How I make my designs and find my inspiration - Part 1

I thought it might be interesting to show you a bit more of how I make my designs: where I get my inspiration, how and where I actually draw and the surprisingly un-straight line that is the design process!

Maybe a little Q & A will help...

Q1: Where do I get my ideas?

Before I look at anything online I first have a good old brain rummage, what topics have been mulling up there for a while, things I've seen when out and about or have been thinking might be interesting. As my niche is nature and wildlife I'll tend to head towards topics that fit with that theme. Sometimes I can find that a bit limiting but it does stop you from going wild and wanting to draw absolutely every random thing!

Stage two is research. Sometimes in books but often it’s PINTEREST. I wonder what we all did before it existed, there are so many amazing photos, illustrations, ideas on there that a short search of a few relevant phrases will bring up tons of great avenues for ideas. It's so important not to copy outright what someone else is doing, but it's ok to gather ideas from a collection of pins and use them to form your own ideas. I have loads of folders, some I might never use much, but I know where they are and it's great to plonk all your whims in one place and see later what actually feels useful.

Screenshot of some of my folders in my Pinterest gallery

Q2: Then what?

Quite a lot of times I'll start with a topic, have a bit of a play around with a practise design, for example, with UK wildflowers I think I started with Buddleia, because I love them and it might have been what gave me the topic idea in the first place. I decided I was going to do Wildlfowers, I made twelve designs so enough for a calendar and I worked out what flower (and matching insect) would fit with each month of the year.... And then I realised I didn't like my designs. 😭

SO, what to do? Well, five versions later I finally did! But it took a whole heap of time and perseverance and was a great teaching tool too. And the Buddleia didn't even make it to the final cut! 😂 or the insects...

Here are a couple of those versions and the final set of twelve wildflower designs - that I did like!

From these twelve wildflower retro seed packet designs I created an A4 wall calendar for 2027. That and some other products using the same designs in different ways are in my etsy shop or will be on their way there soon...

Visit my Etsy shop

This I find is the great flexibility of digital art versus conventional paper based media art. It can be adpated and reformed to fit different products and settings. But that part of the process comes a little later on. Next I'll show how I make my illustrations and in which programme.

If you’d like to join my list of subscribers to receive my email newsletters simply click the link to my website About page where you can learn abit more about me and where you can ‘join the flock’.

Join the flock

Next time...

 

 How I make my designs - Part 2

Q3: How do I draw my designs?