Monthly Archives: January 2015

Good Things Come To Those Who Hustle

January 31, 2015

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The first month of The Daily Make has come and gone! I’ll admit, having the discipline to do this every day has been a challenge, but I’m looking forward to seeing where the year takes me.

To celebrate the first month of TDM I finished a fun lettering project to remind me to keep on working. I knew I wanted to letter out the phrase “Good things come to those who hustle.” I had fun experimenting with different ways to play up the different words.

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In the end, my favorite sketches were the ones that played up the word “hustle” and disco. It reminded me to have fun with my work. Keep it funny, quirky, and take a dance break if necessary.

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I inked up the pieces separately so when I scanned them in things wouldn’t be connected. Then I played around with different colors and textures in Illustrator and Photoshop.

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My favorite combination is the teal one (top) but this purple one is a close second. Do you have a favorite?

hustle_1_web Happy Making!

Cheers,

M

 

Lettering & Illustration / 1 COMMENT / Share

Sketches

January 29, 2015

I didn’t have much time to work on projects today, but in an effort to keep my resolution I decided a little was better than nothing. I did a few sketches of eyes out of one of my drawing books. eyessketch_web

 

Happy Making!

Cheers,

M

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The Great Gatsby Book Cover 2

January 28, 2015

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This is the second book cover I made for The Great Gatsby. I posted my first one earlier this week, but still had another sketch that I liked a lot. So I went ahead and completed the second one. I think I like this one the best. The car swerving represents the accident with Myrtle, but also the careless way a lot of the characters behaved in the book – without real regard for anyone else. I love the colors in this, and I’m really happy with how Gatsby’s car turned out at the bottom. I’m really happy with this cover.  gatsbycover3

 

Happy Making!

Cheers,

M

Design - Lettering & Illustration / LEAVE A COMMENT / Share

Neutral Colors Scarf

January 27, 2015

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Earlier this month I finished a really bright, rainbow colored scarf, hat and mitten set. I like it a lot – even if it is a little bright for me. Afterwards I found this yarn at Michael’s and thought it would be an even better fit for me. It’s colorful, but also still really neutral. neutralrainbowScarf2_web

I just finished this scarf today. The yarn is chunky so it didn’t take too long to knit up. I did the whole thing in an easy garter stitch. I have a little bit of yarn left and I’m hoping I’ll be able to get a hat out of it.  neutralrainbowScarf1_web Happy Making!

Cheers,

M

 

Knitting & Crochet / LEAVE A COMMENT / Share

Faces

January 26, 2015

I posted a bunch of magnets I made last week. That project was inspired by my new go-to sketching project, which is drawing different faces over and over again. When I first started doing this I’d get stuck, but now I can draw a bunch of different characters without even thinking about it. And I’m always surprised by what comes out of these exercises. I did a bunch today (with pencil, pen and marker) and I think I got some good ones. I’m also really starting to like the idea of these sheets as a pattern. It would be so cool to get fabric printed with these on them and make a bag or skirt out of them.

facesdoodle1_web facesdoodles5_web facesdoodles2_web facesdoodles3_web facesdoodles4_web

Fun Projects - Lettering & Illustration / LEAVE A COMMENT / Share

The Great Gatsby Drop Cap

January 25, 2015

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I took another Skillshare class. This one was offered by one of my favorite working designers, Jessica Hische. The project was inspired by her Penguin Classics drop cap series and combined two things I love – reading and design. The assignment was to read a book and design a drop cap around it. I re-read The Great Gatsby (or rather, listened to the audiobook while I knit yet another scarf and hat). I did a few sketches while I listened (a terrible scan of a few of them is below).

gatsbysketches I decided the sketch I liked best was the one based on the stars and the green light at the edge of Daisy’s dock. There are a few powerful scenes in the book where Gatsby stares at the stars and contemplates his life. I liked that thoughtful view of Gatsby – not the rich, champagne, gold, art deco theme that is usually associated with the book.

I’m not the best in Illustrator (because I don’t really use it a whole lot) which was another reason I was attracted to this class. I forced myself to complete the class in Illustrator to get better at it. I do like this cover – but I also have a second one in mind that I might work on later this week.

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Happy Making!

Cheers,

M

 

Design - Lettering & Illustration / LEAVE A COMMENT / Share

Charcoal Study 3 | Hands

January 24, 2015

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I finished another hand study today. I realized I like charcoal because I can get a really dark shade very quickly. My charcoal studies tend to be heavy blacks and brighter whites – it ends up being very high contrast. I wouldn’t say that’s necessarily the nature of charcoal, just the nature of how I personally work with charcoal. The downfall is the mess…

Happy Making!

Cheers,

M

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Charcoal Hand Study

January 22, 2015

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I wanted to do a little bit of drawing practice today. I did a hand study in charcoal and thought I was awfully clever because I can turn the drawing to make it a thumbs up or a thumbs down.

thumbsup_web Happy Making!

Cheers,

M

 

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