wherein Liz illustrates holiday cards

[edenfalling]

I never know what to write in holiday cards, so I resort to tiny doodles instead. (This goes for birthday cards as well, but birthday cakes, flowers, and butterflies do not really say winter, let alone solstice or Christmas. Alas!)

Anyway, this year I wrote and drew my cards at work instead of at home, which meant I had a bunch of ultra-fine-point Sharpies to work with in addition to my usual black ink pen. So I figured I would share the joy of color with the internet. :)





The sleigh and the string of lights are new to my repertoire this year. Next year I think I might try learning how to doodle a cardinal...

(Before anyone asks, yes, I have tried drawing snowflakes. They never work out right. I can cut paper snowflakes like nobody's business, but adding a pen into the equation somehow always results in disaster. *sigh*)


[[original Tumblr post, for when the embedded images inevitably break]]

Comments

[autumnia]

Lovely drawings! How many cards do you hand-draw each year? I illustrate my cards but do it on the computer as I have to make around 2 dozen or so and I don't have to energy (mental or physical) to draw that many by hand. :-)

Also, you can add Christmas stockings to your list -- they're not that difficult to draw. Birds are on my list too -- I've done them before but have yet to draw one that I'm happy with.

[edenfalling]

Thank you! The exact number of cards varies over time, but the past few years I've been doing 22 or 23. I hand-draw them mostly because I don't have the hardware or software to make effective digital art, to say nothing of transferring digital art onto pre-bought packs of holiday cards, besides which I've always enjoyed making little pen doodles so I find them relatively low-energy to make.

I have tried drawing Christmas stockings in the past, but they have not turned out well. :( I may try again next year, using Google to find some reference images. I may also try to develop a Yule log doodle so I have a second solstice/wintry option for my druid friend. (She's the one I do Orion over the pines for.)

[autumnia]

Google Images is definitely helpful. I also take a look at some really good stationary sites (e.g. Rifle Paper Co., Etsy, or Hello Lucky) for ideas too.

I usually design the cards and print them on card stock bought from Staples, so it's a lot of additional work to cut and fold them as well.

[edenfalling]

Google Images is wonderful. :)

I tend to buy boxed sets of cards -- ones that already have art, and generally a pre-printed message inside to boot -- which for obvious reasons are difficult to put through a printer. *wry* (This year that would have been even worse, since my main card set included glitter on the front!)

I keep an eye out for cards at yard sales over the summer, and if I haven't found anything good by fall, I go buy a set of twenty from a local stationery shop. Next year I will need two sets, since I finally emptied the one I've used for supplemental cards over the past few years.