with tons of fun, food and of course, color. I’ve been inspired by the fun and festivities of birthdays lately (the colorful balloons, the confetti cupcakes!) and poured all of that excitement into this new sketch. She will become a birthday card very, very soon. 
Hope you’re grilling, grinning and enjoying the holiday!
The number one question I get as an illustrator is “How does your process work?” Today I’m sharing a sneak peek (“behind the scenes,” if you will) of the work that goes into taking a custom illustration from concept to a full-color image.
Earlier this year, Claudia Baudo, the creator of Smackaroons (a yummy coconut-and-chocolate candy) emailed me seeking an illustration for her Valentine’s Day event.
Every client project starts the same — I ask my client what they’re looking for, and to give me a few key words to describe their brand or event. Claudia wanted a fashion-inspired image that was fun, and flirty, and communicated how much of a delight Smackaroons are to eat. And she wanted it to have a bit of glamour (legendary pin-up Bettie Page was part of the inspiration references), but to still be friendly and approachable.
Once I gather that information from my client and do a little research on my own, I brainstorm and sketch a number of concepts or ideas for the client to choose from. Here, the first idea was a fashion figure in little black dress (I mean, how much more glamorous can you get than an LBD?) and the other was a figure in Claudia’s signature chef’s coat, which she wears to all her events. We also alternated between the figure showing the product and receiving a box of Smackaroons as a gift — since it was, of course, Valentine’s Day.
At this point, the client chooses their favorite idea, and we finesse the details with a few tweaks. Claudia loved the middle pin-up pose, but we decided to put the figure in a black dress, and to make sure she looked absolutely delighted about receiving a gift of Smackaroons! Here is the final line sketch…
And here is the final full color illustration. I made sure to include special details (the Smackaroons box, the signature lipstick tag, and the character’s lip color in “Smackaroons” hot pink) to make sure this image uniquely reflected the Smackaroons brand:
Claudia was really happy with the final result, as it embodied everything she wanted to communicate about her brand — a little glamorous, a little fun, and the thrill of getting a sweet treat!
My illustration on promotional signage for Smackaroons.
If you’d like a custom illustration created uniquely for your brand or event, contact me here.
So I know the calendar says summer doesn’t start for another month, but this delicious 80-degree weather is telling me otherwise.
In my eyes? Summer is HERE, which means the time for flirty sundresses is NOW. (And don’t get it twisted — I totally rocked my favorite spaghetti strap maxidress today.)
What are you doing to celebrate the coming of summer?